From student to self-made stylist
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
How a CSU graphic design student built himself a fashion career in between classes.
Written by Nicole Wloszek-Therens
Colin Perchinske can still recall the day he came home from high school and stepped through the front door in a pair of Tabi boots – the Maison Margiela-designed shoe with a split in the toe.
The style draws controversy; it’s an avant-garde silhouette that is a bit ballet slipper, a bit horse hoof and is completely outside of the box. It’s not necessarily the shoe one would expect a suburban Ohio teenager to be wearing home from biology class.
“It took a lot of balls to wear them to a suburban high school where no one is wearing that,” Perchinske, the 21-year-old Cleveland State University graphic design student said. “Honestly, it probably took my mom a couple weeks to comprehend the Margiela Tabis I was wearing.”
That moment marked the start of his personal style development, and the first time people in his life started to take notice. Soon, one pair of Tabis turned into a collection of 13. A knack for expression evolved to a portfolio of styling, creative work and connections he’s built from scratch – from an internship with Italian fashion house Prada to styling rising musicians like Ian.
“I’ve built a name for myself in Cleveland and it’s starting to bleed into other places like New York and LA,” Perchinske said. “I feel like I’ve started to become proud of myself.”
Stitched from Scratch
Perchinske’s interest in fashion has only grown since enrolling at CSU as a graphic design major. He was faced with an ultimatum given to him by parents who didn’t understand that fashion could be more than a hobby – it could be a career.
“My mom was like, ‘If you go to CSU and get an actual major, you can do fashion after.’ It was hard for her to grasp that fashion was an actual path,” Perchinske said. “I get it. It’s mother. So here I am in graphic design.”
Without the connections, networking and training that attending fashion school would provide, he knew he would have to forge these opportunities himself.
And he did, proving that something rooted in creative passion can become a real opportunity, even without the traditional route.
“If you’re creative enough, and you’re driven and have passion, you start working on self-projects,” he said.
By self-projects, he means anything from a backyard photoshoot to cold messaging a designer, asking if he’d be willing to send pieces from Los Angeles to Ohio for Perchinske to shoot – which he was, and he was sent almost the entire collection.
Whenever faced with an opportunity to immerse himself in the world of fashion, he dove in head first – no matter the pay. Modeling Cleveland streetwear labels like ILTHY and MV FORUMS put him in front of the camera; styling and on-set production gave him experience behind it.
“I was hungry for work so I did every free job I could do,” Perchinske said.
And he’s consistently hungry for inspiration. His Pinterest is packed with hundreds of mood boards, aesthetics shaped by anything that catches his eye – like botanical gardens and architecture. He studies textures, patterns, colors and silhouettes that shape the runway, all influencing his styling choices and creative concepts.
“[Fashion] is my life,” he said. “It consumes my brain 24/7.”
This devotion carries into his job at Xhibition, a contemporary boutique in Ohio City that offers a curated collection of designer clothing. There, Perchinske styles anyone from Cleveland locals with selective taste to touring bands like Minnesota-born indie rock band Hippo Campus. For him, it’s not about selling clothes – it's about making a connection and an impact.
“Not only are clients and I building a connection, but they’re building trust,” he said. “I think being a stylist is balancing finding something [a client] would feel comfortable in and also maybe pushing them slightly outside of their boundaries.”
For the better part of his still-early adult life, Perchinske has been bringing creative visions to life – on stage and across glossy magazine pages in Cleveland. Despite moving up in an industry that he describes as sometimes “cutthroat and nasty,” he holds tight to his values.
“I think we glorify this pretty picture of fashion, which it can be,” he said. “I just want to make my mark in this fashion industry, whether it’s promoting sustainability or helping with personal style.”
The Road Ahead
Even after pulling off feats like finding his way into a party for Canadian rapper Drake’s clothing brand, receiving a job offer on the set of HBO’s hit show White Lotus and collaborating over dinner with creatives from Nike, Perchinske’s not immune to imposter syndrome.
“I feel like I’m not fully there yet, or where I want to be,” he said. “Because I think with every human, we could always be better.”
This summer, Perchinske will move to New York City for an internship that aligns with his creative energy and fashion industry experience. Though he’s unsure of what the future will hold, he’s stepping into the current, excitedly waiting to see where it will carry him.
“I’m just waiting to see what’s next,” Perchinske said. “But honestly, who knows? I’m a blank canvas that’s just waiting to be painted on.”
