North Texas Daily

Kelly Benjamin / Staff Writer

As a sophomore in high school, he developed an interest for urban street fashion. Now, as a junior in college, he’s launched his second brand with plans for the future on his mind.

“As I was growing up being a part of the streets you learn more of, like, the grunge, street wear and the skate culture,” fashion merchandising Edgar Silva said.

Silva launched his brand, Elvnth Hr, in January 2014, along with co-founder, Aboo Nguyen. Silva is currently working on The War Capsule Collection, a product line that he plans to release later this month focusing on aesthetic inspired by WWII industrial design.

“A brand is made up of many different elements,” advertising professor Bill Ford said. “It’s not just the logo. Sometimes it’s the color, sometimes it’s the sound, and sometimes it’s the phrase. It’s all of those things in one package.”

Ford also said models play a huge part in a fashion designer’s brand, especially when it is looking for a specific attitude to convey.

“Many of these people often use the same model for all of their ads,” Ford said. “Sometimes the attitude is in the expression on the model’s face or the position on the model’s body.”

One of Elvnth Hr’s models, Adi Ayala, said he is surprised by how well Silva and Nguyen work together.

“It shows me that two different people from two different cultures can come together,” Ayala said. “The way they think about different things, not just their fashion sense, but also the stuff that we put together.”

Silva said his classmates thought it would be a good idea for him to convey his lifestyle to other people. He saw an opportunity to work in the fashion industry as an intern at Candy Knights and he took it.

“I found an internship that I could get into while I could learn from the back, learn what goes into a clothing brand, and what happens when it comes to designing step-by-step-by-step,” Silva said. “From there I decided to start my own brand and then branch off.”

Silva said his first brand, Differ Clothing, was a local street-centric clothing brand that focused on different aesthetics inspired by hip-hop and skate culture. Once he was able to meet up with Nguyen, Silva said they combined their forces and began to put their ideas into fruition with Elvnth Hr.

Nguyen said he met Silva through one of his friends, and that’s when the two knew they clicked right away. Silva has influenced Nguyen through their collaborative efforts.

“Edgar influences me all the time,” Nguyen said. “I think it’s kind of like he got me where I lack and I got him where he lacks, so it’s great teamwork, almost like Shaq and Kobe.”

Silva said there are many steps that go into planning a clothing collection.

“When it comes to creating clothing, you need a template and that’s where pattern-making comes in hand,” Silva said. “When you start from the garment to seeing the separation, it all comes together.”

Silva said he wants people who look at Elvnth Hr to see where he pulls his inspiration from.

“My aesthetic is generally whatever influences me around the world,” Silva said. “It ranges from politics to nature.”

Silva hopes to further his endeavors through future product releases, as well as an uptake in urban culture.

“Fashion and street wear are like two separate entities. A lot of high-end street wear brands are coming together,” Silva said. “When I envision Elvnth Hr, it was more of a grown-up line with a young feel, a lot of minimalism and a lot of art.”

Featured Image: Fashion merchandising sophomore Edgar Silva talks about his clothing designs for ELVNTHHR. Silva started the company in 2012. Photo by Meagan Sullivan – Staff Photographer