- Date
- 13 DECEMBER 2022
- Author
- ZARINA IZY
- Image by
- Categories
- Aesthetics
Artist’s spotlight – Thed Holes
Thed Holes is a digital fashion brand creating cyberpunk 3D fashion items. At Red Eye we have the pleasure to speak with its founder - a fashion designer with purple eyes.
Thed was born and raised in Italy. He specializes in 3D shoes and garments and has already worked with big companies like Vogue Portugal, Paris Fashion week 2019/2020, Acupunture, TrashyMuse, Universal Music, Warner Bros. Records, Sony, as well as with Lil Nas X and Travis Barker. Thed Holes’s involvement in the NFT space has been extensive too and in this interview, we will dive deeper into his full story:
Thed, when did you first start designing clothes?
In 2021, I debuted my brand with the release of its first collection on Crypto.com named "Electro Muse." Haute couture cyber fashion is where it's at and they really loved what I did last year, so much so that I decided to do another drop this last summer!
The drop has been inspired by nature, geometry and 90s rave culture—with a McQueen-esque attitude towards fashion. We could only perceive black and white as tints.
Tells us more about your background, what was your education and did you ever worked in non-creative positions?
After graduating, I moved to London where I worked for Warner and Disney doing hundreds of trailers, as a motion designer 2D. The Brexit referendum had a devastating effect on immigrants, so I worked in a Vietnamese restaurant at night to pay for my rent while doing freelance 3D work during the day.
Thanks to Lil Nas X and Paris Fashion week, I was able to run off from the restaurant business because my 3D modelling skills were in high demand by the music industry.
How did you get started in digital fashion?
While I was working in London as a motion designer, I became interested in character development and saw that there was a huge gap: at the time there were just a few items concepts created by 3D artists—only videogame skins or military clothes. And so I began to create, one by one, my signature and clothes. I have now built up a brand that can be compared with "in real life" fashion houses, as we have collaborations, a marketing side, a newsletter, etc.
I only recently feel like a real digital fashion designer, because I've been so busy with freelancing that I haven't had time to create any new personal designs.
I can finally say that I am really glad I made it because I can focus on it at 100%. The "same "world" is seen with different eyes.
You had a lot of interesting projects completed, what was the most interesting one you worked on?
I think Raw Society is one of the projects I care about most.
A drop I did this summer on Crypto.com: I've put a lot of effort into increasing the quality of the items, music, and backline story.
“Raw Society” on Crypto.com is one of the projects I care about most: it took me a lot of effort to offer quality and value in terms of music, narrative and items.
What are your favorite tools to create your designs?
Everything starts with Zbrush, the most powerful tool for crafting.
Then Clo3D if I have to do some base for garments or animate what I did in Zbrush. Everything is going to be exported in Cinema 4D with Octane render, but I'm changing my workflow trying to implement blender + Unreal Engine.
What is your biggest challenge as a designer?
Do always better than my previous render.
What do you think is the most powerful thing about digital fashion?
Digital garments can be made in a fraction of the time it takes to create a sample, which would take months using the traditional method. Is “just a matter of a few clicks”. Brands looked suspicious of our work and probably thought we were just playing a video game, thanks to the pandemic that has swept across the industry.
I'm glad to see that a lot of schools have incorporated Clo3D in their PhD paths and names are asking 3D Artists to collaborate or hiring them for their brands, finally giving us a position in this field.
We love your CVO and Hyperviciouz NFT collections! Please tell us what these collections mean to you and what made them so special for your supporters?
I'm glad you like them! HyperViciouZ is my first collection on Gamestop that mixes Hypebeast movement with CyberCouture elements.
For the creation of this collection, I have been inspired by my friend, who is an expert in streetwear and helped me with his advice on how to not craft “conventional” shoes. Items made with the aim of bringing them into a metaverse and/or NFT game world.
I've been fortunate to receive many positive comments from my collectors for the vision of this gaming collection, which was unexpected but extremely positive.
ChronoVerse Order (CVO) is a collaboration with 15 3D Artists, that took place twice first in November 2021 on Rarible and then on Solana blockchain with weekly auctions. I believe I will relaunch the third part of this collection in 2023. Let's see how it goes; I'm positive!
What do you think your future will look like 5 years from now?
As an artist, I would love to invest my time into new different media, activities, experimenting and achieving more goals. So, I reckon that my focus will be on gaming and the metaverse, rather than marketplaces. I know for sure that I don't want to spend all day every day crafting behind a screen— maybe opening up a showroom or small boutique might be better for selling my creations?
Or maybe dump everything and doing sandwiches in front of a crystalline sea lol.
Who knows!
If I would enter your virtual store, which song or music I would probably hear?
For sure you'll hear my partners in crime “Smash Stereo”, three guys I know for more than 10 years and they are my lucky charm: Every time I've had their song under my Nfts, they have been sold. Their dark Techno is magic and fits perfectly with my vision.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
As a serious person, I have two wishes: one is the power of changing the Instagram algorithm and the second one is to be able to make the best dumplings ever.