It’s the question “we” (myself and the team included) get asked quite frequently. In order to correctly and accurately explain what NRVS stands for, I must take you on a journey back in time, back when NRVS wasn’t a clothing line yet, but just an idea floating around in my head.
It started back in 2013, I (SP Paniagua) was in my last quarter of college. My final exam consisted of creating a whole branding and marketing kit for a “make-believe” company. I always knew I wanted to create a clothing line. I can remember this idea dating back to my pre-teen & early teenage years, skating around town and quickly running to the store to sift through the newest edition of TRANSWORLD skateboarding magazine and admiring the graphic tees, new merch from my favorite companies and most of all the cool photography. Graffiti and Skateboarding were, and still are, two huge inspirations behind my designs, NRVS, and everything in between. So when the opportunity came up to create this entire make-believe company for my college final, what better thing to do, but create something I’ve always admired and dreamed about, a clothing line.
One of the biggest hurdles I faced was figuring out the name. I spent days trying to come up with the perfect name. I know I wanted to name the brand something that was a small description of who I was/am, a word or phrase that really resonated with me. Seeing other brands like Ezekiel, Ambiguous, Enjoi, and The Hundreds, have these unique and meaningful names, I knew I wanted to create something similar to tell my story. While I was writing down a list of words that described me, or things I admired, I came across one that couldn’t have been better. The word I ended up with was “NERVOUS” I know, I know, how typical right? Being someone that wanted to project positivity, bright images and designs into the world, I knew NERVOUS wasn’t a good start. This word though, continues to be something that plays a role in my life, whether I want to admit to it or not. And In my opinion, that word definitely has a negative connotation and I didn’t want that to reflect onto my brand or be a direct reflection of the brand. Having a graffiti background and constantly abbreviating terms or words when marking up black books, I quickly came up with the idea to remove all the vowels from NERVOUS and thus, I got NRVS. I moved forward with NRVS as an acronym and went back to the drawing board trying to figure out what I can have each letter stand for. This was the most tedious process, as I wanted something that was powerful, subtle and memorable. After hours upon hours of figuring out what N could stand for, and R and V and S, it came to me like an epiphany: Inner Vision. (iN-neR - ViSion)
I know what you may be thinking. That it doesn’t make sense, or why didn’t I add an additional N at the end, etc etc, but this was it. This is exactly what NRVS stands for: Inner Vision.
Once I figured out the exact name for my, at the time, make-believe brand, and hearing the positive feedback from peers in regards to it, I decided to turn my idea, school project, into a reality. In the summer is 2013, NRVS was born. My mentor, may he Rest In Peace, helped me throughout the entire process and actually helped me with my first drop. June/July 2013 the first NRVS logo tees and tank tops were printed and that officially marked the start of my journey as a brand owner and creative, and the rest is history!
So, you may still be asking yourself, well what does NRVS stand for?
It stands for my story, my life, my emotions, something others can connect with. A way to project the ugliness and emotions I may feel inside and create something positive, something others can relate to and feel through clothing.
NRVS stands for NERVOUS.
NRVS stands for Inner Vision.
NRVS stands for my Inner Vision.
NRVS stands for your Inner Vision.
Establishing myself as a women in this industry run by men. NRVS is a direct reflection of the world around me and how I interpret it through designs and apparel.