Methods By Vassqo is a remarkably creative fashion brand despite its designer not seeing himself as a ‘creative’ person. However Christopher Angelo Velasco has shown with his work that there is creativity in everyone.
“I started making clothes around 2017 but I didn’t officially launch my brand until 2018. This was pretty much just me trying to learn [new skills] as I got older,” explains Chris.
A UNIQUE BEGINNING
Born, raised and based in Western Sydney – “the land of tracksuits and judgement” – until recently, Chris has finally decided to move himself, and his brand, to Melbourne.
“Growing up, I was not a ‘creative’ and I didn’t myself as creative either. So imagine this, 2018 and I was working full time. I had no exterior motives to do anything outside of just working but I had a friend who is very close. He visited me after work and took me thrifting for the first time.
“I remember he wore something that I had never seen before – especially growing up in Western Sydney. It was one of those things where, to wear clothes like that was very weird and outlandish and you could literally tell, based on what you were wearing, that you weren’t from there.
“But what stuck with me was the fact that he was truly truly confident in that moment. I remember I wanted to have that feeling of confidence as well, so I curated my first outfit that day with him and it was a soft introduction to the world of fashion.
“I took a lot of photos in the outfits I curated and posted them up on Instagram. I received a lot of love for these photos but I genuinely didn’t feel like myself wearing all these outfits. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I no longer want to be a sheep, what’s really stopping me from creating my own clothes?’.”
This personal contemplation led Chris to the idea of making his own garments. Luckily his then partner helped by investing in Chris’ first sewing machine which kick-started his journey towards his own brand and becoming a designer.
“I gathered all the clothes I bought from thrift stores and started the process of learning how to create my own clothing out of materials I had available – upcycling,” explains Chris. “A few months go by and several mistakes later I ended up showing my clothing to that friend who had introduced me to fashion and when he saw my clothes he wanted to wear every single piece!
“It actually gave me my first opportunity to sell my clothing in person – this collection sold out, all 20 one-off garments – and from that moment I definitely saw a future with this craft.”
The brand’s name, Methods by Vassquo, is a portmanteau of Chris’ surname and a conceptual way of thinking.
“My brand name is separated into two parts, or meanings. Vassqo comes from my last name and I remember making this name with my dad. I wanted an alias that’s short and snappy but essentially defines me.
“Vassqo Is the shortened version of my last name Velasco, and this name was in turn, derived from the Basque word ‘bela’ which means ‘Crow or Raven’. As my brand grew I took notice of the details I added to my clothing which included a lot of chrome and shiny accents.
“This was rather funny to me because one of the main personality traits of a crow is that they’re very attracted to shiny objects. Now that I had my designer alias that I resonated with I wanted to have a brand name that also represents how I work as well as reflect on my workflow,” says Chris.
Chris based the ‘methods’ part of the brand name on the memorisation technique known as the ‘method of loci’, a mnemonic device designed to help people with memory storage and retrieval.
“Loci means locations in Latin. The method of loci uses imagined physical locations to aid memory. This resonates with me because of my creative process,” Chris explains. “I have a tendency to create environments in my mind from my experiences as well as people around me and I usually translate these environments onto fabric. Thus, Methods By Vassqo was born.”
THE CREATIVE STRUGGLE
As with many creative individuals, Chris says that the biggest issue he has had with developing Methods By Vassqo, has been trying to turn an ‘art’ into a business.
“When I first started my brand I had many issues in terms of quality and marketing. I was, and still am, learning the many intricacies of fashion design but back then it was much harder because within the environment I grew up in there weren’t any mentors for the craft,” says Chris.
Chris has actually rectified this limitation himself, mentoring over 25 students in the ways of the fashion industry.
“One thing that was a major struggle for me was turning my creativity into a business. Like many artists, I never did this for money. I needed an outlet and this was the only one for me at the time.
“The more I made clothes and fell in love with the craft, it was something I wanted to do 24/7 and in order to achieve that I had to focus a lot of time on the business side of things. This was definitely a big switch up to my original intentions when I first started, because I am no longer making clothing for myself but for those who love and appreciate my work.”
LOVE AND SUPPORT
Despite the struggle, Chris says that he is grateful for the support he has received from family and friends, who are also his main source of inspiration.
“I have friends who are naturally stylish, as well as friends who have been through the gauntlet of life. I try my hardest to tell their stories not only via my perspective but also with theirs.
“I’m very into self-made brands like the ones I’m surrounded by such as Fragileminds, pcw.online, No_Public Access, Ungrounded.Co, Calli_comical, ARCO, Skeeshman.ent, itadaki, La_Latoure, Extremelywicked … These are all Sydney brands I grew up with and helped along on my journey.
“They’ve all been a massive influence on how I vision my brand and I’m extremely grateful to cross paths with so many like-minded individuals,” Chris says.
THE STORIES OF METHODS BY VASSQO
Chris describes himself as a ‘storyteller’, explaining that since all of his garments are ‘one of one’ unique handcrafted designs that depend on specific secondhand and found pieces, the brand as a whole is a series of vignettes making up the story of Methods By Vassqo.
“Think of each [one off garment] as a story, and so far in my career I’ve made over 160 pieces, so there are over 160 stories that have been told. I’m in love with this concept because of the sentimental attachment I can gauge from piece to piece.
“There are pieces where I have a friend in mind but no sketch for the actual garment I’m working on. I try to expose myself to many different perspectives and being an empath, I try my hardest to connect with them and their views.”
While this way of working might lead to a mishmash of ideas and styles, the overall ‘vibe’ of Methods by Vassqo is actually clearly defined. There is a distinct ‘Vassqo’ style with a through line of early punk, and the aforementioned ‘shiny things’.
Methods By Vassqo has a very current feel, like the future-forward styles of Korean and Japanese pop music videos, or European neo-punk brands and bands.
“I’d define my brand aesthetic as a flexible Modernised punk. Pieces are spawned solely based on feeling as well as situations happening in that very moment. Sometimes I go from making a very dark, grungy piece into making something completely the opposite,” Chris admits.
“My very brand essence stems from my original practices of upcycling. To this day I stay true to this process, but as I get older and learn more about pattern making and making things from scratch, I try to still use upcycled materials or old garments as my fabric choice.
“I hardly ever go out of my way for fabric unless it’s specifically for a client. I’ve collected a lot of scraps in the past, to the point where I have a storage unit filled with it for a specific project I cannot disclose at the moment.”
FUTURE PLANS
As someone who remains influenced by his early start, Chris is strongly focused on not only growing his brand, but also on expanding the emerging fashion industry in Australia.
“Essentially my main, and long term, goal is to be the mainstay and support of the community. Be the mentor I didn’t have when I started. I want to guide people, young and old, and share my story,” says Chris.
“It’s gotten to the point where this is something that I live and breathe, and I’m willing to go out of my way to help people understand that there is no right or wrong when it comes to creativity and to experiencing that sense of fulfilment when you make something for yourself.”
You can commision Methods By Vassqo via DM on @methodsbyvassqo, or see and buy pieces at Fitzroy Market, 87 Rose Street, Fitzroy, on the weekends.
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