I conceived and fabricated this tracksuit as both an object and a process. In order to make it, I taught myself how to sew, draft, and replicate garment patterns. Aside from the embroidery, every element of the suit was produced by hand.
​
As the suit took shape, I began developing a body of accompanying work—drawings, installations, and narrative fragments—that together form the project Haci es.
​
Haci es is a deliberately incorrect spelling of “así es,” a Spanish phrase that roughly translates to “that’s the way it is.” The title comes from an inside joke with my wife, who has been teaching me Spanish, and it became a fitting name for a project rooted in learning, repetition, and transformation.
Materially, Haci es consists of:
-
A tracksuit adapted from an Adidas design
-
A series of drawings
-
Several installations
-
Mythological stories that connect the work as a whole
The project began one evening in Beijing, China. After leaving a rock venue, a group of friends and I stepped out into the cool night air and ducked into a local shop to escape the rain.
​
A conversation with my friend Dan turned toward Shanghai’s textile district and the affordability of custom clothing. We began imagining what we might create if we had more time—silk shirts, costumes, velour suits. Eventually we landed on the idea of a velour tracksuit: an homage to the Adidas suit popularized by Run DMC, reimagined in vibrant colors and couture fit. I promised the suit would exist.
​
Back in Shanghai, I found a replica black Adidas tracksuit that fit perfectly and brought it, along with a Shanghainese-speaking friend, to the textile district. We met with dozens of tailors, explaining through sketches that we wanted the suit replicated, but with altered materials and structural changes. Despite our efforts, the tailors struggled to understand the adjustments I was proposing.
​
I carried the idea back to Los Angeles and again searched for someone who could translate my drawings into a finished garment. Although I met many skilled tailors, none were able to work within my budget. A friend suggested simply: Make it yourself.
​
Soon after, my wife bought me a sewing machine. I enrolled in a six-week night course and began learning from the ground up. Over the next 150 hours, I produced multiple failed versions of the suit in different fabrics. Eventually I discovered a material called minky. After months of practice, experimentation, and revision, the suit finally reached a level of quality I was satisfied with—most notably when I mastered welt pockets.
​
Alongside the garment, I developed supporting content that expanded the project’s world. The resulting drawings can be viewed in the gallery on this page under “Xylene transfer drawings.”
The installations include:
-
A bowl of Halloween candy with a sign reading: “Please take three pieces only so other folks can enjoy.”
-
A pile of onions mixed with cigarettes
-
A small wake for a Virgin of Guadalupe candle, placed in a coffin and surrounded by votives
-
A vendor selling replicas of the hat made for the tracksuit ($10, cash only)
-
A curated playlist of 50–100 songs played throughout the exhibition
The Track Suit or Haci es
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |
Track suit artifacts
This gallery contains the original drawings and logos for the suit, the final drawings for the embroiderer, an Haci es exhibition proposal, hats fabricated and Adidas shell toe shoes to accompany the outfit.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
Xylene transfer drawings
Traced in Illustrator from photograph, a thin line drawing is created. That drawing is then inverted and printed. The print is then placed face down onto paper and the solvent xylene is applied which transfers the printed ink onto the second sheet.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |