Heritage: Back to your roots

Story and photos by Brendan Beck.

The ability to appreciate various cultural backgrounds is a praised trait in a wide array of disciplines. For Oscar Moreno, his experience studying abroad as an international business major and connecting with the cultural roots of his family have manifested in his sense of fashion. 

Moreno's transformed tastes from essential streetwear brands to the clothing of his culture is something he describes as an evolution. 

"When I first started getting into fashion, I was into the typical streetwear brands like Palace or Gosha Rubchinskiy,” Moreno said. “It was all just following logos, or brand hype, if you will. But that is what I did for a while when it came to Gosha Rubchinskiy's pieces. I had so much of it, but honestly, I had no idea what any of the logos or type meant." 

Clothing from the Russian streetwear designer, Gosha Rubchinskiy, is inspired by post-Soviet era youth culture. It was this realization that led Moreno to discover the socio-political movements surrounding Rubchinskiy's Russian identity, incentivizing him to discover his own that embodied his Hispanic roots. 

"I did my research and discovered that a lot of what Gosha Rubchinskiy did had to do with Russian culture and politics, encapsulating the youth growing up in the post-Soviet era,” Moreno said. “I had realized that I was wearing all of this as an ode to Gosha Rubchinskiy and what he does, and while I respect it, I'm not Russian.” 

Moreno said he wanted to wear clothing that better displayed his Mexican-American heritage. 

“For the past three years, I've adopted a Mexican-American style,” Moreno said. “I've also been diving in more to my Hispanic roots by listening to the music that my dad used to listen to when he was my age, such as reggaeton or banda music. In general, I have been taking the time to appreciate my Hispanic roots and the era that my dad grew up in and putting those things into how I present myself."

Pictured is Moreno demonstrating his revitalized identity dedicated to his Hispanic roots, wearing articles of clothing he collected while studying abroad. 

"This button-up shirt is known as a guayabera. I picked it up over the summer while I was in Ecuador. When I was there, I noticed pretty much every single taxi driver wore a guayabera. I'm guessing they all wore them because of how competitive it is being a taxi driver over there. It seems to be the best way to be formal in the heat as it's a button-up and it's super loose. It also has a great collar to it with some attractive stitching. I asked one of my taxi drivers where he got it, and it turns out they were being sold at a lot of corners where pop up shops were located."