First-generation college student weaves cultural heritage, entrepreneurship, and design innovation into his SIXO brand.
When Carlos Velasquez first set foot on the campus of Appalachian State University through the Upward Bound program, he was a high school student dreaming of a future in design. This spring, he graduates with a dual major in Apparel Design and Industrial Design—a milestone that reflects his ambition, his cultural roots, his community connections, and the discipline that has defined his journey.
Carlos is originally from Morganton, North Carolina, where his upbringing played a major role in shaping both his work ethic and perspective on design. As the son of a business owner, he grew up working alongside his father in the family's landscaping business, often waking up early on weekends to help on job sites. Those experiences instilled discipline at a young age and gave him a firsthand understanding of what it takes to build and sustain something over time.
His Guatemalan heritage is equally foundational. Morganton is home to one of the most significant Guatemalan and Mayan communities on the East Coast, and Velasquez grew up surrounded by a living tradition of textile craftsmanship. That influence now runs directly through his work. His lifestyle denim jackets, produced under his brand SIXO, incorporate Guatemalan textiles as a form of storytelling—a way of carrying cultural identity into modern garments and into the broader conversation of American fashion and design.
A Dual Major Built on Curiosity and Ambition
Velasquez entered AppState as an Apparel Design and Merchandising major. But as his coursework deepened, so did his questions about the relationship between a garment's aesthetic life and its material and manufacturing reality. By his sophomore year, he had decided to add a second major in Industrial Design with a concentration in Product Design—combining two disciplines that rarely share a single student's focus, and bringing them together in ways that have shaped his design thinking ever since.
"Studying both apparel design and industrial design has been one of the best decisions I've made. It gave me the chance to learn from both programs, meet long-time great friends and mentors, and make memories I'll always carry with me. Pursuing both majors showed me how apparel and product design can work together in meaningful ways."
That integration of disciplines is most visible in his senior capstone project. Through SIXO and its extension line SIXO Outdoors, Velasquez is designing and producing a series of jackets that bring together denim craftsmanship and technical outerwear construction. The project is not merely conceptual: Velasquez is pushing toward small-batch production, determined to experience and understand every step of the pipeline from initial sketch to manufactured garment.
A Full-Circle Collaboration
The production partnerships Velasquez has cultivated make the work all the more meaningful. Under the mentorship of Andee Burton, an AppState Industrial Design alumna, he has connected with the Manufacturing Solutions Center in Conover and with Opportunity Threads in Morganton—a worker-owned cut and sew cooperative with deep roots in the region's Guatemalan community.
The connection is not coincidental. For Velasquez, the prospect of designing garments shaped by his Guatemalan heritage and having them produced within a factory rooted in that same community is a full-circle moment. The design, the maker, and the community that inspired the work have converged.
First-Generation, Forward-Looking
Velasquez's path to this milestone was made possible in part by AppState's TRIO Student Support Services program, which provided critical resources and guidance as he navigated college as a first-generation student. His participation in Upward Bound during high school gave him his first taste of campus life at App State and planted the seed that would eventually bring him back as an enrolled student.
Those support structures, combined with his own tenacity and creative vision, have produced a graduate who is leaving AppState not just with two degrees, but with a brand, a production network, a set of mentors, and a clear sense of what he is making and why.
Carlos Velasquez will complete his studies at Appalachian State University in May 2026. His capstone work will be on view at In Perspective, the Industrial Design program's senior exhibition, on Thursday, May 1, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Parkway Ballroom (Room 420) at Plemmons Student Union. The exhibition is the Capstone for Industrial Design Program Seniors in the Department of Applied Design, College of Fine and Applied Arts.
About the Department of Applied Design
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department of Applied Design at Appalachian State University fosters excellence in design education, design research, and professional placement. The department balances theoretical and pragmatic approaches while exploring an awareness of impact through design decisions on the global community. Faculty focus on a holistic approach to creative problem-solving by integrating sustainability and ethical responsibility in teaching and practice. The department offers bachelor's degrees in apparel design and merchandising, industrial design, and interior design.
About the College of Fine and Applied Arts
Appalachian State University's College of Fine and Applied Arts is a dynamic and innovative group of seven academic departments, bringing together a variety of perspectives, experiences, and real-world education to provide unique opportunities for student success. The college has more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate majors. Its departments are Applied Design, Art, Communication, Military Science and Leadership, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, and Theatre and Dance.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio, and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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