No one ever said fashion was easy. Meet Tyler Winther, a man who exudes passion, dedication and creativity. I am so thankful he made time in his busy schedule to give CollegeFashionista the first exclusive peek into his debut collection, Tyler Jorn.
Name: Tyler Winther
Role: Product Development Student and Fashion Designer
CollegeFashionista: What inspired you to become a designer?
Tyler Winther: I’ve always wanted to get into designing and I’ve never really been satisfied with the way that many businesses around me are run. When it came to becoming a designer, I knew I could do something better. I’m already incredibly creative, so why not take that into fashion?
CF: What steps have you taken to become a designer?
TW: If you plan on getting into a business you need to understand the physical labor involved in producing something in that line of work. Why would anyone listen to you if you didn’t understand the process? So I have done the work and I have put in the time to learn the craft. I started studying fashion design to learn how to construct clothing and then I transitioned into product development so I can understand the full scope from drawing, to garment production.
CF: What does your collection consist of?
TW: For now, we will be launching with Men’s T-shirts. The cut itself is 100% original, every inch of it just came from my head, onto a page and then onto a pattern. There is a unique hem on the shirt and very unique stylings with the patches. There are three different shirt colors: white, black and heather gray. There are also three different colors and materials of the patches: red linen, blue chambray cotton and gold lamé.
CF: Why did you decide to start your designing career with T-shirts?
TW: It’s a good place to start. Overall, they’re relatively inexpensive to make. When you make them custom, like what I am doing, you can add the stylistic elements. There’s no barrier to enter the fashion industry with a T-shirt, you can just jump in and open a shop.
CF: What was your vision while creating your collection?
TW: Most guys wear a white T-shirt and jeans. It is kind of a cop-out because you are not styling anything, you are just putting a white T-shirt on because it is safe. When you take something familiar and transform it, guys are going to wear it because it is still a T-shirt. With the way that the cutouts work, these little patches are a splash of color and it looks as if it is coming from underneath the shirt. It’s less boring and more versatile than a plain, white T-shirt. However, it is also not crazy enough to deter someone from wearing it.
CF: Was your greatest challenge finding people to help with production?
TW: Yes! The hardest part was finding good, reliable people to make the clothes. I finally found a great sample house. We took an extra two weeks in the sampling stages to get the body right and we are looking to have final samples done by the end of February so the product should be ready by the end of March. Once I have the product there will be release party in Beverly Hills, the website will live and social media will go crazy.
