Modus Collection
By Rachel Amiralian
Boston is an exciting place for today’s
entertainment, music, and fashion industries.
Every year, Boston gains more credibility as
a place for the limelight. In the past year
alone, movies like The Town and The Fighter
have been written, produced, and filmed in
Boston, giving our city new respect in the
film industry. Lounges and restaurants have
emerged that offer Boston a New York vibe,
giving the city a fresh and new look. A new
designer line has also stepped up to the
plate, helping Boston give New York a run
for its money: Modus Collection Clothing.
CEO and founder Santiago Deoleo was
born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts. In
his main job, he produces the Ramiro and
Pebbles Morning Show on JAM’N 94.5, but
he strives for Modus Collection to become
his primary focus. While radio broadcasting
was his initial career choice, fashion has
always been his biggest passion.
The name Modus Collection comes from
the phrase modus operandi, which means
‘mode of operation.’ Deoleo based his line
on designs that he has subconsciously been
creating his entire life and that have become
his mode of operation. “I wanted a specific
trademark, something that when a person
looked at one of my shirts, they would know
immediately it was a Modus shirt because of
that trademark. Chess has been something
I have always been a fan of. It is a game
that everyone can play, no matter what age,
race, or gender…We all are able to play, so
we all are able to relate,” Deoleo said. The
chess inspiration appears in the form of a
chess piece in every garment. Each season,
his line of shirts will incorporate the six main
chess pieces: pawn, knight, rook, bishop,
queen, and king. At times, creating a clothing
company was quite stressful for Deoleo;
he stated that at certain points, he thought
seriously about setting all of his shirts on fire,
but his passion for fashion and his desire to
create pieces through which others could
express themselves kept him going.
Deoleo’s first line, which was released in
September 2010, was composed of six men’s t-shirts that are all made from high-quality
materials. Every shirt is given a name and
a personality: “Clothes aren’t just clothes
anymore; we don’t just wear clothes to keep
warm; clothes are a way of expressing
ourselves.” Deoloeo has embraced this
concept. Men’s t-shirts were just the first
stop for Modus Collection; after releasing
the initial six shirts, Deoleo added hoodies
to his line in December and plans to expand
to women’s clothing, sweaters, jeans, and
accessories. He wants Modus Collection
Clothing to be a complete fashion brand
and is eager for the next step. Deoleo plans
to release new collections every spring and
fall, with a minimum of six pieces, and also
to launch limited edition apparel and shirts
between seasons to keep his company fresh.
Modus Collection is not just your average
clothing company. One-of-a-kind designs
and signature pieces are not all that
Deoleo had in mind when dreaming up his
creations. He also wanted a way to give back
to the community, and Deoleo prides himself
on his involvement with charities. Last
January, Modus Collection released a limited
edition t-shirt, giving all of the proceeds to
the Salem Children’s Charity. Deoleo threw
a huge charity event at Murphy’s in Salem,
hosted by Ramiro from the Ramiro and
Photos by Savas Studios
Pebbles Morning Show. Everyone gathered
together to support Modus Collection and
the Salem’s Children Charity. The night was a
success. Thousands of dollars were donated
to the charity, and Modus Collection was
able to expand its brand.
Although radio and fashion are Deoleo’s
career areas, he is a businessman at heart; he
has used his position at the radio station to
promote his clothing company. Deoleo said
that the hardest challenge in the process is
getting people to know your clothing is out
there and then convincing them to purchase
it. However, Deoleo makes that seem easy.
Celebrities like the New Boyz, Nelly, Drake,
Channing Tatum, and J. Cole all own Modus
Collection t-shirts.
Deoleo’s company was built on a dream;
hard work, dedication, and passion
transformed this dream into a reality.
Although the company is still young and
there is plenty of work to do, Deoleo’s
ambition will most certainly help him grow
from producer to fashion mogul. Deoleo
hopes to break into international markets
like the Japanese fashion industry, but he still
wants to remember why he started Modus in
the first place: “[I] hope to provide you with
a sense of empowerment and a freedom
to express yourself, never forgetting that
behind every design there is the fun that
went into its creation and is now embodied
in the piece itself. When you wear a piece
of Modus Collection, the fun is now in your
hands. Make it your Modus Operandi.”
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