Photo: Fortis Orbis Atelier
FASHION
Reynaldo Aquino Strives for Simplicity With Hoodie Scarves
Reynaldo Aquino started his Fortis Orbis Atelier menswear brand by making outerwear, mostly jackets and vests, with the inspiration of dystopian worlds from science fiction.
The styles were presented at various shows, including Los Angeles Fashion Week and Orange County Fashion Week. But the Los Angeles–area designer has mostly sold his styles to private clients and on his direct-to-consumer channel, fortisorbisatelier.com.
Fast-forward to holiday 2019 and Aquino wanted to embark on a new project. He wanted to do something different but something that wouldn’t take the heavy investment of money and time that outerwear typically requires.
Inspiration arrived when Aquino began experimenting with scarves. He sewed a scarf onto the neck of an oversized hood that looked like it was cut off from a hooded sweater. The scarf was a thick, 60-inch design intended to fall to a wearer’s knees.
He called the piece a “Hoodie Scarf,” and he made about 100 of the unisex garments in colorways such as dark gray, light gray and black. The hoodie scarves retail for $50 each. Friends found different uses for the hoodie scarf. A model he works with used the long material of the scarf to wrap around her torso like a vest.
The hoodie scarf would also work well in a pandemic-conscious world, Aquino said.
“I made the scarf extra long,” Aquino said. “You could wrap it around your face and your mouth, which is great for today.”
While the Fortis Orbis Atelier designer looks forward to a world without COVID-19, he plans on making hoodie scarves for upcoming seasons such as holiday 2020. He planned to design accessories for the hoodie scarf, such as gloves, wristbands and bags. When stay-at-home orders are lifted, Aquino hopes to produce a Fortis Orbis photo shoot featuring a female model. “I’m going to start dabbling in designing women’s clothing,” Aquino said.
