NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2009
High-End Designer Answers to Higher Power
Priest With Passion for Fashion Provides Parishioners With Jobs, Guatemalan Village With Funds
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(CBS)
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Play CBS Video Video Holy Fashion A Parish Priest in NYC is beginning to make his name in the world of high-end fashion and also do some good at the same time. Bianca Solorzano has the story of this runaway priest.
"I think God wants this," O'Connor told CBS News Correspondent Bianca Solorzano. "There are a lot of things that conspire to say this is a really good thing to do."
The line is marketed under the label Goods of Conscience. O'Connor uses natural fibers grown in Guatemala and workers in New York City sew each piece by hand, allowing him to charge a premium price.
For example, O'Connor is selling one jacket he designed for $895.
"$895!" Solorzano exclaimed.
"It's a steal!" O'Connor laughingly replied.
His flare for creative design started early in life.
"My mom taught me to sew, so I would make things growing up," O'Connor said.
Now O'Connor's collection is gaining the attention of mainstream fashion magazines and getting rave reviews.
He's remaking one dress for an editor at Harper's Bazaar. In June, Vogue magazine showcased actress Cameron Diaz in a pair of his custom designed shorts. Vogue's Editor Anna Wintour called them "the perfect fit."
"That's huge!" Solorzano exclaimed.
"It's a huge deal, yeah, it was quite a big blessing," O'Connor said.
All this started four years ago. O'Connor participated in a retreat to a Guatemalan village where the Rev. Stanley Rother, a noted missionary, was murdered while working with poor Mayan Indians.
Rother's work inspired O'Connor to sign an exclusive deal with 24 Mayans to produce the materials giving them much needed jobs.
O'Connor also uses his business profits to help rebuild the Mayan community.
"They are a world treasure," O'Connor said.
O'Connor's product line also helps the church's mission in the Bronx, providing $14-an-hour sewing jobs, community development and a valuable lesson.
"This project allows young people to see that this place is good, that they are good and that they belong here," O'Connor said.
O'Connor says the message behind his design enables him to weave his religious and fashion cloths together.
"Do you feel this is your calling?" Solorzano asked.
"Yes, I think this is part of my calling," O'Connor said.
It's a calling that tailors popular fashion and people's fate.
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On the Web:
Goods of Conscience: http://goodsofconscience.com/
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- Yeah, great idea, except if you look at the prices... yowza...
All that stuff is out of most people's price range.
A couple of hundred dollars for a shirt or pants.
I would love to get some of the items but I can't see me helping at those prices :-( - Reply to this comment
- This is so awsum.
- Reply to this comment
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