PATTERN’s 2018 STREETExPO is just around the corner. Slated for July 28th, it is the only creative lifestyle fashion trade show in Central Indiana and PATTERN is highlighting just a handful of the innovating brands that will be showcased at that show. The STREETExPO aims to serve as a conduit between brands, buyers, designers and fashion lovers continuing to bring attention to Indy’s fashion aspirations and talent. To learn more about the event and becoming a vendor, visit the STREETExPO info page here.
Miquel Jessup, the sole creator behind the lifestyle and streetwear brand, Christian Miquel, has one prerogative: to leave clients with a lasting impression after purchasing his products. Not only does he create wearable street style pieces, but he has also ventured into lifestyle and haircare products for men and women. This includes a collection of beard and hair-related products, which stems from his eight years working as a barber after getting his degree in business and marketing at IUPUI.
While barbering, he realized how much style and hair go hand in hand—that one almost always influences the other. From there, he became inspired by his brother, Kevin Dewayne Harris’ own clothing company, and realized that he wanted to try his hand at something similar: creating long-lasting and good quality product for the local, stylish shopper.
“Partnering with him and seeing the kind of stuff he made, I always wanted to make my own shirts and the other items like the lifestyle products,” he says. “So him doing that and like I said, inspiration from Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger and other designers like those, I thought that if they can do it I can do it.”
The name, Christian Miquel, comes from his youngest son, whose name he realized had a nice ring to it after chastising him and calling him by his full name. An important factor to Jessup is the idea of vision, and how his brand and message fits into his clients’ own life journeys.
“I’d like to focus more on a global lifestyle [brand] that inspires people to want to go out and live their best life but at the same time I’m hoping that Christian Miquel is a part of their vision and journey when they’re wearing my pieces,” he says. “My goal is to make someone look great but also focus on simplicity and help them solve problems.”
While he looks to a lot of different designers for inspiration as well as social media, Jessup finds very interesting architecture or even interior design as a way to spark inspiration for his creations. The power of social media has played a big part in his success, connecting him with many different people that he may have not encountered otherwise. However, despite the vast accessibility of social media, he maintains that there are some major drawbacks as well.
“Social media, is a good thing and a bad thing. You come across people and their bio says they’re a creative director and then you talk to them and think about hiring them or partnering with them and you realize they don’t know half the stuff they claim they can do,” he says.
In the future, he can see himself moving out of Indianapolis in order to expose the Christian Miquel brand to a broader audience. Jessup is participating in the STREETExPo on July 28th, stop by and meet him! To preview his products, visit his website.
Follow Miquel Jessup online:
Website: www.christianmiquel.com
Instagram: @christianmiquel
