Learning to fly

As a child, menswear designer Oscar Calvo hated sharing a bedroom with his older brother. It wasn't until he launched his own label that he learned to appreciate just how comforting it was to have someone watching his back, as Tracey McEldowney reports.

Oscar Calvo's future was sewn up almost from the very minute he took his first breath.
Born the youngest of two in a middle-class Spanish family, he learned from an early age to appreciate the correlation between hard work and quality clothing. While other kids were playing footy in the streets with scuffed shoes and ripped t-shirts, the young Calvo worked tirelessly at his after-school job, hoping to bank enough money to fund his penchant for exclusive, and therefore expensive, high street fashion.
He made his first garment - a long sleeve cotton jersey top in lime - at age 12 and, by his own admission, has succeeded in looking "pretty cool" in his own attire ever since. Though, when pushed, he will attest that he didn't always get it right.
"My biggest fashion faux pas was in the '80s. Imitating [English boy band] Bros, wearing 501 faded, ripped jeans with a 501 metal buckle and steel cap Dr Martens."
Last year, having completed a three-year stint studying fashion at Kangan Batman TAFE followed by a spell as area manager for race wear specialist Barbara Wilson, the ambitious 25-year-old swallowed hard and made the brave decision to start his own self titled menswear label.
It is a gamble that has clearly paid off.
A finalist in the 2005 Mercedes-Benz start-up programme and a veteran of last year's FASHION EXPOSED preview show, the Oscar Calvo label is now stocked in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra in boutiques ranging from Husk to Parliament Clothing.
Positioned at the higher end of the market and fashioned from pure merino wool and cotton blends imported from Europe, Calvo's range of tailored hoods, pants and tees are priced at between $120 and $300 - a deliberate move which Calvo claims "reflects the quality and exclusiveness" of the label.
While the 25-year-old freely admits his spring/summer 2005/06 collection draws heavily on the influence of his favourite designer Jean Paul Gaultier, he claims as a brand, Oscar Calvo has developed its own distinctive flavour in somewhat of a niche market.
"It's funky directional fashion with attitude and quality, styles that clash and [is] strictly for the wildest imaginations."
His range is presently manufactured in both Hong Kong and Australia, but eventually, Calvo says, he would like to get all manufacturing done at home.
He cites production hold-ups in one of the least enjoyable aspects about working in the sector, along with not making money and enduring long hours.
"I hate delivering late, especially when it's out of my control."
Calvo admits that as a relatively new player in the fashion business game, he has had a rather hard and fast education. Not all of it enjoyable.
"I guess you have to throw yourself in the deep end and do it hands on to really understand every facet of running a business. The biggest challenge I have faced is going out on my own. You are responsible for all areas of the business from design to sales and marketing. You have no one to motivate you or The odd grumble aside Calvo, who has always shown a strong interest in fine art and design, says it is his passion for fashion and people that keeps him coming back.
"I admire all the young ambitious designers out there working the long hours and hand-to-mouth jobs to keep their label alive. What I like most about working in this industry is being surrounded by other talented, creative people. It's an ongoing network [where] I'm continually meeting colourful people in all areas of the arts. It's encouraging on a personal level to work with and see other amazing talents."
And his advice to would-be designers thinking about venturing out on their own? "Don't, just kidding. Stay focused and motivated and do not lose sight of your dream. Things fall into place if you work hard."