TH: Can we get a quick intro from you for the people who may not be familiar? Name, Age, Hometown, Occupation, What do you use to take your Instragam photos with?
IVAN: My name is Ivan Antunes, I am 21 years old. I was born and raised in Warwick, Rhode Island. I am currently finishing up college to pursue a marketing career. I currently intern for Karmaloop.com, launched my own clothing line and act as a marketing consultant on the side for a number of different entities. I use a Cannon T3i to take my Instagram photos.
TH: You could be considered the Karmaloop marketing and rep code king. How long have you been doing business with Karmaloop?
IVAN: I’ve been a Karmaloop rep for 4 years now. I’ve been interning at their Boston location for two years now. The Karmaloop rep programs definitely helped me network and learn about a lot on marketing in the fashion industry. I’ve been able to enhance my relationship with a marketing internship that has been very beneficial for me.
TH: Any advice for up and coming rep code pushers out there to be successful?
IVAN: Some advice for upcoming reps is work hard and smart. The rep program is a
great place for you to use your marketing tools and gain recognition by the leading retailer in street wear. Successful reps have all been creative in their own niche; it’s about finding where you have the greatest amount of influence. Ultimately consistently is crucial, the success doesn’t come overnight.
TH: You recently started the Covert Connect Apparel line. Whats the biggest thing you have learned so far with this venture?
IVAN: Starting Covert Connect Apparel I learned a lot about the analytic/logistic side of business. I’ve learned more about production and budgeting opposed to actually marketing the brand. I don’t think people really encompass what goes on behind the scenes to make a clothing line successful, it is a lot of work to maintain and there are so many functioning parts it becomes overwhelming. I’ve definitely learned to be more organized and prepared.
TH: Was a clothing brand always something you wanted to do?
IVAN: My vision was never a clothing line, I knew I was geared towards working in the fashion industry. However, my childhood friend is a creative designer and when I accumulated my strong networks and marketing capabilities it all came together. We decided to link up and start Covert Connect in order to do something we love with our skills. It allows us to express who we really are and the best part is we have full control of the direction.
TH: Besides your own line whats your current favorite streetwear label out there?
IVAN: That is an interesting question. I’ve been wearing a lot of Covert Connect gear, but I still do show support for some of my favorite brands. I’m just too into street wear to ever strictly wear my own label. A few brands I respect are Matix, Black Scale, Zanerobe, Rocksmith, and too many to name!
TH: Whats your top 5 sneakers of all time?
IVAN: My top 5 sneakers are Jordan “Space Jam” 11s, Jordan “Cement” 3s, Jordan “Steel” 10s, Jordan “White Tech” 4s and Jordan “Playoff” 8s.
TH: With there always being a trend floating around what is one current trend you cannot wait to die?
IVAN: The two trends I would like to see fade away are the all over print t-shirts and the renaissance themed clothing. I think they’ve both been overdone and it’s been way overdue that we move on and find a new creative path.
TH: What is a guilty pleasure people would be surprised to hear about you?
IVAN: My guilty pleasure is I don’t actually dress up a lot. Being highly involved in fashion and sneakers you would think I dress up every day and I am always looking my best, but I tend to slack off a bit especially when I’m heading a 50 minute class or I’m working from home. I only tend to throw something nice on when I go out or I head to the work in Boston.
TH: What would you say influences your style the most? Music? Sports? Culture?
IVAN: My style is mostly influenced by designers (obviously) and music. I usually tend to keep things simple. I don’t want to be the loudest in the room. I lean more towards comfort. I think whatever it is your wearing you should first be comfortable in it opposed to having the more unique or expensive piece of clothing. As long as I have nice pair of sneakers on I’m good!
TH: Name one thing you love and hate the most about the streetwear/fashion world?
IVAN: One thing I love about street wear is the creativity and message it brings. Usually the ones who are into street wear are well educated people who don’t conform to blending it. Each person is distinct and is constantly trying to put themselves into a better situation. Most of the designers who own street wear brands build a connection with their audience beyond the clothing, which I think is amazing. A negative side to street wear is there are a lot of brands that come into the industry to capitalize on trends and try to make a quick buck. What you begin to see is a lot of original, more successful designs become copied. I think each brand should have its own ability to create something unique, but a lot of brands just steal, which is something I despise about the industry.
TH: Any last words for the people out there? Where can everyone find you on the social networks?
IVAN: Yeah, Just keeping supporting small business and more importantly local business. I think the street wear community has evolved and became bigger due to the people supporting all the small and upcoming brands. Aside from Crooks and 10 Deep we’ve seen a lot of brands establish themselves in the last few years in such a short time.
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