Photo: Courtesy of Theophilio
Watch the full conversation between Edvin Thompson and Fashionista Staff Writer Janelle Sessoms on The Fashionista Network.
Theophilio Founder and Creative Director Edvin Thompson set his sights on fashion as a child, but his path from growing up in Jamaica to his current life as a Brooklyn-based designer was far from a straight shot.
His most recent collection and the Theophilio ethos are autobiographical in influence, drawing inspiration from Thompson’s childhood in Jamaica and subsequent stints in New Jersey, Atlanta and New York City.
“Theophilio has been an inception since I was a kid,” Thompson told Fashionista’s Janelle Sessoms during the live interview. (Watch it here!) “I’ve always been drawing, painting, very artistically inclined. I really found my love for fashion during my early years of high school.” Thompson’s interest grew his sophomore year when he helped form the “cool kids crew,” a collective of fashion-minded students.
Before focusing on Theophilio full-time (the brand officially launched in 2016), Thompson spent nine years in the service industry at Red Lobster. “That job taught me a lot about people,” Thompson said. “I started as a busboy and became a crew trainer at the end… It was a coming-of-age story, if you will.”
Interacting with the restaurant’s diverse customer base and advancing through company ranks gave Thompson “a lot of confidence” that he still credits as a driving force of his success. The 2020 pandemic was also something of a catalyst for Theophilio’s rise.
“Covid gave me the time to slow down and really focus on my dream and what I came to New York for,” he said.
While he never received a traditional design education, Thompson described himself as a “sponge” in the industry, fortunate to have a community of mentors and supporters who help him navigate all aspects of his business.
In 2021, Thompson took home the CFDA award for American Emerging Designer of the Year, and in the same week, he attended his first Met Gala and staged his first in-person New York Fashion Week show. (Fashion week events were held virtually during the pandemic.) “I was on a high, to say the least, that year,” Thompson told Sessoms during the show. But he grounded himself in thoughts of his grandmother and what she wanted for him and his family. “My feet were planted on the ground in a sense of, ‘Wow, I’ve arrived,'” he said. “I’ve been given a stage to champion my dreams and where I’m from, also to celebrate people that look like myself.” He realized the brand was so much bigger than himself.
As the brand has grown, he’s realized the importance of flexibility and patience. “It’s totally okay to pivot,” Thompson said. “Sometimes my thoughts are very linear – it’s always an A and B plan – but it’s okay to have a C, D and an E.” Beyond extensive planning, “you have to crawl before you walk before you run,” he said.
Thomspon also opened up about scaling Theophilio, his fashion week hiatus, his celebrity customer base and more during the live show. Watch the full interview here.
This conversation was hosted on The Fashionista Network powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about The Fashionista Network here.
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Source: Fashionista.com
