A lot of my work draws from the authenticity of experience, participating in many creative and sub-cultural lifestyles, so the line between my personal/professional life has always been blurred.
GORE-TEX Studio: This one is getting harder and harder these days - but how would you describe yourself in 1 sentence max?
Omar Quiambao: I’d describe myself as an optimistic Father of two.
GORE-TEX Studio: Tell us a bit about your city’s climate. What are your three favorite spots - in the summer, in the winter (outside)?
Omar Quiambao: “It never rains in Southern California". LA weather is tough to beat year round. It gets just cold enough through the seasons to have a full wardrobe. Some of my favorite outings are Joshua Tree, seeing the flowers bloom in Antelope Valley, and feeling the scale of size at Sequoia National Park.
GORE-TEX Studio: What is your favorite method of transportation and why?
Omar Quiambao: Living in LA after 17 years in NY, I enjoy walking whenever I can, but I also enjoy riding a pedal e-bike.
GORE-TEX Studio: How do you prep for bad weather if you spend time outside?
Omar Quiambao: I check the weather daily, so I dress appropriately and prepare if there’s inclement weather.
GORE-TEX Studio: Tell us a bit about your professional life and do you draw a hard line between private/professional? What were your most memorable moments professionally, your biggest achievements?
Omar Quiambao: I'm a Los Angeles based Director/Designer that has been involved with some of youth culture’s most influential brands and companies. A select client list includes Native Sons, Complex Con, Stussy, Reebok, Converse and Puma Basketball.
I’m also the Co-Founder of Commonwealth, an award winning specialty boutique and private label with flagship locations in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Virginia Beach and Manila, Philippines.
I’ve just recently signed on with Insomniac as their Apparel Group Creative Director to define and develop the vision and guidelines across their portfolio of apparel brands and festival merchandise.
A lot of my work draws from the authenticity of experience, participating in many creative and sub-cultural lifestyles, so the line between my personal/professional life has always been blurred.
Most of my professional memorable moments are usually tied to traveling to a new place for the first time, Tokyo, HK, Paris, London etc. As for my biggest achievements, it's definitely being able to open Commonwealth stores in different cities with my partner Larry Incognito as independent entrepreneurs and supporting our friends’ brands/projects. Commonwealth will be 20 years deep in 2024!!
GORE-TEX Studio: What are you wearing today, why are you wearing it, did you have a particular weather scenario in mind when choosing this piece? What do you love most about your GORE-TEX product?
Omar Quiambao: adidas Consortium Acmon GORE-TEX Jacket for Commonwealth
I’m traveling from LA to Miami for an Insomniac event during Miami Art Week/Art Basel.
It’s an ideal jacket for packing light. Weather can be unpredictable when traveling. Having a lightweight layer with a hood that transitions from jacket into a vest is a lesson in utility. It was designed by Conroy Nachtigall, who was the Arc’teryx Veilance designer for 10 years.
GORE-TEX Studio: Where and when did you get this… Do you have any special memories connected to this item? If you could go anywhere, where would you like to take this piece?
Omar Quiambao: adidas developed this jacket as well as other GORE TEX pieces as SMUs for their “Consortium” retailers. They first showed it to us during Paris Fashion Week in June 2018, where we could customize them through different variations of color blocking. I already take it everywhere!
GORE-TEX Studio: How are you involved in this? How do you define the term “comfort” in clothing, in particular technical apparel?
Omar Quiambao: Just like “style”, I think “comfort” is individual to each person’s preference. The “comfort” I seek out in technical apparel usually revolves around utility, i.e. breathability, water/wind resistance, but styling and product design is key.
GORE-TEX Studio: Tell us about your current and upcoming projects… what are you looking for in the next six months and what challenges do you see that you’re excited about?
Omar Quiambao: On the horizon we have a few upcoming Commonwealth projects that include Padmore & Barnes and adidas.
For Insomniac, I can’t reveal much, but there’s a lot of excitement and energy around new projects and tight knit events we have planned for Spring / Summer ‘22.
I’m extremely excited about a new personal project I’ve been working on dubbed, DIALOGUE, which will consist of what I hope to be random conversational pieces, objects, and art.
Photos by: Caleb Shane
