Marquis Cooley | Broadcast Reporter
When the pandemic shut down businesses across the nation last year, Houston junior Dallas Caldwell decided to do the opposite and create his own clothing brand Memento Mori Vita Vivet which translates to “remember that you must die, live life.”
Within a year, Caldwell’s business has grown bigger than he ever could’ve imagined with over 5,000 followers on his Instagram page and his products being acknowledged overseas. Caldwell’s website has gotten views from people in England and China, and he recently had an order placed from the Netherlands.
“It was super exciting,” Caldwell said. “I don’t know how anyone from the Netherlands even saw my stuff, but it was cool.”
Memento Mori Vita Vivet is not only the name of his brand but also his inspiration for creating it in the first place. After coming across the phrase his freshman year along with his best friend, Caldwell tried applying the phrase to his personal life, giving him the idea to put his emotions into his clothes.
“Most of my collections typically have to do something with me, or anything that’s currently a problem in society, or something that I’m going through personally,” Caldwell said.
As his businesses continues to grow and attract new customers, Caldwell said the support he’s receiving is “heartwarming.”
“The reason why I love it so much is because it’s an extension of myself,” Caldwell said. “The more people that buy, the more people that follow me, or seem interested in it, essentially care about me and my emotions and my feelings.”
