How clothier Ivan Martinez developed his love of fashion while on deployment

MINNEAPOLIS — The growing Minnesota Latino community is hungry for fashion that incorporates style with culture, and a number of designers are meeting the need.

For Ivan Martinez, one of the only Latino clothiers in the Twin Cities, his introduction to fashion came while on deployment with the Minnesota Army National Guard. 

He was an infantry soldier, and carrying a 50-caliber weapon was his specialty. Security was his top priority.

“When we were in Kuwait those first few months, we were on border patrol and border crossing, so you are in a tower,” Martinez explained.

It was in that tower that he picked up and read his very first fashion magazine. 

“When I saw GQ magazine, I just opened it out of curiosity because I was bored. And I became so interested in like, I was always into style but I was never into like classic menswear,” he said.

It sparked something inside him. He started buying clothes while on deployment.

“Once I had the suits, the problem was I didn’t fit everything off the rack,” he said.

Martinez says paying a tailor to make his suits fit was expensive. He felt the need to design and make suits that not only look great but have great functionality.

When he returned to the states and to Minnesota State University in Mankato, he got to work.

“When I got back and I started building a blog, starting building Instagram and I found out other Latinos really gravitated towards my content,” Martinez said.

The self-taught artist is building a brand, and many are using his talent as a clothier to look and feel good.

“Because at the end of the day, that’s what they are to me. I really build a one-on-one rapport with my clients,” Martinez said.

Martinez has several local celebrities as clients. His workshop is in the North Loop and he hopes to provide fashion for all who want to look and feel grand.