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Building a Bigger Catwalk: Rudy Lopez Brings His Vision to Richmond’s Fashion Scene

Megan Wilson | August 17, 2018

Topics: Broad Street Arts District, fashion, Fashion Merchandising, Henry, Need Supply Co., Organization for Returning Fashion Interest, Parsons School of Design, Rudy Lopez, RVA fashion, rva streetwear, streetwear, vcu, vcu fashion, VCUarts

During his first year as a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rudy Lopez helped orchestrate the largest end-of-year showcase the fashion department has ever seen, held at the Main Street Train Shed. This is a dramatic achievement for Lopez, who, even a year ago, thought working as a professor at VCU was far from likely. After years of failed starts and stints in retail to pay the bills, he’s at the forefront of campus fashion, and branching out city-wide.

This article originally appeared in RVA #33 Summer 2018, you can check out the issue here, or pick it up around Richmond now. 

Lopez, originally from the Philippines, grew up in a family of achievers. His father was a doctor, his sister a financial executive; another sister went into the arts and became a sculptor. He came of age during the 1990s East Coast skateboarding scene. Although he loved to draw from his earliest years, he really explored his creative side while playing in bands and traveling to hardcore punk shows in DC. When it came to a career, he wasn’t sure where his many interests and energy would lead.

Lopez took his first shot at college at George Mason University, where he quickly partied his way to academic probation. The summer after his first year, while talking about his future, a friend asked if he could see himself drawing more. Lopez immediately thought, “Yes, of course.” He researched art schools and sent in five drawings to VCU; his journey through art school started that fall, in 1998.

The words of Dean Richard Toscan during orientation shaped him in ways that probably weren’t expected — he still remembers them today: “If you think you are the hot-shot artist in [your] high school, look around; you’re one of 500.”

“I felt way over my head,” Lopez said. “I wasn’t that artist.” Self-fulfilling or not, his prophecy turned out to be right — but something good still came of his struggles through the school’s foundation classes, which he called “art bootcamp.” The summer after that first year, Lopez received an invitation to help out with a fashion show in New York, hosted by Organization for Returning Fashion Interest (ORFI).

“They needed help putting on the fashion show, filling out model sheets, organizing garments, sending invitations; the grunt work,” Lopez said. He hopped a train to New York, where he went 48 hours without any sleep.

“I was surrounded by creatives,” he said. “I felt this overwhelming wave of passion.”

Photo By: @rudyhlopez

When he returned to VCU, he turned to the fashion department to merge his newfound interest with his desire to be creative. He pursued the Fashion Merchandising track, thinking he could study design later if he wanted. Future internships led him to new contacts in New York and revelations about his career path. After graduation, Lopez attended Parsons School of Design, where he studied fashion graphic design.

From Parsons, he worked his way back to Richmond’s Need Supply Co., where he worked as a store manager before opening Henry, a streetwear shop on Broad Street, in 2006. Although the store earned acclaim, and is seen as the foundation for the current streetwear scene in the Broad Street Arts District, it didn’t survive the economic downturn, closing in 2008.

Lopez was discouraged. “It got to a point where I hated the Richmond fashion scene,” he said. He and his wife decided it was time for a break from the city, returning to Lopez’s native Philippines for about five months. However, he came back for a position at VCU, as a manager at the campus technology store.

While there, an assistant professorship opened up at the Fashion Department in VCU. “They asked me to interview,” Lopez said, and he went for it, despite thinking it was a long shot. Fortunately, he got the job, and said he couldn’t be happier with the work, especially mentoring students like himself who struggle to find their passion.

“I love it — teaching, guiding, and mentoring,” Lopez said. “Looking back at my own path, I always liked giving younger, up-and-coming people advice. I loved helping them and giving them whatever I could.”

He described the team as “a great blend of analytical and creative backgrounds,” looking to “create well-rounded people who can think in a variety of ways.”

Enter Lopez. He hopes to encourage an increasing level of collaboration among departments in the school and with businesses in the community. He says the community is ready for it. “Everyone says, ‘I don’t follow fashion,’ but every single person is dressed,” he said. “You’re part of the cycle.”

During the end-of-year fashion showcase, Lopez invited friends to create music, bringing the community to the campus. Joe Davenport, who performs as DJ Bobby La Beat, laid out live beats.

It’s just a first, small step toward his goal of uniting different communities. “Collaboration this year is not as extensive as I would like,” he said. “When you look at the production of a fashion show, there are so many elements: we have music we need to curate, the Department of Theater could create backdrops for the fashion show, there’s opportunity to work more closely with the designers as they create their collections.”

The physical impact of his presence could be seen in the innovative runway design for the 2018 showcase. The venue selection gave students space to create a runway that welcomed three times as many guests compared to previous years. Compared to a typical 70-foot runway, Lopez said, this year’s runway snaked through the train shed for nearly 500 feet.

“People were caught off guard when I said the fashion show could be bigger,” Lopez said, about an event that was already dramatically larger than prior ones. “It could be bigger not even in terms of people, but to be inclusive of people outside of VCUArts and fashion.”

Ultimately, he does this work because he wants the next generation of fashion students to be as proud of Richmond as he is. He said his work is “a reflection of how proud I feel graduating from the school, and the students coming after me.”

RVA Mag First Fridays Picks January 2018

Amy David | January 5, 2018

Topics: 68 Home, ADA Gallery, art, Atlas gallery, Candela Books + Gallery, Dogtown Dance Theatre, Fresh Richmond, Future Studio, Gallery5, Guards and Flags, Maven Made, Page Bond Gallery, RVA ARt, RVA First Fridays, rva streetwear, Suin & Selene, Vagabond, vcu, VCU Sculpture Department, VCUarts

From the  Terracotta Army: Legacy of the First Emperor of China making its way to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts this fall, to Pueblo artist Virgil Ortiz‘ figurative ceramic works retelling the story of his ancestors’ rebellion against Spanish colonizers in 1680 in the “Hear my Voice” exhibit, to VCU’s announcement of their forthcoming Insititute of Contemporary Art, and our ever-growing number of murals, Richmond’s arts scene was booming in 2017. To kick 2018 off to a great start, RVA First Fridays returns this month with a slew of emerging talented artists, new exhibits, fashion showcases, artisan markets, and more.

RVA Mag has rounded up a handful of our top picks for this month’s First Fridays Artwalk and there should be a little something in there for everyone this go around.

Dogtown Dance Theatre

Made by RVA’s RVA Creative Market

Opens Sat. Jan. 6

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In an effort to support Richmond entrepreneurs and local artisans, the Manchester dance theatre has partnered with events website Unlockingrva and Made by RVA to host a market for Richmonders to shop local products and support local shop makers, creators, artists, crafters, and bakers. 109 W. 15th St. 

Candela Books & Gallery

Science As Muse 

 Exhibit runs Jan. 5 – Feb. 17

Caleb Charland, “Fruit Battery Still Life (Citrus),” Archival Pigment Print, 32 x 40 inches Courtesy of Sasha Wolf Projects

For their first show of 2018, Candela Books & Gallery will feature eight artists in the photography exhibit, Science As Muse. The artists, which include,  Walter Chappell, Caleb Charland, Rose-Lynn Fisher, Pam Fox, Daniel Kariko, Michael Rauner, Robert Shults, and Susan Worsham, all use science as their inspiration to base their photographic works around. Some of the artists use equipment made possible by modern science while others have create work by applying the scientific method, and some have simply documented the worlds within scientists practice their craft, each telling a story with their photos. 214 W. Broad St. 

Pam Fox, “Windsock,” 1999-2002. Gelatin Silver Print, 20 x 16 inches

Art 180
Future Studio Opening
Opening reception Jan. 5

Photo Credit: Future Studio program

In partnership with the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU and the VCuarts Department of Sculpture & Extended Media, Art180 will feature its first “Future Studio”, showcasing artwork by high-schoolers in the Future Studio program. The 10-week free program provides Richmond teens with hands-on experience creating art and other media in VCU’s Sculpture department. The Future Studio program also gives teens the opportunity to visit the ICA building, access to portfolio workshops, lectures, free materials, and a chance to have their work showcased in Art 180’s Atlas gallery.

Gallery5
Gold for A Silver Situation
Fri. Jan. 5-Jan. 25

This Friday, Gallery5’s “Gold For A Silver Situation” opens, featuring the work of 12 Richmond female artists. Curated by fellow local artist Katie McBride, the exhibit aims to break gender barriers, and highlight the many talented female illustrators and artists making significant contributions to their field, yet still, are too often seen or viewed as an afterthought to male artists in their field.

The show includes the art of Cathryn Virginia, Holly Camp, Melissa Duffy, Ally Hodges, Brooke Inman, Meena Khalili, and,  Mary Chiaramonte,  Victoria Borges,  Clara Cline, Kamille Jackson, Amelia Blair Langford, along with McBride, whose known for her design of the 2016 Richmond Folk Fest poster.

Art by Mary Chiarmonte

“Female illustrators are not an afterthought. Walk in and see 50 pieces of amazing art and understand that these people should be first in your mind for a big, crazy, stunning, dramatic oil painting, or super smart conceptual think-piece, or a portrait, or whatever it is,” said McBride, told RVA Mag in a recent interview about the new exhibit.

You can view a catalog of each of the artists’ work here. Gold For A Silver Situation opens tonight at 7 pm. Music kicks off at 8 pm with Elizabeth Owens, Slurry, Georgie Isaacs, and Deau Eyes. Other vendors will also be at Gallery5 so make sure you stop by Gallery’5 membership table, Belle Isle Moonshine, “Interconnection”, a series of Multimedia Collages, and Portraits of Richmond Icons by Courtney Lebow, and  Becky Whitson, who will be selling floral headpieces and fine art.

Page Bond Gallery
Glow Glimmer Sparkle Shine
Exhibit runs until Jan. 13

 Image result for page bond rva mag

You still have a few weeks left to check out Page Bond Gallery’s Glow Glimmer Sparkle Shine exhibit featuring 26 artists which range from paintings to ceramics to abstract work.

Sculptural ceramics artist Piero Fenci is among those showcasing his work, which resembles ancient architecture, armor, and industrial machinery. Fenci describes it as “loosely rendered reinventions of the past” that reveal “a heritage of [his] own passions.” The artist has been a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas since 1975 and he founded the first university program in contemporary ceramic art in northern Mexico at la Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua in 2004.

Ross Browne, a Richmond native and figurative painter,  is displaying his dream-like portraits, which fuse together fact and  “imagined mythology” to challenge “preconceived notions of the shared human experience”. The artist also incorporates nature such as birds, land, and cityscapes into his artwork to convey “the struggles of identity, power, and self-actualization.”

You can see their work and the work of the following artists at Page Bond Gallery in this exhibit: Participating artists include: Isabelle Abbot, Will Berry, Karen Blair, Sanford Bond, Robin Braun, Amy Chan, Charlotte Culot, Clark Derbes, Sean Donlon, Isa Newby Gagarin, Sarah Irvin, Harris Johnson, Becky Joye, B. Millner, Sarah Mizer, Jaydan Moore, Matthew Langley, Tim O’Kane, Corey Pemberton, Curtis Ripley, Fiona Ross, Nancy Murphy Spicer, Leigh Suggs, and Julie Wolfe. 1625 W. Main St.

ADA Gallery
Bruce Wilhelm: Next
Exhibit runs Fri. Jan. 5-Jan. 28

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ADA Gallery presents Richmond-based artist Bruce Wilhelm’s solo exhibit, Next, featuring his abstract works. A VCU graduate, Wilhelm has received two Virginia Museum Fellowship Grants and has showcased his work at ADA Gallery since 2005. The artist is also the co-founder of Philly’s Grizzly Grizzly gallery. 228 W. Broad St. 7-9 PM.

Sediment Arts
GenderFail
Exhibit runs Fri. Jan 5-Jan. 21

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Opening tonight is Sediment Arts storefront exhibit, GenderFail, a publishing and program initiative founded by Brett Suemnicht. The exhibit will feature a multimedia installation of publications, prints, and select programming focused on perspectives of queer and transgender people as well as people of color. The aim is to “build up, reinforce and open opportunities for creative projects focusing on printed matter.”

The featured works are from the GenderFail Archive Project in the form of a reading room with select titles from the GenderFail library.  The selections will be archived on the site and presented at the gallery as installations on sculptures commissioned from Richmond-based artists. The collaborative sculptural displays were created by artists Hallie McNeill, Evan Galbicka and Colin Klockner. GenderFail will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-6 pm and tonight’s opening will run from 6-9 pm. 208 E. Grace St. 

68 Home
 The Zodiac Collections
Exhibit opens Fri. Jan. 5

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 68 Home, a used and locally made furniture and home decor store and art gallery, will open First Fridays this month with “The Zodiac Collections”, a complete astrology-inspired exhibit.

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There will be $5 card readings by @snakeoil, online jewelry boutique Sun and Selene will be there selling their products, along with Maven Made, a local company selling all natural, ethically-sourced beauty, home, and wellness products, and local custom-flag shop Guards and Flags. 5 W. Broad St.

Threat Count Shirts
Cotton to Canvas: Champ Era Street Calculus

This Friday, Thread Count Shirts, a local custom brand t-shirt and apparel business, will have a pop-up shop showcasing local designer Champ Era’s latest collection, Street Calculus. 6-10 PM. 209 E. Broad St. 

Fresh Richmond
Pop Up Shop
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Fresh Richmond is hosting a Pop-Up Shop for their First Fridays of the New Year. The shop will feature clothing from Sky Mission Clothing Co., artwork made using water, fire, and air by SABartStudio, jewelry and gemstones by The RAW Aura, homade lotions by Nature’s Booty, and a DJ set by DJ Lady Syren and Neili Neil. 5-8:30 PM. 213 E. Broad St.

 

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Artwork by featured artist Shaylen Amanda Broughton

Vagabond
 Smoochie Jankins 1st Fridays Party!

Vagabond will throw an artist pop-up in The Rabbit Hole tonight at 9 PM featuring art and design from Jessica Camilli, Kamala Bhagat, Liberatus Jewelry, with music by Smoochie Jankins. Led by Mark Ingraham on the trumpet, the band is rounded out with Garen Dorsey (Sax/ Keys), Macon Mann (Keys), Kelli Strawbridge (Drums), Nekoro Thabiti Williams (PBR, Drums) and Derek Goodall, (drums) which is bound to get you out of your house braving the cold weather to hear these awesome musicians play. 700 E. Broad St. 

Check out all the RVA First Fridays happenings here.

 

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