Featured Men's Fashion Designer - Kalback

FEATURED DESIGNER

featured designerKALBACKpatrix

FEATURED DESIGNER

Writer: Taylor Wassep Photographer: Toxx Genest

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Male fashion is a unique and expanding market in Second Life™, with an ongoing demand for designers to make new creations for men. One brand that has done an amazing job in bringing men’s fashion to the grid is Kalback. Kalback has been a staple in men’s fashion for over 10 years. The owner, Patrix Beck who goes by the name Kal, opened Kalback to bring a new sense of style and fashion to men in Second Life™.

Towards the end of the 2000’s, Kal had been watching a random television show about virtual worlds. Being the adventurer that he is, Kal decided to check out this blooming virtual platform called Second Life™. Kal was initially a freelancer for Sao Paulo, an amazing shop owned by Ilha Brasil where he would create custom tees that were becoming a popular item in Second Life™. After he ventured into trying his hand at creating prim furniture. Those experiences urged Kal to create and eventually open his

own store called Kal Rau. After a while he took a break, but the pull of Second Life™ called him back, leading him to change the store name to Kalback.

Opening his own store was nerveracking, and yet the very first items Kal created were adorable prim boots and backpacks. And like so many people who think of where they started, when asked about his humble beginnings, Kal was ready to move on and talk about more of the current items he has created.

With over a decade of experience in creating – from prims to mesh - the journey has been long but well worth it. Kal amassed such a long history of knowledge for himself, his process in creating is quite simple - that is to say it is “simple” for him. Kal always starts with an idea he comes up with and focuses on what his customers would want to see from him.

One person Kal usually will bounce ideas off of is a close friend of his, Dustin Slacker. “He pushes me to work hard and points out when there are problems or issues with the products.” Kal said.

Kal loves to find references in real life, much like other designers. Some of his favorite real-life brands that inspire him are Diesel and Calvin Klein. Lucky for Kal, he lives in a country where it is usually quite warm

and sunny, resulting in a lot of his inspirations trending towards the tropical side with a slight sense of Europeans style. Kal shared that on occasion he will release something that is a bit more daring, or “crazy” as he liked to put it, although Kalback is known to be a casual men’s fashion store.

Seasons can have a sway in how designers schedule and plan out their releases. For Kal though, Winter designs are not his strongest suit. “The trend is dynamic, you need to be turned on and work! Winter designs are not my best, but I really need to try,” said Kal. Be on the lookout for those more “winter-centric” releases by Kal. If you have any ideas that you think would work great with Kalback – he said feel free to reach out to him!

When visiting his main store, Kalback has a kind of “Rodeo Drive” feel to it. Inside, Kal has placed security guards throughout the store along with surrounding streets. When asked about this, he spoke about mixing that lux feel Rodeo Drive emanates along with staying true to his European street sense, mixing in suburban ideals and half pipes with graffiti. Kal created an experience that anyone can go and enjoy with subway on his sim along with a beautiful beach.

Talking to Kal, he left the impression that he is quite genuine

and easy to share ideas with. Throughout the interview he was throwing in jokes and having an amazing time opening up about Kalback. Before closing this off, Kal wanted to share a special message to his customers. “I would like to thank you all for the support, the suggestions and complaints. I really hope that Second Life™ is this amazing place to make friends and share different cultures and ideals throughout this virtual world.“

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