Local men debut clothing designs

Jose Leiva/Sun Journal

Family members from left, Rachelle Artea, Jackie Crockett and Alex Artea wear shirts from Estylo Co., a local clothing line showcased at Gritty McDuff's in Auburn on Saturday night.

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- Jose Leiva/Sun Journal

AUBURN  — Chad Nguyen and Anthony Artea want to design clothes that are good quality. Clothes that are cool, hip and modern without looking like everything else that's cool, hip and modern. Clothes that people like.

On Saturday night at Gritty McDuff's in Auburn, with rock band accompaniment, they debuted those clothes — and their brand, Estylo Co. — to the world.

"The whole thing is just getting exposure," Nguyen said.

Nguyen, 30, grew up in Auburn, graduated from Edward Little High School and still lives in the city. Artea, 30, lives in Lewiston. With backgrounds in Web and print design and marketing, the men formed Estylo (pronounced e-steel-o) and began working on clothes about a year and a half ago.

"We're just a couple of guys, but the advantage that we've got is the experience and the connections that I have in the design industry and print," Nguyen said.

On Saturday, they showed off T-shirts that featured skulls, wings and single words surrounded by flourishes, though the men want their line to be about more than that.

"We try to keep it really diverse," Nguyen said. "We don't want to be known for skulls or labeled for skulls." 

They plan to include hats, belts and accessories in the clothing line.

Nguyen and Artea do not mass-produce their designs and do not yet have their clothes in stores, though Nguyen said the designs received positive feedback when he sent them to people on the West Coast.

"I've had people in boutiques and clothing stores nonstop ask us to put our stuff in their stores," he said.

Nguyen called the Saturday event "basically our teaser."

The men booked Paranoid Social Club to play at Gritty McDuff's and planned to give away some of their T-shirts to the crowd. Family members — sporting Estylo T-shirts — helped them set up for the event.

"They've worked so hard. They've put their hearts and souls into this," said Artea's sister-in-law, Rachelle Artea, who wore an Estylo T-shirt with the word "sexual" emblazoned across the chest.

The men hoped the Saturday night event would help get their name and designs out to people. They also hoped to get feedback on their clothes — which designs people liked, which they didn't, what they'd like to see for clothes in the future.

"We've got to see where it goes," Nguyen said. "We definitely think it's going to kick off."

ltice@sunjournal.com