By: Josh Maxwell Photo by: Brynn Osborn (from 2018 archives)
When thinking of quarantine, you probably think about Netflix and home workout routines. However, this local Coastal Bend designer doesn’t exactly have a “regular” hobby to pass the time. Nick Perez is a fashion designer who we have featured before in past articles. This stylish and ambitious designer has dreamed of making gowns since they were a small child. However with Covid-19 still at large, some of Nick’s plans had to come to an immediate halt.
“I recently moved to San Antonio because I won this massive fashion group international award. I moved here to be a center point for Texas clients, and also for flying out of town,” they said.
Perez was in the midst of kickstarting their career, and had clients booked all the way into the following year. However, with the pandemic in full effect, Perez had to make some sacrifices, and restructure their entire process.
“I was booked until the end of the year and then clients canceled, along with the collection and the show. The collection had to be cut short into 1/4 of the size that it was because there was no revenue,” Perez said about just one of the ways his business has been affected.
While navigating the global pandemic, Perez has been able to find the silver lining in all of this. Quarantine has helped the young designer get back to their roots in one way or the other. Due to not being able to travel home and visit their loved ones, Perez really started to dive into work more.
“I feel like right now my fashions are also the things that are keeping me sane. These are the only things that are keeping me from not panicking over things that I can’t control,” Perez said.
While working on their designs Perez began to incorporate pieces of home into his work, gaining inspiration from their mother’s flower garden.
“Whenever I was designing the collection it was kind of a homage to my upbringing growing up around the South Texas flowers, and being in my mom’s flower garden as a child,” Perez said.
When designing fashion pieces, originality and inspiration play vital parts in the creative process. Perez’s inspiration for their recent collection centers around the organic beauty of flowers. Pulling inspiration from their hometown, and overall growth as a person throughout this pandemic.
“It kind of resembles how I’m growing in these times, I really wanted to focus on my growth. I don’t think there’s any other way to symbolize growth to me than with flowers,” Perez said.
Through navigating Covid-19 and still managing to pursue their craft and passion, Perez has shown just how far hard work and determination can take you. Perez managed to take their hardship and turn it into a driving motivation for the current collection.
“I can’t live or breathe without it, I can’t exist without couture in my life. As soon as i’m done creating, I’m probably not gonna be here anymore, so i’ll make sure to leave flower petals wherever I go,” Perez said.
To see more of Perez’s work, and how much love and detail goes into each gown check out their social media page.
