Kevin Garcia is not one to answer a call from an unknown number, especially not on a Saturday morning on his way to Starbucks. But, that’s just what happened earlier this spring. And who was on the other end of that call? None other than a friend of country singer Tanya Tucker requesting Kevin Garcia Originals to outfit the singer for the ceremony that would announce her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
At first, Kevin and his Director of Sales and Marketing Josef Valdiezel wondered if the woman was even legitimate. But, the story soon unfolded: she’d been shopping in Nashville on Tanya’s behalf when a store clerk suggested she check out Kevin Garcia Originals (KGO). She looked up the website, found a shirt that seemed to suit Tanya’s style and personality, and made the call, explaining she had a driver ready to make the trek to pick up the top and asking how best to pay.
Kevin and Josef agreed to meet the driver, but there was just one problem: the chosen shirt was an hour away at a horse show. Kevin and Josef hit the road. Halfway there, Kevin received a message with Tanya’s measurements; their hearts sank. The shirt was not going to fit as it should. They continued to the show, grabbed two pieces they thought may work, and raced back to meet the driver.
When Tanya received the shirts that night, she fell in love with both. The first, one of KGO’s hidden zipper Retro shirts that are popular in the pleasure pen, was what she wore for the announcement ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. The striped black metallic shirt has a high collar, cuffs, and a full-sleeve design.
Tanya loved the shirts so much that the friend who had connected her with KGO invited Kevin, his husband Brian, and Josef to the ceremony she’d be wearing the first piece to in Nashville. When Tanya realized who she was meeting that evening – the designer of the clothing she’d fallen immediately in love with – she dropped her bags right there in the hotel bar and wrapped him in a hug.
“She’s just a sweet soul and is genuinely nice and so welcoming,” Josef says. “There can be no better person to give us a taste of the celebrity world than her; I can’t think of a better way to be invited into it. She’s a total pleasure to work with.”
Kevin, Brian, and Josef continued their starstruck evening at the announcement ceremony where they were surrounded by stars and big-name songwriters in country music. Tanya rocked the shirt on stage and, after the ceremony, wore the second – a blue Retro Shirt – while riding a black stallion down Nashville’s famed Broadway Street, which had been shut down for the event.
Since that first introduction to the styles Kevin designs, Tanya has dubbed her KGO tops her “stage wear” reportedly saying “This is what I need for shows and tours,” and has contracted with KGO to continue styling her for upcoming events.
“We’re really excited to be designing her tour wardrobe; she’ll be all decked out in KGO!” Josef says.
Her first custom piece as part of that agreement was a peach-colored Hidden Zipper Retro Shirt with snakeskin print sheer sleeves that she’s already worn for a pre-recorded concert that will air at a later date. Tanya donned another custom piece – a Hidden Zipper Retro Western Shirt – for the ACM awards that was detailed with gold and rhinestone fringe; that shirt weighed an astounding seven pounds, a testament to KGO’s craftsmanship. And, yet one more piece – a burgundy Retro Shirt with armbands and metallic silver leather fringe that extends all the way down to the cuffs – will be worn soon.
Kevin and Josef call this opportunity coming to fruition “the stars aligning.” Despite being a common name in the show horse world for the past 20+ years, up until just a few years ago, Kevin Garcia Originals didn’t have a formal Facebook page or website for potential customers – like Tanya’s friend – to find information on his pieces. If it hadn’t been for that, the Nashville store clerk who was familiar with the brand, and for Kevin answering his phone before he’d even had his morning coffee, none of this may have happened.
“It’s really rewarding to have someone reaching out to us, taking notice of Kevin’s creativity and our work together. We didn’t have to track down anyone or ‘get in’ somehow. It speaks to the quality of our work and customer service,” Josef says. “And, to work with such a sweet celebrity who is literally a legend, is just an honor. I can’t wait to see what else she has us design for her.”
Josef describes the opportunity to combine Tanya’s world with that of the western horse show world as “a bonus – another way for Kevin to express his creativity, which he’s just giddy about,” but explains that it doesn’t change their commitment to their horse show customers. They currently have some 180 plus custom shirt orders in the queue, plus commitments to shows and work to do to maintain their quantity of off-the-rack pieces.
So, whether he’s designing for Tanya Tucker or his horse industry customers, Kevin’s style seems to always “answer the call.”
CLICK HERE to view KGO Originals’ ad in this month’s issue of GoMag.
