Arturo Castañeda-Contreras dressed LeBron James for the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Man of the Year issue. He was part of the team that prepared former Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration attire. He’s collaborated with labels like Willy Chavarria, Bode, and Who Decides War. Through design house Storytellers & Creators, that list extends to every conceivable name—from Madewell to Coach—and every conceivable event—from the Met Gala to a hard day of outdoor labor.
Castañeda-Contreras grew up in both Mercedes in the colonia Heidelberg, Texas, and a small Coahuila town across the border called El Coyote.
“I come from a single-parent home. My mother is an amazing woman, a warrior who raised six kids all on her own,” Castañeda-Contreras says. “That is the basis of everything I do.”
At present, that work is focused on launching several brands including the launch of Muni Behavior, a golf brand founded by Erin Lim Rhodes, E! News host and television personality, who will appear with Castañeda-Contreras at this year’s AVANCE Global 2026. This particular partnership goes even deeper for the designer, because he has worked with Lim-Rhodes for several years.
Muni Behavior will celebrate a pre-launch at AVANCE Global, with items from its inaugural line available for purchase.
Castañeda-Contreras is also excited about an upcoming and deeply personal project. AC Workwear is Castañeda-Contreras’s tribute to the culture that raised him. The brand is centered on blue-collar workers and laborers, like the migrant communities the designer was part of and worked alongside growing up.
“This is legitimate workwear,” Castañeda-Contreras explains. “I was raised in workwear, like Dickies and Carhartt. My mom would mend those clothes that we used to pick food like onions and watermelon. That is my heritage, and that felt like the right place to begin.”
This will be the designer’s first foray into ready-to-wear apparel. Having built his career in bespoke and custom-made fashion, Castañeda-Contreras sees this as his moment to express his creativity to a larger audience.
“After spending a decade at Ralph Lauren, I think people expected me to launch a luxury ready-to-wear brand, but I didn’t,” the designer explains. “I just kept my head down and kept getting better at my craft. I made a lot, failed a lot, and learned from all of my experiences. This is the moment for me to launch AC Workwear.”
For this year’s AVANCE Global, Castañeda-Contreras says he’s most looking forward to the organization’s continued expansion into arts and sports. He’s excited about the chance to celebrate those who are creative both in the arts and in business.
“There is this wonderful intersection of sports, fashion, and business, and I’m so interested in figuring out how to bring that group together,” Castañeda-Contreras says. “I’m looking forward to contributing to building this network and helping bring some of the amazing people I’ve had the chance to work with to the forefront of this conference.”
BONUS:
For those looking for the next big thing, Castañeda-Contreras encourages all part-time fashion influencers to keep an eye on brand 5000, founded by Oakland-born Taylor Thompson. Storytellers & Creators is supporting the growth of the fashion house, and Castañeda-Contreras is confident that Thompson will be a menswear “Designer of the Year” in the near future.
