This feature is the debut of a new bi-monthly style series created by our Fashion Editor, Phil Gomez, that brings together queer personalities with current topics. Given the incredibly tense climate of the current election, this week we are inspired by what to wear to the debates. We chose to spotlight Jovel and Matt, a couple whose style pushes boundaries of gender nonconformity into the realm of postgender conceptualism.
Tucked on Wilson Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn rests COLLECTIONS, a quaint and colorful little shop full of carefully selected vintage garments and local art. COLLECTIONS is not just a store and local favorite, but also a safe space for LGBTQIA humyns to work, shop, and hang out. You can often find Jovel and Matt there (if you’re lucky enough), and as such we decided it was the most appropriate place to capture them. We love their creative looks and naturally have some serious new #relationshipgoals.
You don’t have to dress up when you vote (although highly encouraged), but please do vote on November 8th.
Creative Direction by Phil Gomez | Art Direction by Asher Torres | Hair by Vivian Strosberg
How did you two meet?
Jovel: We met through a mutual friend. I was 17 and Matthew was 16. We were all supposed to go to a bar in the East Village but Matt went home early. He was wearing blue mascara and colorful New Balances. I thought he was weird, and he didn’t like me. Eventually we became really close friends, and here we are today.
What is your background and what are your passions?
Matthew: I come from a loud Polish family in Brooklyn and I’ve always had a really big interest in fashion and fine arts.
Jovel: My family is from Guatemala, so I’m a first generation everything. I’ve always loved fashion, and I’ve always been obsessed with magazines since I was a kid. I always looked through spreads and knew I wanted to contribute one way or another.
How do you challenge yourself to stay creative?
Matthew: I challenge myself by trying to learn more about myself as an artist everyday. I’m still growing and learning more about myself and my surroundings. Living in Brooklyn inspires me, you’re surrounded by so many different types of artists.
Jovel: I challenge myself to be creative by staying inspired, even if it’s just by small aspects of my life like the people I surround myself with. My friends and Mathew inspire me a lot, we’re all kinda working in fashion but in different fields, and seeing people you love do what they love is inspiring in and of itself.
Who do you look to for fashion inspiration?
Matthew: I look to my grandma for fashion inspiration a lot. She collects antique jewelry, which I’m obsessed with. If I had to describe her style it would be Baroque meets old school Brooklyn.
Jovel: When it comes to fashion, I don’t have one distinct influence, I sort of pull things from a bunch of different groups. I take a lot of inspiration from my mom in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. She used to wear button down shirts with no pants and thigh boots, and now I do that, which is kinda funny. I also take a lot of inspiration from the idea of 1980’s streetwalkers and sex workers in New York. You look back at these old photos and a lot of those girls were stunning. They’re wearing electric blue eyeshadow and red lipstick with these skimpy outfits and insane boots. All of them were in these crazy glam looks on street corners in meatpacking in the 80’s — that’s what really influences what I wear.
How does social media affect your identity?
Jovel: I don’t think social media really affects my identity personally. Social media is whatever you want people to see, and I’ve learned not to take it seriously whatsoever. If anything I am kinda grateful that social media has given me a small platform.
Matthew: I have the same opinion more or less, I don’t think social media affects my identity at all. Social media is just something I use for fun.
What are your plans and goals for the remainder of 2016 and beyond?
Jovel: For the rest of 2016 I just want to stay busy. As far as goals, I’ve always wanted to do a cosmetics campaign, or walk in a women’s show, or just do something out of the box for a “male model.” We’re all given these shitty ideals of what we should be in this industry. Femininity in male modeling is so frowned upon and I would love to change that.
Matthew: For the remainder of 2016, my main goal is to go over seas. I wanna go to London or Japan this year. Doesn’t have to be work related, I just want to travel — see anything and everything.
Follow Jovel and Matt on Instagram. Please visit collectionsbk.com for more details.
