W.C.: I feel, actually, a part of that’s being Mexican. I used to be not too long ago with Raul Lopez of [the fashion brand] Luar, who’s Dominican, and we had been speaking about how we’re each a part of the identical Latinidad however from totally different components of the tradition. Whereas he’s out partying, I’m extra more likely to be taking pictures of tequila and crying on the moon.
T: Each of you, in your work, appear to wish to signify the place you come from — sexuality, faith, background, household. However do you ever come to a degree the place you go, “I don’t wish to be that man”?
O.A.: I attempt by no means to consider the best way I’m perceived. It’s not possible for me to pressure my queerness as a result of it’s simply who I’m. My real-life relationships are those I wish to are likely to. The others are completely past my management.
W.C.: I like issues that transfer the needle politically, and infrequently I’ll do one thing that deliberately has that vibe. However typically, I feel simply being is political sufficient. Simply the truth that we’re brown and queer. That alone is —
O.A.: Inherently political. However it’s true, there are moments when persons are like, “Omar, paint your nails.” If I wished my nails painted, I’d have come right here with them painted.
W.C.: It’s about carving out your personal imaginative and prescient for your self.
O.A.: And it’s not nearly queerness. I most likely shouldn’t say this, however one time at a shoot, they put me in entrance of a taco truck, and I used to be like, “Everybody right here is white, this feels bizarre.” They requested me to eat the tacos, so I informed them I used to be vegan — which I used to be, for 2 months. I assumed, “Look, I do know what’s taking place, and that’s effective, however you don’t have to amplify issues that simply are.”
W.C.: As artists and designers, we’ve shifted the best way issues have been perceived through the years, and now issues are shifting in a really totally different path. My final assortment had Latin influences, in fact, nevertheless it deliberately wasn’t a celebration of Latin tradition.
