Designer Confidential: Diva, don't hate

Designer Confidential highlights the work of SU's greatest fashion asset: its student designers.

I entered a photo shoot to see the complete set up: models, cameras flashing, makeup. What really caught my eye was an oversized, gorgeous scarf wrapped around a very trendy guy’s neck. I was so impressed by the intricate knitting and the choice of color combinations that I decided to introduce myself and asked where he purchased his scarf.

AJ Ellis, with two models from SU sporting his scarves. Photo: Luke McComb

"My name is AJ Ellis, and I make them," he said. "It’s called the ‘Don’t Hate’."

He then asks if I would like to try one on. Personally, I think he rocks it better, but I loved the instant warmth I felt. You can imagine my surprise when AJ told me he was a senior Business major at SU and not a fashion design student. His inspiration for the “Don’t Hate” came from living in the brutal cold of Syracuse. 

“I feel like I have literally three red blood cells that just rub up on each other for the heat that I have to live off of.  So I thought, ‘Why not expedite the warming process, and invent a 24/7 hug?’” 

AJ caught his fashion bug his sophomore year of high school when he looked at style.com during fashion week. He is also the founder of the Stitch Society blog, and was profiled along with his design partner Courtney Zapor in a Television-Radio-Film Producing the Fashion Video class.  

“Currently, I'm mid-knitting a ‘Don't Hate’ that is SO good.  It's just two colors, burgundy and navy—my favorite combination—and is striped between solids and speckled.  I may have to steal this one for myself...” 

His Dream Job: Anywhere that lets him be creative. 

Why you should look out for him: His ‘Don't Hate’ has received some pretty sweet attention and he is currently helping design Courtney Zapor’s Senior collection.   

Designer’s Confidential: “I think fashion is 10% what you wear, and 90% how you wear it.  Never be uncomfortable.”

- by Kareema Pinckney

The Orange Carpet: Spreading the love

The Orange Carpet scours SU to roll out the best of campus style (die, hoodies, die!).

Today on TOC we're feeling the love for a fellow chronicler of campus style. 

The Stitch Society, a street blog by senior AJ Ellis, documents the most fashion forward of SU's style-conscious students. Definitely not to be confused with the "hot-or-not" trend-centric blogs, The Stitch Society frames fashion from a personal perspective.

 

Avery's look built around her hat. Photo: AJ Ellis

Ellis' blog, which he started in 2007, opperates with a clear mission: "We are not here to scrutinize. We are here as a resource. Use us. Borrow inspiration. Stand out."

In the tradition of great street blogs like The Sartorialist and The SF Style, The Stitch Society thrives on its creator's editorial eye and artisitically composed photos. 

Ellis pays particular attention the background for his subjects. Stairs, bricks, ivy, corners, campus' most beautiful buildings: they all help Ellis tell the story of collegiate fashion.

Tom's fall layers on The Stitch Society. Photo: AJ Ellis

The students who are lucky enough to be "Stitched" each week usually share one quality: an individualized attention to detail. The mix of prints is just a little unexpected; the fit is volumous here and constrained there; the shoes, hats and scarves speak to a highly specific taste; and Ellis captures it all with his focused flair for fashion.

Even if you don't follow The Stitch Society, that doesn't mean you've escaped Ellis' influence on fashion in Syracuse. As the fashion director at Jerk Magazine, he brings us editorial content each month with an assertive, creative opinion about what clothes say.

From Jerk Magazine Oct. 2009. Photo: Gillian Arndt  

So, friends, listen up and you just might get "Stitched."

- by Phillip Crook