By Wes Cipolla Michaelangelo. Voltaire. Madonna. Like all artistic greats, Armani goes by one name. This Wilson senior's real name is Armani Joseph Garcia, but he asks that people simply call him Armani. When one thinks of the name Armani, one imagines Italian boutiques and 895-dollar watches. The Armani of West Lawn, Pennsylvania has his own fashion house as well - though it is quite different than what we are all familiar with. Armani has made several thousand dollars from his clothing company, SLUMBS, which was founded on May 18, 2016. SLUMBS, a name Armani used to go by on the online video game circuit, is now a brand which is near-ubiquitous at Wilson High School. "The name means so much more to me than I could explain, but overall it stands for 'Struggle Breeds Opportunity,'" Armani said. "I never thought the word I came up with would carry so much weight."
Contrary to popular belief, the word has nothing to do with poor neighborhoods. However, most SLUMBS outfits contain the Japanese text "hinmin machi," which translates to "slums." SLUMBS is heavily influenced by Japanese anime culture. One hoodie is an image of a skull-and-crossbones with Japanese and English characters reading [DEATH 11:11]. This dramatic style can be seen in SLUMBS entire clothing library, which features neo-Baroque fonts, 70s exploitation-style effects, and cartoon ghost effects. "I'm influenced by everything I come across every single day of my life," Armani said, "Personally music, people, and all types of culture.” In order to make his clothes, Armani says that "I usually sit in my room in the dark with my computer in front of me and my music blasting through my speakers, just thinking about the world around me." SLUMBS' mascot is "Thia," a brunette girl in pigtails, eyes closed and head tilted downward. This icon can be found on almost all SLUMBS merchandise, but, ironically, it did not come from Armani. Instead, it was a self-portrait by his girlfriend, senior Kathia Zavala. "I was inspired by the double-Dutch braid hairstyle that is currently trending, which I love myself," Kathia said. "I had the girl looking down with her eyes closed because the idea of looking into one's mind rather than into the world is Armani's type of mindset." Kathia wants to become a graphic designer when she is out of high school, saying that "drawing has been my passion since I could first hold a pencil." She also loves the newfound popularity, saying "I've really liked the feeling of seeing my design on people's shirts." The image of "Thia" is a Mona Lisa of the Snapchat generation. Is she falling asleep or about to cry? She is a symbol of feminine demureness and defiance, a pre-Raphaelite image of beautiful sadness. The emotion behind the images is not lost on Armani. "The clothing I make reflects me as a person," Armani said. "The message I want to be shown is, 'do what you want and don't be afraid to go out in this world.' If it makes you happy, don't pay no mind to the opinions of sheep." By "sheep," he means the world of mainstream fashion. His mission statement says that he created SLUMBS because "too many people in today's world are chained to mainstream brands that all have the same recycled ideas." "I've always been about myself," he said. "I don't like to be stuck in one category. I don't want my brand in one type of style, I want to keep everything about the brand unique." At the same time, he believes that such a message of individuality is difficult to express in today's world. "Personally, I was never a fan of school because I feel like it throws kids into something they're not. Kids in my senior class are panicking about what they want to do for the rest of their life. At the same time you have school counselors coming into classrooms forcing the idea that college is the only way to obtain success." Among all that stress, Armani wants SLUMBS to represent something beyond the everyday. "My brand is a trophy in life," he said, "saying 'look what I did that the school system can't teach you to do.'""The name means so much more to me than I could explain, but overall it stands for 'Struggle Breeds Opportunity,'" Armani said. "I never thought the word I came up with would carry so much weight." Contrary to popular belief, the word has nothing to do with poor neighborhoods. However, most SLUMBS outfits contain the Japanese text "hinmin machi," which translates to "slums." SLUMBS is heavily influenced by Japanese anime culture. One hoodie is an image of a skull-and-crossbones with Japanese and English characters reading [DEATH 11:11]. This dramatic style can be seen in SLUMBS entire clothing library, which features neo-Baroque fonts, 70s exploitation-style effects, and cartoon ghost effects. "I'm influenced by everything I come across every single day of my life," Armani said, "Personally music, people, and all types of culture.” In order to make his clothes, Armani says that "I usually sit in my room in the dark with my computer in front of me and my music blasting through my speakers, just thinking about the world around me." SLUMBS' mascot is "Thia," a brunette girl in pigtails, eyes closed and head tilted downward. This icon can be found on almost all SLUMBS merchandise, but, ironically, it did not come from Armani. Instead, it was a self-portrait by his girlfriend, senior Kathia Zavala. "I was inspired by the double-Dutch braid hairstyle that is currently trending, which I love myself," Kathia said. "I had the girl looking down with her eyes closed because the idea of looking into one's mind rather than into the world is Armani's type of mindset." Kathia wants to become a graphic designer when she is out of high school, saying that "drawing has been my passion since I could first hold a pencil." She also loves the newfound popularity, saying "I've really liked the feeling of seeing my design on people's shirts." The image of "Thia" is a Mona Lisa of the Snapchat generation. Is she falling asleep or about to cry? She is a symbol of feminine demureness and defiance, a pre-Raphaelite image of beautiful sadness. The emotion behind the images is not lost on Armani. "The clothing I make reflects me as a person," Armani said. "The message I want to be shown is, 'do what you want and don't be afraid to go out in this world.' If it makes you happy, don't pay no mind to the opinions of sheep." By "sheep," he means the world of mainstream fashion. His mission statement says that he created SLUMBS because "too many people in today's world are chained to mainstream brands that all have the same recycled ideas." "I've always been about myself," he said. "I don't like to be stuck in one category. I don't want my brand in one type of style, I want to keep everything about the brand unique." At the same time, he believes that such a message of individuality is difficult to express in today's world. "Personally, I was never a fan of school because I feel like it throws kids into something they're not. Kids in my senior class are panicking about what they want to do for the rest of their life. At the same time you have school counselors coming into classrooms forcing the idea that college is the only way to obtain success." Among all that stress, Armani wants SLUMBS to represent something beyond the everyday. "My brand is a trophy in life," he said, "saying 'look what I did that the school system can't teach you to do.' The name means so much more to me than I could explain, but overall it stands for 'Struggle Breeds Opportunity,'" Armani said. "I never thought the word I came up with would carry so much weight." Contrary to popular belief, the word has nothing to do with poor neighborhoods. However, most SLUMBS outfits contain the Japanese text "hinmin machi," which translates to "slums." SLUMBS is heavily influenced by Japanese anime culture. One hoodie is an image of a skull-and-crossbones with Japanese and English characters reading [DEATH 11:11]. This dramatic style can be seen in SLUMBS entire clothing library, which features neo-Baroque fonts, 70s exploitation-style effects, and cartoon ghost effects. "I'm influenced by everything I come across every single day of my life," Armani said, "Personally music, people, and all types of culture.” In order to make his clothes, Armani says that "I usually sit in my room in the dark with my computer in front of me and my music blasting through my speakers, just thinking about the world around me." SLUMBS' mascot is "Thia," a brunette girl in pigtails, eyes closed and head tilted downward. This icon can be found on almost all SLUMBS merchandise, but, ironically, it did not come from Armani. Instead, it was a self-portrait by his girlfriend, senior Kathia Zavala. "I was inspired by the double-Dutch braid hairstyle that is currently trending, which I love myself," Kathia said. "I had the girl looking down with her eyes closed because the idea of looking into one's mind rather than into the world is Armani's type of mindset." Kathia wants to become a graphic designer when she is out of high school, saying that "drawing has been my passion since I could first hold a pencil." She also loves the newfound popularity, saying "I've really liked the feeling of seeing my design on people's shirts." The image of "Thia" is a Mona Lisa of the Snapchat generation. Is she falling asleep or about to cry? She is a symbol of feminine demureness and defiance, a pre-Raphaelite image of beautiful sadness. The emotion behind the images is not lost on Armani. "The clothing I make reflects me as a person," Armani said. "The message I want to be shown is, 'do what you want and don't be afraid to go out in this world.' If it makes you happy, don't pay no mind to the opinions of sheep." By "sheep," he means the world of mainstream fashion. His mission statement says that he created SLUMBS because "too many people in today's world are chained to mainstream brands that all have the same recycled ideas." "I've always been about myself," he said. "I don't like to be stuck in one category. I don't want my brand in one type of style, I want to keep everything about the brand unique." At the same time, he believes that such a message of individuality is difficult to express in today's world. "Personally, I was never a fan of school because I feel like it throws kids into something they're not. Kids in my senior class are panicking about what they want to do for the rest of their life. At the same time you have school counselors coming into classrooms forcing the idea that college is the only way to obtain success." Among all that stress, Armani wants SLUMBS to represent something beyond the everyday. "My brand is a trophy in life," he said, "saying 'look what I did that the school system can't teach you to do.'"
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