Eric Vidro.
Eric Vidro was headed to Chapel Street Monday morning during his morning shift — as a budding clothing designer — before his third-shift gig in a factory.
The latter pays the bills. The former fuels his dreams.
Vidro, a lifelong New Havener, has been working hard the past five years developing his brand, Villafame La Moda (aka “Villa Fame”). He’s aiming high, beyond the people who see him on the street and dig his designs.
“I’m global. I’m everywhere,” Vidro said on the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program. He spoke on Church Street, en route to Hull’s Art Supply & Framing on Chapel Street to grab supplies for his clothing line.
“I love sewing. I got that from my mother,” Vidro said. “She used to make clothes with raw material, templates, the pattern, and just cut it out. Sew it. She would use us as models.”
Before fashion design, Vidro worked on his own comic books. People would comment on the characters’ clothes. That’s when the idea sparked to build his own clothing line.
Vidro began developing the line in 2017, after serving a prison stint on a firearm charge. Despite his background of the streets, he said, he wants to stray away from being known as “urban branding.” Vidro said that it’s not that he forgets where he comes from; rather, he aims to build a line that will last for generations to come and not be a fad.
“I want to be on that level. That market. That brand,” Vidro said. “I don’t want to be too urban because sometimes [those clothing lines] don’t last long, and I want longevity. I want to be a high-end, Black-owned and inspired clothing line.”
Vidro was sporting a T‑shirt and customized jean jacket from his brand while strutting the city streets. The logo is inspired by his Chinese zodiac sign: the horse represents being a Virgo. He said that he just kept building a design around the horse.
He also has T‑shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, and track suits designed for both men and women. He has a children’s line in the works.
“I’ve got to have perfection. You’ve got to have a target market. I’m from the city, but at the same time you want to be professional,” Vidro said. “You want everybody to be able to relate to your clothes.”
Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are other designers Vidro has looked up to while producing his line. But inspiration comes from anywhere, at any time.
“You’d be surprised how I come up with the ideas,” Vidro said. “You get inspired by a tree, billboard, or even a color code. You take notes. I’m old school. I’ll use pen and paper to make rough drafts.”
Vidro designs a majority of the clothes at a warehouse in East Haven. He said that anyone who wants to watch their clothes get designed on the spot can pull up there.
He also encourages anyone to approach him in person if they spot him in Fair Haven and want to purchase any clothes.
Otherwise, people can order clothes through either of his Instagram pages: villafame_la_moda or villa_fame. His clothes are also featured on both pages.
When Vidro isn’t developing designs, he works third shift at a warehouse in East Hartford.
For those who have been in a similar situation to Vidro’s past or currently are, he had a message: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Everyone is going to go through their dark moments. Feeling like they lost it all. I’ve been through that too many times. But it’s going to either make you or break you. You’ve got to keep striving. Don’t ever give up on yourself.”
Watch the full conversation above on the "Word on the Street" segment of WNHH FM's "LoveBabz LoveTalk."