The Rise of DIMEX Clothing. Mexican Culture in Screen Tee Form.

Written by Hilda Gabriela Wednesday, 08 December 2010 17:10

What sets this brand apart from the rest of the screen tee labels across the country is not that it's run by a mid twenty-something year old. As inspiring as that alone may be, the current food truck craze has granted many young'uns an early title of entrepreneurs and lowered the bar of young business person to about, what, 20 minus? But not taking away any merit to this self accomplished business proprietor, DIMEX Clothing, Christian Vidaurrazaga's clothing line inspired by Latino pop culture, is a staple in the new era of playful, culture-empowering lines that use popular icons to deliver messages of cultural awareness and pride.

Each of the DIMEX products which include tees, hoodies, tote bags, and fleece tops, has as much of an interesting story to tell as the person who creates them. Vidaurrazaga, who left his beloved Guaymas, Sonora at an early age to follow his parents' northern road to a better life, started out as a freelance graphic designer doing work for local bands before getting involved in the business of selling shirts, a business that he soon found was as time consuming and as important as producing them.

El Principio
A few weeks ago someone told me that I was an entrepreneur. I didn't even know what that word meant so I asked my dad and he said it meant a business man. And I'm no business man, at least I wasn't, I was just a graphic design artist who wanted to make shirts. But with time I learned that I had to know how to sell them as well, or else no one would wear my designs.

I don't come from a family of business people. My parents are simple, hardworking factory workers with no business mentality. So it's not like this was handed down to me. I started making the shirts because I wanted to offer something new. When I started, a lot of the tee shirt lines were doing revolutionary “brown power” stuff that was very serious, none of this was fun, animated or colorful. So something just clicked and I knew that I could make Mexican-inspired designs with somewhat of a toy-looking edge to them.

It's all in the name
The name DIMEX came about when I was trying to figure out what to call myself as a freelance graphic designer. I was doing a lot of work with bands like Quinto Sol, working on their merchandise and also designing complete cd packaging for other bands. Since I was basing my work a lot of Mexican culture, I wanted it to be related to that so I decided to call myself “Diseños Mexicanos”. But that name became lengthy very quickly so I shortened it to DIMEX, and considering that most companies in Mexico end their names with “mex”, I figured it would fit. It made me sound more professional, too!

Raising the bar
What sets me apart from other graphic design clothing lines is that my designs are very toy-looking. I take Mexican icons like luchadores, el chupabaras Cepillin, and Jose Jose and add my spin to them. I grew up watching them so being able to put them in my collection is an honor. All of the designs have a strong attitude and message to them, also. A recent one that I did, for example, is the “Los Tres Plebes de la Sierra” design, where I dressed famous Disney characters and made them into narco-corrido singers. It's a fun approach to the characters and plays homage to the corrido movement here in the United States.

Another thing that stands out from my designs is that they each have a story to tell. One of the designs that I'll be releasing this month is called “Rise Quetzalcoatl”, and that piece was designed with the story of the return of Quetzacoatl, the Serpent God, in mind. The design lays against a black shirt, has lines connected to the neck, and is the front face of the Quetzacoatl statue. According to stories told from generations to generations, Quetzacoatl would one day return to reclaim his land and to this day that's yet to happen. This design is a reminder of that story and that he will one day return to reclaim the land. It's a toy-ish approach that's delivered in a very simple, colorful, and super cool design.

Going through changes
When I started doing the designs I was doing very intricate work, but I quickly learned from my customers that that's not what they wanted. I noticed that the delicate designs weren't selling and that the simple designs were selling quickly, so now I know that simple is better. Also, a lot of those intricate designs are lost when they go into print so it works out better this way.

Although I've had to change my  designs according to what my customers wanted, I haven't changed the message to DIMEX. DIMEX is still a clothing line that draws from Mexican culture and that celebrates our traditions. Also, all of my designs are limited edition items with only 25 or so of them printed, so my customers know that they own a unique piece.

In the future, I plan to produce at least one design per week, maybe even more. But for now, people can check out my latest designs like the “Rise Quetzalcoatl" shirt on www.dimex1.com and can hit us up on facebook.com/Dimex1. Until then, “Lucha Y Vive”!

 

 

 

 

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