Give us your elevator pitch.
PrettyBallads is a vogue label, an artwork collective, and a document label all rolled into one and born out of the necessity for extra trustworthy, emotional, and forward-thinking expression. It’s a venture grounded in circularity, surrealism, and sound. What began as a DIY experiment in a bed room in Puerto Rico has advanced right into a cross-disciplinary platform — creating clothes, throwing raves, designing visuals, and amplifying tales that push in opposition to the normal vogue cycle. PrettyBallads isn’t about chasing traits. It’s about constructing a world the place clothes, music, and reminiscence exist in the identical dialog. It’s for individuals who wish to really feel highly effective and comfortable on the identical time and who wish to put on one thing that claims greater than phrases can.
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The 5 Ws
Who’s carrying PrettyBallads?
Your pal’s cool mother. Your neighbor whom you by no means see. Musicians, artists, designers, your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ. Individuals who resonate with the codes and emotions behind the work—those that wish to categorical id, emotion, and individuality by way of what they put on.
What’s PrettyBallads’ important message?
That vogue will be emotional, transformative, and sort to the planet. We don’t consider in perfection — we consider in presence. In embracing flaws, remodeling what already exists, and creating magnificence that empowers relatively than exploits. It’s about making issues that really feel private, that resonate, that enable folks to see themselves in another way. We’re constructing an ecosystem of creativity that doesn’t depend on fixed extraction, however as an alternative on reinvention, connection, and care.
When did you launch PrettyBallads?
The seeds had been planted in late 2020 through the COVID pandemic. I used to be in Puerto Rico, experimenting with display screen printing and garment manipulation in my bed room. I began designing items for musicians and creatives within the native scene and shortly realized I wished to dive deeper. That led me to Parsons, the place I expanded my technical abilities and redefined my design philosophy. Since then, the model has grown organically by way of collaborations, group, and fixed reinvention. The official launch is that this summer season, with activations deliberate throughout NYC, LA, and Puerto Rico.
The place are folks carrying PrettyBallads?
To a sweaty basement rave, a scorching date, a gallery opening, a enterprise assembly, a sound examine, or only a second alone with themselves. PrettyBallads is fluid. It strikes with you, wherever you might be.
Why was PrettyBallads created?
As a result of nothing I noticed round me felt like me. Once I began the model there weren’t many vogue voices that felt aligned with my imaginative and prescient in Puerto Rico, so I made a decision to construct my very own. I began making items I wished to see on this planet, items that carried that means, reminiscence, and presence. Over time, that imaginative and prescient expanded into one thing a lot bigger: a means of working, of collaborating, of designing new methods. PrettyBallads exists to make garments that mirror the folks we’re, the tales we feature, and the world we wish to reside in.
About The Model
What was the spark that catalyzed the creation of PrettyBallads?
PrettyBallads was born throughout lockdown. I had a stitching machine, a display screen printing equipment, a closet full of garments, and an excessive amount of time. The spark got here from being caught inside and deciding to make clothes that felt thrilling and reflective of my world. I began with DIY items for buddies and native artists, and the vitality grew from there. PrettyBallads was me creating what I didn’t see out there.
When did vogue design turn out to be a ardour for you—and on prime of that, an meant profession path?
It began with curiosity, and me finding out the garments in my closet, breaking them right down to see how they had been made. That advanced into working with musicians like Álvaro Díaz, Miky Woodz, Matt Louis, Enyel C, simply to call a number of, and ultimately creating graphics and merch for Rauw Alejandro’s world tour. After that, I knew I wished to go deeper, so I utilized to Parsons. Studying design pondering and garment development fully shifted how I noticed vogue and my place in it.
How would you outline PrettyBallads’ model in your individual phrases?
Clothes with an edge. A number of the kinds are rooted in acquainted references, however then one thing’s been tweaked, reimagined, pushed. I’m actually thinking about clothes with a number of capabilities—a jacket that turns right into a tent, a coat that transforms right into a bag. I consider garments as methods, not simply outfits. It’s all about adaptability and interacting with the world round us.
What do you suppose makes PrettyBallads stand out in in the present day’s sea of rising vogue manufacturers?
We prioritize materials reuse. Over 80% of every launch comes from present sources like deadstock, overstock, manufacturing facility waste, and secondhand clothes. However past the supplies, we’re about group. We’re constructing one thing bigger: raves, gallery exhibits, pop-ups, bar and restaurant takeovers. It’s a world, not only a product. We consider in creating stunning, empowering garments and ensuring everybody looks like they’ve a seat on the desk.
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Many know PrettyBallads for its distinctive materials recycling methods. Are you able to inform me extra about how this design course of got here to characterize the model?
To start with, no material shops had been open, so I turned to what I had. Previous garments, Walmart provides, no matter I might get my fingers on. That formed the best way I take into consideration supplies to at the present time. Later at Parsons, I used to be launched to the normal Take-Make-Waste mannequin, nevertheless it by no means felt absolutely proper. Throughout my senior yr, I visited a rag home and noticed literal tons of discarded clothes. That second modified every thing. There’s sufficient clothes on Earth proper now to decorate humanity for the following 250 years. Rethinking what supplies are, and designing new methods to make circularity scalable and actual grew to become a cornerstone of the model’s DNA.
What model codes or eras do you draw inspiration from?
My dad and mom, 90s/2000s vogue, music, nightlife, and the motion between NYC, Puerto Rico, and California. I get impressed by sculpture, objects, recollections, and the digital world we’re navigating now. A number of the references are emotional earlier than they’re visible.
What was the largest problem you’ve confronted whereas constructing PrettyBallads?
Scaling a model based mostly on present supplies is an actual design problem. You’re not simply designing garments. You’re designing a whole system to make it potential. Sourcing, inconsistencies, injury — all of these issues power you to suppose in another way. Making one-offs is one factor, however scaling this type of observe is the place the work will get thrilling.
What’s subsequent for PrettyBallads?
We’re formally launching this summer season with occasions in NYC, LA, and Puerto Rico — immersive pop-ups, occasions, and extra. We’re additionally engaged on some thrilling collaborations, increasing into new retail areas, and laying the groundwork for a PrettyBallads flagship retailer. You’ll begin seeing extra in-depth content material about how the items are made—behind-the-scenes of the method, from materials sourcing to development. We’re additionally engaged on a collaborative music album that includes the entire artists and collaborators who’ve helped form the model through the years, persevering with to construct PrettyBallads as a full ecosystem the place vogue, sound, and storytelling all collide. And naturally, there are extra particular initiatives within the works that we’re protecting beneath wraps for now … however they’re coming.
