A Night Out With JNava

Hey Readers,

Being someone that was previously very distant from the fashion world, the weekend before Spring Break was quite an eye opener for me. As previously mentioned, the NXT fashion show was in downtown Denver with JNava being one of the featured designers. Zach and I were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to attend, and it went far beyond our expectations. As soon as I walked in the doors, I realized that we were in for quite the treat. The first thing that caught my eye was the variety of the crowd at the venue. The crowd had a plethora of people including fashion designers, photographers, older parents of the models, and children from the Boys and Girls Club of Colorado (www.bgcmd.org). And then there was us, two college students that had never been submersed in anything even remotely close to this.

Break-dancers

The night started off with a few live musical performances from local Denver artists, along with a break dancing skit put on by two young boys from the Boys and Girls Club that got the crowd clapping in unison.  After that it was time for the models to walk the runway. Getting seats right by where the models stopped and struck poses for the photographers, Zach and I found ourselves sitting by many fashion enthusiasts.

JNava was the first company to have their clothes shown off, with models sporting JNava t-shirts, bags, jackets, and sweatshirts. A model came by about every 30 seconds, striking three to four poses before proceeding to the back to sprint and change into their next outfit. Each model had a distinctive hairdo and make up design. For instance, every model had a specific splash of a brightly colored hair. By the end of the night, I even found myself critiquing the models walks and poses. I found some looks to fierce, and some too soft. Some walks seemed to fast and high speed, while others looked almost lazy and too laid back. This showed me how difficult being a model truly is.

"Lien on your dreams" shirt being modeled 

Overall, the night made me establish a new level of respect for people within the fashion industry. Noting how much time was taken by the designers, photographers, and models, I was able to realize that fashion can be more than just a hobby for some people. Rather, it is a lifestyle. These people all have goals and directions in life that are dictated by fashion, whether it is trying to make it as a top model, getting an established and known clothing company, or snapping pictures that are of value. Often times people disregard other people’s passions that are irrelevant to themselves. I am surely guilty of this. Driving back to Boulder from Denver I had some time to reflect upon the night as a whole. Seeing people so enthusiastic and inspired about clothing resulted in me asking myself “What is my passion?” It’s a question I’m still struggling to answer. It has stimulated a sense of urgency for me to continue to do the things that I love. With that, I will leave with this closing quote:

“Those who danced were thought to be quite

insane by those who could not hear the music.”

                  -Angela Monet

Find what inspires you and do it,
Ned Hamilton

Fashion and JNava’s Place in the Industry

Hey Everyone,

My name is Robert Luckett and I am a part of the three-man team blogging for JNava Clothing this semester. I am a finance major at CU Boulder and I feel very fortunate to get to work on this blog. I am really excited to be paired with such a cool group and get to explore the world of a small t-shirt company.

Today I would like to talk about fashion and where JNava might fit into this somewhat ambiguous industry. Fashion has a broad meaning and can be very tricky to define. Can all clothes be considered fashion? Is fashion just about clothes? Does the way you wear the clothes or your posture matter? So instead of attempting to pinpoint the definition of fashion I will try to find where JNava fits in.

The perception you have of what looks pleasing, especially as it relates to clothing, is called your “style.” Peoples’ styles are very diverse, and the further you look the more styles you will find. This isn’t surprising when you consider the number of different cultures around the world, each with its own influences and fashion styles. Or when you consider how fast styles can change or branch off of each other within just one of those cultures. The resulting definition for fashion becomes very broad, and may have different meanings to different people. Fashion can be meant for practicality and mass production; on the other side of the spectrum it can be a one-of-a-kind garment used for a single fashion show. Generally people care about functionality in their everyday attire. Whereas in many fashion shows artistic expression trumps everything, being able to fit through the average doorframe is not even a concern. JNava, I think, is somewhere in the middle.

Victoria Secret Fashion Show

JNava is a t-shirt company; t-shirts are extremely practical and have probably become the most generic piece of clothing on the planet. On the other hand this company evolved out of Jason’s creativity, and from what we have gathered, being unique and continuing to express himself is still priority. Competition is endless in the t-shirt industry and creativity is an integral part of success. Art is central to the JNava lifestyle, which is apparent if you check out their website and Facebook page. Not just t-shirts are on display. There are tons of photos that really give you a sense for Jason’s style of art. They put just as much thought into their photography as they do into their shirts. T-shirts are just one of JNava’s mediums of expression and it seems to fuel originality. So even though it is just another t-shirt company, the clothes appeal to people with a more sophisticated fashion sense. After all, they were just in a Denver fashion show...

Photo from JNava Facebook page

The nxt|FASHION show was this past weekend. If you didn’t get to make it don’t worry, we’ve got you! Check back soon for some pictures and details of the event.

-Robert

www.nxtfashionshows.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/JNava-Clothing/146905405438

nxt | FASHION Show

Welcome!

Hello Readers!

Two fellow classmates at the University of Colorado and I have recently been given the privilege to write and develop a blog for a local Colorado clothing company. Our team consists of Zach Nassar, Robert Luckett, and myself, Ned Hamilton. The company we are writing about is JNava Clothing (jnavaclothing.com). JNava Clothing is a fun and innovative clothing line that is owned and operated by Jason Nava out of Littleton, Colorado. I have been following JNava for two years now and currently own five of their shirts. The picture above is my favorite of the JNava shirts that I own.

We will bring a unique perspective to our readers on JNava Clothing, as admittedly none of us are very connected with the fashion world. On any given day, it is likely you would be able to find a member of our blogging group wearing a pair of pants picked out by our mother, or possibly a t-shirt that Grandma gave us for Christmas a few years ago. However, this serves as motivation for our team, as we vow to learn more about the fashion industry and blog about our progress. We will also be updating our blog with important dates for JNava clothing, interviews, and topics pertaining to the company that are of interest to our readers.

We look forward to developing strong relationships with our readers through our blog. We strongly encourage questions, comments, and suggestions in order to create constructive back-and-forth conversations with our readers that can further enhance the quality of our blog. To get more familiar with JNava Clothing, I suggest you take a look at their website, current blog, and Facebook page. The links are provided below:

• JNava Website: http://jnavaclothing.com/


• JNava Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/JNava-Clothing/146905405438


• JNava Blog: http://jnavaclothing.com/blog/

Best Regards,

Ned Hamilton