About Adrian Zalewski

About Adrian Zalewski

I'm Adrian Zalewski, the founder and editor of My Urban Clothing. I created the platform to bring together urban clothing and streetwear brands, products, trends, and information in one place so people can more easily discover new brands and find clothing that reflects their individual style.

My Urban Clothing represents the intersection of two long-standing interests in my life: technology and personal expression through fashion.

I've been professionally involved in web development since 2008, while my interest in urban fashion, streetwear, skate culture, photography, and independent clothing brands developed much earlier. My goal with My Urban Clothing is to combine those interests into a useful platform for discovering and exploring urban fashion.

My Professional Background

I have worked as a Senior Full Stack PHP Developer at VUP Media since May 2008, building and maintaining websites, web applications, e-commerce platforms, content management systems, business automation solutions, and digital infrastructure.

My professional experience includes PHP, MySQL, Linux, Apache, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, WordPress, Drupal, e-commerce platforms, REST APIs, cloud infrastructure, SEO, data integration, and digital publishing.

Over my career, I have delivered more than 50 successful web projects and have worked on systems ranging from business websites to large product catalogs. One of my projects involved launching an e-commerce store supporting landing pages for approximately 60,000 product SKUs.

I've also developed custom WordPress plugins, custom Drupal modules, product and analytical data integrations, business workflow automation, authentication systems, and SEO improvements for numerous websites.

This technical background is an important part of My Urban Clothing. The platform isn't simply a collection of articles. It is a technology-driven product discovery and publishing platform that I designed, developed, and continue to maintain.

My Connection to Urban Fashion

My interest in urban fashion and streetwear comes from years of personal experience with clothing, retail, skate culture, independent brands, and creative communities.

Earlier in my life, I worked in retail at Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess, and Banana Republic. Those experiences gave me firsthand exposure to clothing retail, consumers, brands, and the way people use fashion to express themselves.

I also grew up following skateboarding and skate culture and developed a strong interest in urban clothing brands including LRG, Coogi, South Pole, and Ecko Clothing.

I've always viewed clothing as more than something functional. Style can communicate personality, creativity, identity, interests, and individuality.

That belief is a major reason I became interested in creating a platform focused on urban fashion.

The Inspiration Behind My Urban Clothing

A friendship with Christopher Santos, founder of iCandy Clothing, helped inspire my original vision for My Urban Clothing.

I was fascinated by the creativity and independent spirit behind urban clothing brands and wanted to create something that could help people discover those brands more easily.

I began developing versions of the My Urban Clothing concept in 2013. The project went through multiple iterations over the years before the current platform was publicly launched.

The underlying idea has remained consistent:

Bring urban fashion discovery together in one place.

Today, My Urban Clothing is designed to help visitors discover brands, explore products, learn about styles and trends, and find new areas of urban fashion that interest them.

Building the Platform

I personally developed the technology behind My Urban Clothing and continue to manage its technical infrastructure.

The platform uses Drupal and a structured content architecture to organize brand, product, category, editorial, and other information.

I've also built the systems that aggregate and synchronize product information through affiliate data feeds, helping keep the product discovery catalog organized as retailer and product information changes.

Beyond development, I manage the site's technical SEO, structured data, server infrastructure, security, performance, DevOps, affiliate integration, and ongoing platform improvements.

My goal is to make the platform both useful for visitors and technically strong enough to support a growing fashion information and discovery resource.

How I Research Urban Fashion

My approach to fashion research is intentionally broader than simply following my own preferences.

When researching brands and topics, I look at official brand websites, product information, social media activity, publicly available sources, current events, cultural developments, and other relevant information.

I also pay attention to search interest and social activity to understand which brands, styles, and topics are gaining attention.

Influential musicians, artists, athletes, creators, and other cultural figures can play an important role in shaping urban fashion and streetwear, so I consider their influence when researching trends and cultural developments.

I try to answer a simple question:

What is currently relevant to the urban fashion community?

That means a brand or trend does not have to be one of my personal favorites to deserve coverage.

Firsthand Experience With Clothing

I have personally purchased and worn urban clothing and streetwear over the years, giving me firsthand experience with many of the styles and brands that influence my interest in the industry.

That personal experience can inform editorial content when I have actually used or experienced a product.

However, I do not personally test every product listed in the My Urban Clothing catalog. The site's product catalog can contain products and information supplied through affiliate networks and participating retailers.

When I write about a product based on firsthand experience, I aim to distinguish that experience from retailer-provided product information and general research.

Photography and Creative Media

Photography has been another long-standing creative interest.

I've photographed weddings, events, and urban-related subjects and have experience with photography, Photoshop, graphic design, and video production.

Earlier in my career, I also worked part-time as a graphic designer.

My interest in photography and alternative culture has influenced the way I think about visual identity, storytelling, brands, and creative self-expression.

These interests naturally complement My Urban Clothing's focus on fashion and culture.

My Editorial Philosophy

My Urban Clothing exists to celebrate urban fashion and make discovering it easier.

My editorial goals are to:

• Help people discover new and established brands
• Make urban fashion easier to navigate
• Introduce readers to streetwear and related styles
• Explain fashion trends and cultural developments
• Provide useful style and clothing information
• Give emerging and independent brands greater visibility
• Help readers discover and compare products
• Separate useful information from marketing hype
• Encourage individuality and creative self-expression

I don't want My Urban Clothing to simply tell people what they should wear.

I want it to help people discover what is out there so they can decide what fits their own personality and style.

Technology Meets Fashion

My Urban Clothing is where my professional experience and personal interests come together.

My career has taught me how to build scalable websites, organize large amounts of information, work with product data, improve search visibility, develop e-commerce systems, and create useful digital experiences.

My interest in urban fashion has given me a reason to apply those skills to something I genuinely enjoy.

The result is a platform designed around discovery rather than simply selling a single product or representing a single clothing brand.

About the Person Behind the Platform

I grew up in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to Cumberland, Rhode Island when I was seven years old.

My background has given me an appreciation for both technology and creative self-expression. I enjoy programming, website development, photography, visual design, and exploring the ways technology can connect people with ideas, brands, and communities.

My Urban Clothing is an ongoing project and continues to evolve as the urban fashion and streetwear landscape changes.

I'm building it with the long-term goal of creating a useful, transparent, and enjoyable destination for anyone interested in discovering urban fashion.

Connect With My Professional Work

My professional background and development work can be explored through my professional portfolio and other public professional profiles.

For information about how My Urban Clothing researches and publishes its content, see our Editorial Guidelines.

For questions, corrections, or other inquiries, please visit our Contact page.