Skip to content

Studio Visit: Graziano & Gutierrez

With Alejandro Gutierrez

We recently spent some time visiting with Alejandro of Portland-based brand Graziano & Gutierrez discussing a wide range of topics, from recent movies (get two movie-heads in one room…), to the complexities of growing an apparel brand whilst clinging tightly to the quality and craftsmanship innate to carefully hand sewn garments. Although Alejandro does indeed sew every garment for Graziano & Gutierrez by hand, he generously made time for us to swing by and snap a few photos of his space to share with you all. 

When Alejandro Gutierrez and Samuel Graziano met in Cincinnati, Ohio they were both studying at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning. As the two bonded over a love of streetwear which transitioned into a shared love of high-fashion, then workwear and utilitarian garments, they decided to develop a brand together as their senior thesis. Pretty quickly after launching Graziano & Gutierrez caught the eye of giant voices in menswear like Blackbird Spyplane and Throwing Fits – and now, years later, the two are still running the brand together despite living a few states apart. Alejandro says the two are “BFFs – always texting!”

In Alejandro’s studio, your eyes are immediately drawn to the walls filled with colorful Mexican textiles, some of the same textiles which really put G&G on the map. I asked Alejandro about how he came to work with these textiles, and what initially drew him to them. 

While studying in Cincinnati, OH, he “could only go to Joann’s for fabrics. [They] were always struggling to find cool textiles–” and his eyes were always peeled for them. One semester during his Junior year, he was visiting a friend in Mexico when he noticed a bunch of cool fabrics sitting in the back of her car. They got to talking, and he got inspired. Alejandro decided to come back to Mexico and do a full research semester in Mexico, when he met the family in Oaxaca where they still source their textiles now.

During another semester in college, he studied with a designer here in Portland named Lauren Winter (she no longer is based here in Portland, but she still sews!). Alejandro remembers, “She sewed and cut everything herself, which was inspiring, so I was like Ok! I’ll do that.” Despite the laborious process of designing, cutting, and sewing everything in house – Alejandro still does it all for Graziano & Gutierrez. If you have one of their pieces, you know it was sewn by Alejandro.

As we chatted about this process, he let me in on how much work it all is. “I know how much it costs to run a brand. There are no other brands that I know where one person is doing everything.” As adorers of craft and customers of small, independent brands, we don’t always have the other side of the equation in mind. Alejandro says G&G is exploring the idea of transitioning to a sewing factory in NYC for some of their pieces while retaining a line of studio-made, artisanal garments to broaden their customer base and ensure the longevity and sustainability of the brand.

What should we keep an eye out for from Graziano & Gutierrez in the meantime? Alongside their seasonal collections and custom suiting, Alejandro says, “we are doing some new smaller items this year, like graphic t-shirts, baseball hats with artisanal fabrics, and naturally dyed socks!”

Of course we had to ask Alejandro what he fills his time with outside of the studio, and surely discovered we had a lot more to talk about – film, music, and even roses. “The moment when you get out of the movies with your friends and you’re standing outside, talking about the movie. It’s great. You just experienced something, and you all experienced it differently too, and you have all these opinions and I love that. It’s in my top 10 activities.” Here’s a list of some of Alejandro’s all-time favorites: 

Mulholland Drive, David Lynch

In The Mood For Love, Wong Kar-Wai

Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki

Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick

Past Lives, Celine Song

Possession, Andrzej Zulawski

The Witch, Robert Eggers

Anora, Sean Baker

Love, Lies, Bleeding - Rose Glass

Dream Scenario, Kristoffer Borgli

The Zone Of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

And for good measure, Alejandro’s favorite color rose for scent is YELLOW and favorite for color alone is PINK (the variegated kind).

Thank you for spending some time with Shop Boswell, Alejandro, we all really look forward to seeing what Graziano & Guterriez will bring in the future.