Arts

LOTW – Victor Mvemba ’22 Uses Stitching and Crocheting Skills to Make His Style Unique

Sporting black and white suede Nike Blazers, Victor Mvemba ’22 pairs his shoes with black jeans and a polo for a Sunday morning look. Mvemba completes the outfit with silver accessories, including a compass earring and a black cross ring.

Previously wearing an abundance of blue and Andover pieces, Mvemba’s style has evolved since his Junior year. During the pandemic, he began exploring his fashion and shifted to a skater aesthetic by often wearing baggy jeans and Jordans.

“I think just having so much time to myself to figure out what I want to wear, what styles I like–being able to try out new things just from the comfort of my own home without being at Andover where there’s always people watching… And I think that quarantine sort of gave us the freedom to express ourselves and experiment so that I really was able to push my style to a new level,” said Mvemba.

When planning an outfit, Mvemba always starts from the bottom up. He builds the outfit around the shoes he picks, which he considers the centerpiece of the look. To make his style unique, Mvemba enjoys spending time in the makerspace stitching and creating new patterns and designs to put on his pants.

“I really enjoy customizing stuff, and especially with skating too, a lot of times my pants will get holes in them and instead of drawing it out and buying a new one, I would go into the makerspace and try to mend it, stitch it, [or] sew it back together, maybe add in a little design or take the pattern of the rip and turn it into a little smiley face or something,” said Mvemba.

Describing his overall style as “eclectic,” Mvemba is never afraid to have statement pieces. Whether that be loud painted jeans or nail art, he is constantly experimenting with new ways to make his outfits unique. Phoebe Adams ’22, a friend of Mvemba, commented on his confidence to be creative with his clothing.

“He’s never afraid to try something new and be very experimental, and he’s super confident, which I always admire. He can put on any outfit and just be super confident in what he’s wearing,” said Adams.

Mvemba looks up to A$AP Rocky as a fashion inspiration because of the way he can combine streetwear and high fashion. Mvemba admires the way A$AP sports Jordans but also dons pearl necklaces. Gaining inspiration from A$AP’s “babushka phase,” Mvemba has started crocheting his own babushkas.

“I’ve tried to emulate some of his stuff. One thing that I actually really like about A$AP Rocky was his whole sort of babushka phase, and I actually started crocheting my own babushka that I plan to start wearing around campus soon. So if you see me with that babushka, it’s orange, white, and like, has hints of red, let me know, and I might crochet your own,” said Mvemba.