New Orleans Magazine — Shop Talk: Štúdium
I Caught up with Penn larocci of St. Charles Avenue / New Orleans Magazine for a quick chat for the February Issue to talk shop on getting Štúdium launched, what sets the brand apart, and what's next. Read the full Excerpt below, over at myneworleans.com, or in print on Greater New Orleans News Stands.
DeShawn Oravetz is a man of many creative talents. And, after years of developing product and design strategies for brands like Nike and Tasc, the native Tennessean amassed his experiences to conceive a brand of his own. His newly launched Štúdium (Slovak for study) clothing brand is a 15-piece ready to wear collection inspired by his personal quest for knowledge both tacit and existential. He envisions the brand as visual a representation of an ever-evolving desire to learn through culture and design. “It’s the desire to keep learning that is so important in life,” he says on our recent phone conversation. Indeed, and with his ‘First Semester’ Autumn/Winter drop, he shows us that he has already learned quite a bit. Each piece is casually sophisticated and intentional in its comfort, durability and cool factor. Now, let’s learn a little more about the brand.
What sets Štúdium apart from other brands?
Quality construction and thoughtful details are at the forefront of Štúdium, but what differentiates us is our intentionality in creating awareness around the importance of education through our products, culture and community. We’re utilizing our current collection, future experiences (activations/pop-ups/collaborations) and our storytelling to reimagine what education is. We want to change the societal standards that dictate what is and isn’t educational through our own studious lens that’s embedded in the arts.
Are you inspired by living in New Orleans?
I am. Štúdium was an idea prior to me moving to New Orleans, but New Orleans’ history and culture have been an integral influence on the brand as a whole. Primarily, the bigger conversation around resources and accessibility to education for the residents of the city and its direct correlation to bigger goals we have further down the road (i.e. a museum and library program to create field trips/frequent visits for students of all ages).
What’s the most popular piece in the collection?
From a sales perspective the ‘Studious Crewneck Sweatshirt’ is our early top seller. However, our most engaging piece (viewed, inquired and shared) is the ‘Campus Pant.’
What’s next?
Our most important effort in 2023 is to build a meaningful community around the brand. I firmly believe the more intentional we are about connecting with people around our product the more these creations and experiences create an energy and belonging that is far bigger than any one product.
