On another soggy night in NYC, Vika and I are on our way to meet Victor-John Villanueva—a graphic artist and emerging fashion designer—at his creative digs. Upon entry, we are greeted traditional Japanese style ‘a la Inwood’ with Japanese house slippers and multi-colored striped socks that coincidently match my dress.

We’re given the grand tour of his eccentric pad, which includes an expansive collection of Star Wars memorabilia and robots (just two of his many obsessions). His place is part museum, part studio and part home and every bit as distinctive as its resident. Even Victor’s tuxedo cats, with their chichi coats, fit into what some might consider an offbeat setting. To us it all makes sense and speaks to Victor’s creativity and the characteristics that make him unique and plain old fun (trust me he ‘puts it on for his city’).

How did you begin your career as an artist?

VJV: I went to art school and studied graphic design but for the longest time I didn’t feel like I was an artist, necessarily. When I was a kid I used to make collages. I used to make different compositions and I never thought that that could’ve amounted to anything. A lot of parents feel their kids can’t make money out of being an artist so I never thought I was going to be an artist. I always felt like I was a creative person before I took this fork in the road, so to speak. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been making things my entire life.

When getting to know an artist you want to know how they got to complete that creative piece. Can you describe your creative process?

VJV: Obsession. Humor...Fashion has always been really important. I guess it was in high school or before that but as soon as you can start dressing yourself you start to get interested in different kinds of designers. I was innately a really obsessive person, clearly (sidebar: according to G.I. Joe “knowing is half the battle”). I just obsess over things so much and my world revolves around fashion and art. I also have an art partner that I function with, Jennifer Lew of BLACK PANDA (an art organization founded by Victor and Jennifer), and we’re always in constant communication. She’s a friend of course and we value each other’s friendship. When we talk we always have new ideas and it stems from our obsessions, which are similar, and it stems from our humor, which is also similar. We make things out of jokes, literally out of jokes.

What do you listen to while working in your studio?

VJV: It depends on what kind of mode I’m in. If I’m starting a new project I won’t listen to anything because I’m so concentrated and I’m trying to figure it out but once I get into automatic mode or if I turn into an ‘assembly line,’ like in factory mode, I like to listen to a lot of electro, something like dance music because it keeps the adrenaline going…and I love to dance. Sometimes when I create something and really, really love it, it gets berserk. It’s like an insane high. I bounce off the walls. I might hurt myself.

Which artists inspire you?

VJV: I really love fashion. Like I’ve said I’m really obsessive. I get into modes where I’ll eat up everything about this particular fashion person, but then I might move into something that is all about this painter or actress or something. In fashion, right now I can say that Rei Kawakubo from Comme de Garcons, Albert Elbaz, Yayoi Kusama, the painter, Gilbert and George, the artists inspire me. I’m really attracted to people with strong physical appearances—people that have a real identity. I’m really attracted to Albert Elbaz, his drawings are magnificent but he also has a curious, quirky identity and Gilbert and George do too. It’s a level of performance that they take into all the facets of their lives. I can’t wait to see the Alexander McQueen show and with his passing, you learn more and more about him and what he was about. I aspire to be something akin to those people.

You’ve mentioned Japan being a turning point in your career, what about Japan inspires you to explore other areas of art?

VJV: Before I moved to Japan, I had for a long time had an interest in the culture. I visited Japan once in 2001 and I loved it. The aesthetic, the difference in the language, it automatically puts you in a place where you have to start thinking from the beginning and that opens up another level of creativity for you because you’re forced to rethink your subject. A lot of my favorite artists and designers come from Japan and it seems so pure and abstract. It’s a place that welcomes abstract, which is something that I’m drawn to.

What are some of things you are working on now?

VJV: Because of last year’s reception to the Andre Leon Talley t-shirt that turned into a graphic project, I took my paintings and turned that to a graphic and started to apply it to different things. BLACK PANDA is working on t-shirts because I found a great vendor who will execute that. That’s something that is really exciting to me. The idea of taking one of your mediums; not painting not filmmaking but graphic design and combining them and putting them out into the street in other formats—which fashion designers are doing now but to do it in our own way is really exciting. That is something that I’m working on now. I’m just in a very creative space thinking of these things now.

What should Pattern Rebellion Insiders expect to see from you in the next 6-12 months?

VJV: Jokes…fun clothing that you can wear. People will see you and think “wow, that’s really cool, that’s really funny, that’s really idiosyncratic.” Something that helps distinguish you and makes you feel like you’re glamorous, you’re funny, you don’t take yourself too seriously, you’re colorful, you’re bright…you’re fabulous. I don’t think people should take themselves too seriously.

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I’ve known Victor for years and his enthusiasm and flair for art, particularly fashion, is limitless. We at Pattern Rebellion eagerly await his upcoming collaborations.

To get your hands on his celebrated Andre Leon Talley t-shirt visit www.3ptline.com now.

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