Kirby Nuñez has always been able to take something from a 2D space into a 3D space. “My mind’s always been like that, even as a kid,” said Nuñez. “I used to work with PlayDough, always building sculptures.” 

This inherent perspective of the world has been a guiding force in Nuñez’s education and professional life. He graduated from URI in 2016 with a B.A. in fine art and textiles, fashion merchandising and design (TMD), and began working at PUMA as an apparel designer. After seven years of hard work, he was promoted to Senior Apparel Designer (Basketball), where he used his impressive skill set to bring ideas from the page to reality. 

In his day-to-day work life, Nuñez always designs and finds opportunities to collaborate with his team. Occasionally, they travel to Asia and South America to visit and experience the products he designed and made. He is working on an autumn/winter line that will hit stores in 2027.

Despite his success in the clothing design industry, Nuñez did not always know that’s where his passions would grow professionally.  “My home base is more so drawing and translating that into print; that just feels like home,” he explains. Something clicked, though, during his junior year at URI. “I took a cool sculpture class that taught me how to take something in a  2D space into a three-dimensional space. So the wheels started turning, and I thought, what about clothing?” From that revelation, Nuñez took an elective clothing course within his TMD major. “My mind was blown. I thought so, but this is how things are made. I did not know it was this simple!” he said. 

As a self-described “studio rat,” Nuñez has always found himself drawing and doodling, even during work meetings. When thinking about his origins as an artist, the common thread is an innate desire to make his art interactive. This took shape in his final as a fine arts major. 

“I got really tired of seeing artists on the wall and nothing being interactive. I wanted there to be something that could be touched or felt. So for my project, I created this own story where, as a viewer, you were allowed to touch the art and move the storyboards into what you thought the story was supposed to be,” Nuñez said. 

The final project had five different plots. For example, one plot depicted a Friday afternoon in his neighborhood. The story panels were color-coded and designed so that all of the red tones could line up and tell a story. He also created this storytelling mechanism to allow the viewer to pair various colors, like red, yellow, and green, to tell a different story. Overall, it made for a unique and fun exercise for himself as an artist. 

Nuñez was also a Talent Development Student, a URI program that provides access and opportunity to graduates from historically marginalized groups. With this organization and faculty support, he flourished into the artist he is today.

“They really fostered my growth as a TD student, and then I had a couple of excellent professors. My art professors, Lila Sampson and Bob Dilworth, are worth mentioning, too. They all fostered me as an artist and an art major.” 

For undergraduates inspired by Nuñez’s path, his best piece of advice is to keep exploring and be open to the changes that happen. 

“I didn’t think I would do anything with clothing for a long time. I’ve always been interested in dressing well, but I wouldn’t call myself a fashion-driven person. So based on my experience,  just be open to whatever’s out there, especially with creativity.”

To learn more about Kirby and his work, visit his website here.