The fashion brand Mind Over Hatter was founded in 2015 in Los Angeles by Ace Camacho.
Everything started with a vision of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, which inspired his ventures into fashion and has heavily guided his aesthetic since.
In the vision, it was after the end of the world as we know it, and the survivors on the wasteland were starting anew, rebuilding, gathering the broken pieces to put them together in a new way. There was a feeling of re-creation and hope, and it was in this vision that he encountered the spirit of revival, the strength, courage and willpower to endure and navigate the challenges of everyday life, which then he transferred into artwork.
The first pieces crafted were intricate sculpture-hats (see Mad Hats page), constructed with found objects that were collected entirely during his day to day travels throughout Los Angeles. Each hat is festooned with details that weave together to define a character embodied by the piece.
Soon after the first hats, he began experimenting with clothing and accessories, breathing into each piece its own soul, its own personality. No two piece are alike; we at Mind Over Hatter cringe at the idea of mass production and carbon copies.
Driven by the concept of ‘apocalypse,’ as well as sensitivity to environmental issues, Mind Over Hatter mostly utilizes discarded and used media, building our creations from fabric & leather scraps, leftover materials, gifted/bartered material, and everyday, found objects. We believe in repurposing, reusing, up-cycling, giving a new life to something old and rejected.
What started off as a hobby, quickly became a passion and a way of life. Now a fashion team, we transcend existing genres and nomenclature. We describe Mind Over Hatter as wearable art, and compare our aesthetic to steampunk, post-apocalyptic, circus and festival fashions... with a dark and electrifying twist. We enjoy collaborative projects and experimentation, striving to redefine the meaning of fashion and style through the use of unconventional means and social commentary. We create for people who own their journey, who push boundaries, and challenge the norm… who appreciate innovation and diversity. Our pieces are meant to inspire, to empower and free the wearer to express their unique personality.
What we do is not for the faint of heart. We see fashion as art and our expression has no limits. We are inspired by everything around us… emotions, philosophies, struggles and victories, personal empowerments, individualism, human nature, gods and monsters, dreams and fantasies, love. We are not afraid to be strange and radical. We’re rough and royal, grungy and sophisticated, dark and whimsical… We go against the grain. Through chaos, we are creating a new level of beauty.