STYLE

THE ART OF MONDO

Armando Thomas Guierra (Mondo to friends, pictured below, left) was born and raised in Arvada. A musician by nature, he didn't always know he was going to be a designer. "I started playing piano when I was eight years old," he said. "I would practice so much my mom thought there was something wrong with me. My grandmother motivated and inspired me to write music. I wrote my first piece when I was nine years old. I was committed to being a composer; I wanted to write scores for movies. I still want to do that-- music is truly my passion, but there's no room in my New York apartment for a piano."

Mondo wasn't cool or even really very fashionable in high school. Graduating early, he would spend his spare time shopping thrift stores, looking at fashion magazines, and finding interesting materials to put together new looks. Mondo had discovered the club and rave scene and he needed something to wear. "I looked at the designs as art pieces. I was testing my limits and finding my self expression. It really helped me establish some self esteem, as I discovered how acceptable people are, and that there was no reason to be shy."

Mondo didn't sew. He knew what he liked and he knew he'd have to make it. "I didn't actually know how to sew, so I would hot glue different styles together. This guy came over to check out my stuff and I didn't tell him that everything was glued-- so I had to learn how to sew. I borrowed my aunt's sewing machine and started practicing every night, every minute." Mondo started to make designs for other people, too. A prom dress out of vacuum tubing and clear vinyl was one of his first custom designs, although he got stiffed on the bill. But, Mondo had begun to build a large Denver clientele, outfitting promoters, DJs, and dancers. "I was making clothes all the time. I just kept pushing the limits."

An online raver chat room led Mondo to a design contest on the AuraZe clothing website. There were five categories and AuraZe would fly the winners to New York, produce and represent the samples, and give the designers royalties. "I entered every category-- just pushed the limits-- it didn't say I couldn't enter all five categories. My friend's mother, Susan Murphy, had a punk line in the '80s, and she helped me draft patterns. She totally believed in me-- she was one of my main support systems then ... and still is."

Mondo quit his job and worked for two solid months on his submissions. Lonnie-- his "muse and inspiration"-- did the modeling, and Jeff Ball (a school chum) did all the photography. "I did the hair and makeup myself because I couldn't afford a stylist; all of my money was going into fabric and thread. I actually had to borrow the money from my mom to mail it in to AuraZe." Levi R, president of AuraZe, said, "We had this entire portfolio in front of us, not just a photo or sketch, and the look was different from the other entries. We brought him to New York immediately to work with us, and he hasn't left yet." "You just have to be really committed, and keep a high integrity and do lots of hard work. It's so easy to get sidetracked when you're not getting paid," Mondo said. "I had some people telling me not to do it-- they vocalized their opposition, but I would just work harder. This definitely wasn't handed to me." --Kity Ironton


AuraZe is available at Hot Topic, Mr. Raggs, Gadzooks, or click on www.auraze.com.

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