DES MOINES, Iowa — A year ago, Colin Behr moved back to Iowa where he’s been working on his next creation.

“It’s the anti-fashion fashion magazine,” Behr explained.

Behr is uniquely qualified for his against the grain concept. He’s been thinking about fashion since the time he could walk.

“I had an uncle that lived in Chicago during the ’90s, he got me a pair of Jordans, actually sitting up behind us, pair of toddler J’s that, you know, whether I was conscious of it or not at the time, has really played a part,” Behr said.

If the seed was planted then, it took root at Iowa State, where Behr studied industrial design.

“At that point, I was still probably nervous to come and claim like I want to design footwear at Nike, you know, that’s a crazy dream; there’s no way a kid from small town Iowa can make it out there, you know.”

After five years at Iowa State, Behr got the call.

“In a way it felt kind of like getting called up to the big leagues,” Behr said. “I still remember to this day getting, you know, the offer letter and above my computer is an MJ poster.”

Behr set off on a decade of designing for Nike.

“I think in the first five years it was, I mean over 50 projects, over 20 design patterns.”

From Air Force Ones to the Jordan brand.

“Childhood dream come true for sure,” Behr explained.

Then Behr left it all behind, moving from Portland back home.

“Early in my career I did sort of feel like I had to be in those big meccas, those big cities where the fashion and the design and the art was happening otherwise you can’t participate in it, and I kind of felt my whole life I was running away from Iowa.”

It was an idea — the Wardrobe Theory Project — that pushed Behr to turn the page.

“I never thought I would create a magazine,” Behr said, “and so it’s a fun sort of full circle moment.”

Issue one of the Wardrobe Theory Project launched earlier this year at the Dust Collective. It’s a magazine of style and sustainability mixed with storytelling and systems.

“Those typically exist in different industries and conversations, and your different areas of life. What happens when we bring all those together and what sort of conversations can we have and spark with that?”

For two years, Behr didn’t purchase any new clothes, whittled his closet to just 50 items, and with a a mindful selection, he proved his theory by creating 46,000 outfit possibilities.

“Much of the industry is all about add new, add new, add new. What happens when we reflect and what can we learn from actually looking back and really championing the things we have in our closest already,” Behr asked.

As Behr has shown, sometimes you have to look back to move forward.

“Why can’t I bring that global network that I have and tap into it from a place like Iowa and see not only how we can connect to the world from here, but also start to build a different and new industry here, locally,” Behr said.

Behr already broke the mold once, and with Wardrobe Theory Project he hopes to do it again.

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