At first glance, Vance Wentworth ? also known as Mac ? seems like your average 22-year-old from the city, sporting ripped jeans and a hoodie. The creator of the Maccadu brand is indeed approachable and humble.

Wentworth first fell in love with fashion in high school, initially aiming to design sneakers. “One morning, I saw a Blackberry commercial that showed this one guy who had a sneaker line, and he handled this whole sneaker line on his Blackberry. That was amazing to me. I have always been into dressing up and taking risks. After that commercial, I immediately picked up sneaker design and starting sketching.”

How did a 17-year-old boy, popular and athletic, come to learn to sew in his senior year of high school?

“I saw this girl who had on a bat costume on ? it wasn’t Halloween ? and I thought it was amazing, so I asked her where she got it, and she said she made it herself. I thought “YES! This is one step closer to making sneakers,” so I asked her to teach me to design clothes and sew. She taught me the basics of sewing. It was funny because she was this nerdy white girl and she brought me home, this random black dude living down South. At first, her mom didn’t know what to do, and by the time I moved back to Massachusetts, I had become a part of their family.”

After learning how to sew in high school, Wentworth decided to apply to the New York Institute of Art. Although accepted, he decided that the tuition was far too costly and attended The Massachusetts Institute of Art, which was closer to home. What makes Wentworth’s success and skill level astounding is that he only took one semester of courses for fashion design. “I decided to leave school when I realized that I wouldn’t actually be sewing until my second or third year. The beginning was about the economics and marketing of fashion, all things I could learn myself or find people who are skilled in that area to work with me.”

Armed with one semester of school, ambition and a dream to design fabulous sneakers, Wentworth set off to create Maccadu. The brand’s name is as unique as its creator.

“For some reason, my friends who were Spanish-speaking couldn’t pronounce my name, so they called me Vinny. It then changed to Vinny Mac, and since I was so talented, it changed to “Mac Can Do.” This led to the name of my brand, Maccadu, because Mac can do anything.”

Wentworth has proven his ability to do anything and everything. “Before I hired my assistant and COO, I was managing the social media pages, my personal and business emails, overseeing the brand’s finances, designing and sewing new collections, doing graphic design and photography, as well as collaborating with local artists to create partnerships in order to promote them using my brand as a platform.” When asked when he slept, he quipped, “There was no time for that!”

The Maccadu line, established in 2014, has blossomed into an exclusive clothing line, with new collections released each February.

“I look at my fashion as art; that’s why I say collectible. I can be inspired by anything ? a cool pair of shoes, a feeling, anything. There are a few designers I pay attention to, one being Ronnie Fieg out of New York.”

You can find his pieces at pop-up shops and on his website. “The average cost of a T-shirt or hoodie is between $20 and $40; a more authentic piece would be between $80-$250. An authentic Maccadu piece is either a jacket or a jersey that is hand-sewn and packaged in a handmade drawstring bag. A new project we just started working on is swimsuits for women of all sizes.”

For more information, visit maccaduclothing.com. Follow Maccadu on Instagram @vinn_mac and Facebook.

-Victoriahope MCAULIFFE