David Vega Jr., of Columbus, talks about his career in fashion design during a recent interview in Boardman. He is a 2019 graduate of Jackson-Milton High School.
Correspondent photo /
Amanda C. Davis
BOARDMAN — David Vega Jr. is proof that you can come from a small town and still do big things.
Vega, 24, who grew up in Youngstown, works in Columbus where he’s an assistant designer for Hollister, a clothing company owned by Abercrombie & Fitch.
Vega Jr. graduated from Jackson-Milton High School in 2019. He was an open enrollment student in the district, where his father, David Vega Sr., is principal of the middle and high schools.
Vega Jr. discussed his budding career in fashion design during a recent interview at Barnes & Noble bookstore, while in town visiting his parents.
After high school, Vega Jr. attended Savannah College of Art & Design in Atlanta, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed his path. He said he took 2020 and much of 2021 off and started his own clothing brand, c.olortheory.
Vega Jr. enrolled in Columbus College of Art & Design in August 2021 and graduated last year. He was in New York in April to accept a $10,000 national scholarship recognizing the brightest designers in the nation.
While in school, he was a contract designer for UpWest, a sister brand of Express, and interned at Brooks Running in Seattle last summer.
At Hollister, he is an assistant designer for men’s fleece tops and bottoms.
Vega Jr., who lives in the Italian Village in Columbus, said he enjoyed drawing as a kid and played basketball through high school. He collected basketball shoes and said he drew inspiration from the sports, fashion and music scenes.
He is also a singer and songwriter in his spare time and enjoys alternative and rap music.
C.olortheory has an “oversized and dramatic” aesthetic to it, Vega Jr. said, adding that it’s more “edgy and grunge-inspired.”
The silhouette and fit of the clothes is important to him, and Vega Jr. said influences include designers Spencer Badu of Montreal and Rick Owens of California.
“It’s funny because my brand is called c.olortheory but there’s not much color in it,” he said.
Renee LeGendre, CCAD’s director of communications, said fashion design is one of the school’s 11 Bachelor of Fine Arts majors.
She said an August 2023 LinkedIn study ranks Columbus the No. 1 metro area in the U.S. for concentration of professionals working in the apparel and fashion industries.
The school’s website says Columbus has the third-largest concentration of fashion designers behind New York and Los Angeles.
Graduates are often scooped up by brands including Abercrombie, Alexander Wang, Kate Spade, Old Navy, Urban Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret, according to the website.
Vega Jr. said his dad and mom, Colleen, a former preschool teacher and librarian, always supported and encouraged him to pursue his interests.
“They let me be me,” he said. “There was never one time they questioned what I was doing,” he said.
His mom said Vega Jr. was always particular about what he would wear, starting when he was young.
She said he was always drawing and that one of her favorite memories from his early childhood was when he came running to her to say he drew all over the walls of a bedroom.
“I couldn’t even be mad at him,” she said. “He was just so excited about it.”
Colleen Vega said she always told her kids she would support anything they wanted to do, so long as it brought them joy.
“We’re just so proud of him,” she continued. “I’m just so glad to see that others are enjoying his talent.”
He hopes to one day have a team of people working for him and said he’s currently working on a few collaborations he can’t discuss.
As for now, Vega Jr. plans to keep moving up at Hollister but wants to stay close to his roots.
“I love being around family, and I love Columbus,” he said. “It will be cool to show people you don’t have to leave Ohio to make things work.”
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