Freshman clothing designer combines faith and fashion

By Katrina Kowitz

Landon Marquez De La Plata is a freshman soccer player at Newman University. But on the side, he’s also a budding fashion entrepreneur.

Plata, who has had his own clothing line since November 2023, has been working on new material and designs. Since he sold out of the current design, Plata uses a website to make and design the hoodies and shirts. 

Plata said he has always been into fashion and designing. Creating his own merchandise, he said, was kind of an impulse idea. 

“I wanted to create something not a lot of people have done or have been successful at,” Plata said. “I wanted to create something people can wear while also spreading the word of God.”

The clothing brand is called “svnthdayclothing.” The hoodies and shirts are in brown, black, gray and tan and have a cross on the left shoulder with “John 14:8.” The top of the hoodie features the word “Seventh,” and the back has a big cross with a swirl effect. 

Getting the clothing produced was a process, Plata said. He had to design the products on the website and then promote the clothing with pictures and videos on TikTok and Instagram. 

“Luckily, on TikTok, a couple videos blew up,” Plata said. “People saw it and purchased some.” 

It took him about a year to officially sell out of the clothes. Plata finished selling the last few small hoodies to a few students on campus. In all, he sold 32 shirts and 39 hoodies and made $1,500, he said. 

Yessica Dozal, a junior transfer student, met Plata playing ping pong in Carrocci Hall one day, she said, and she was interested in a hoodie Plata was wearing. She decided to buy one.

“I enjoyed the way it fit and how comfy it was,” Dozal said. 

Plata said he named his brand after his lucky number, which is seven. The number also reflects his faith: The seventh day is the Sabbath. 

Plata said that he thought it would be interesting to push himself and see if he could sell the clothing he designed. He is now working on new designs and hopes can return with a bigger investment. 

Plata advises anyone else thinking of starting a business to do their research. Also, he said, if you want to start something, just go for it because you never know what could happen. 

To check out Plata’s merchandise on TikTok: @svnthdayclothing

PHOTO: Courtesy, Unsplash