UNM student D'Andre Quinn Curtis Armand DQ, or Dre, collects fine art. He stores it at his mom's home in Arizona and in his apartment. His home also doubles as a sewing studio, where he recently stitched, from scratch, a sleek Three Stooges vest with silky threads. He's proud of his fashion-design skills, and he rips sick tricks on his skateboard team. Dre will graduate with an architecture degree.
Daily Lobo: You're wearing measuring tape around your neck.
Dre Quinn: Yeah, like always. It's been a while now. I've been wearing a measuring tape for like a year now.
DL: I guess that comes in handy a lot.
DQ: Yeah, it does. And it makes me feel like I am a fashion designer. My good friend in Colorado plays on the football team. His coach be telling him to hold a football since he was young, and every time I see him he has a football. So it's the same thing with my fashion design. If someone sees me I would want them to recognize me (and think) "Well, I know he's a fashion designer because he has a measuring tape around his neck."
DL: So, it's like strategic marketing.
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DQ: Yeah, it's like strategic marketing, and it's like a comfort zone, like my sunglasses.
DL: You don't take them off ever?
DQ: I've been wearing them since six years now, straight.
DL: The same ones?
DQ: No, I've been through three pair. I have one I had for a really long time and it finally just broke and I had to get these.
DL: So you're like a character. You like to keep inventing yourself as you go along.
DQ: I'm not a character. I just like to do whatever keeps me sane, and doing these things keeps me sane. Especially in a world where everyone doesn't think the same as you do, and you're a little bit more unbiased. It's like waking up and having a cup of coffee. I like to have my sunglasses and my measuring tape.
DL: What do you like to design?
DQ: I have my own skateboard team called Team Dank, and then I have my own fashion line called Killer Roses. I've been doing Killer Roses for three to four years now, and I design clothes from infants to adults and all types of styles like urban, formal. I like to make suits, all types, galore.
And then my skateboard team right now has maybe 20 members from Albuquerque and Arizona. And that's doing good. And I and my captain skated in the competition this weekend, and I got 5th and he got 2nd, so that's pretty cool.
DL: Do you have a sewing studio?
DQ: Actually, I live in a studio with my brother, who's the captain of my skateboard team. And I just have my sewing machine there. It's very small, but I sacrifice and so, and that's my sewing studio.
DL: Do you come from some sort of weird, creative family?
DQ: Actually, that's kind of funny, 'cause my mom is not an artist. She's very well-spoken - I think she likes to write poetry. But I never met my father. My grandma's not an artist. My aunty can't draw a lick, so it's kind of weird. I don't know where I got it from.
DL: You're like a master of all trades.
DQ: I try to be well-rounded. If I could sum up myself in one word: well-rounded. Well, one hyphenated word.
DL: So who are some of your favorite designers?
DQ: I like the guru Tim Gunn. Have you ever seen "Project Runway"? I don't know if he's a designer, but all the models come to him for expertise. I'm a big fan of Ralph Lauren. That's the only company I'll ever pay $90 to buy a shirt from.
DL: What is it about them?
DQ: He's just really consistent with what he makes. And his materials - just his credibility as a fashion designer. He always has hot stuff no matter if it's for Caucasians, Hispanics - all demographics can wear Ralph Lauren. Even though it's expensive, everyone looks good in some type of Ralph Lauren.
DL: What types of buildings do you like?
DQ: I like buildings that are unique, like the JFK Airport. Or the buildings in Chicago.
DL: Oh yeah, in Chicago there's that vagina building. Do you know what that is?
DQ: What? (Laughing)
DL: That's what it's called. It's, like, topped with a slanted diamond and it's got this little thing at the bottom. This woman architect made it. She thought skyscrapers were too phallic so she made that.
DQ: That seems pretty cool. And speaking of women, I like Maya Lin, who designed the Civil Rights Memorial. I love Michelangelo; he's in the top three. I'm actually a fan of anyone who's not scared to do what they want.
