GAME
FROM MOUND TO GOWN
Life ’ s curveball leads an athlete into fashion .
BY SAVANNAH MUÑOZ ’ 21
TYPICALLY , a promising young college pitcher would be lucky to get a phone call from the L . A . Dodgers . Not so for Derek Barham ’ 08 .
“ Son , you ’ ve torn everything in your elbow ,” said the team ’ s doctor , who had reviewed Barham ’ s MRI scans shortly after a shutout game he pitched in front of major league scouts . “ You seem like a smart kid ,” the doctor continued . “ You ’ ve got a good head on your shoulders , and a good degree . If you were my son , I ’ d tell you to find a new career .”
The words echoed in his head as Barham headed home to his mother ’ s clothing store in Fresno , California . He helped her close up but stayed behind at the shop , processing a life outside the major leagues . He had his economics degree , of course , and some prospects in the financial industry . He also had the family business , though it was struggling through the Great Recession of 2009 . But maybe , Barham thought , he could use what he learned at UC San Diego to save it .
“ I ’ ve always been a grinder ,” Barham says of his work ethic . In school , the Marshall College grad approached economic theory , math classes , and Dimensions of Culture with the same discipline as he did baseball practice . Such tenacity held as an entrepreneur : Barham renamed the shop
Mia Bella and shifted its focus from retail to custom dressmaking — something less vulnerable to the rise of online shopping . “ I studied dresses like textbooks ,” he says . “ My dad would be watching ESPN and I ’ d be studying bridal magazines , trying to figure out the difference between fit-andflares and ball gowns .” He apprenticed with seamstresses too , learning how to sew and taking garments apart to learn how they were created .
“ Being a student and playing a sport is like having two full time jobs ,” Barham says . “ I disciplined myself and brought that mentality to owning a business .”
He learned how to sketch and design ( before , he says , he could only draw a line in the dirt of a baseball field ). His new education clicked when he saw geometric paintings by designer Tadashi Shoji on a tour of his L . A . factory . “ He had been a mathematician and artist ,” says Barham . “ I realized that designing for fit was just a geometry problem . I knew that I could solve that — I did it in school every day .”
Over the years afterward , Barham and his wife , Daryl , devoted themselves to the business , eventually expanding back down to the San Diego area . They have since worked with international designers and stylists for Warner Bros . and Mariah Carey , and have an eye out for more locations and integrating into department stores . During the pandemic , he and his team have been manufacturing masks to help as well .
All the while , Barham keeps up with his former teammates and the current UC San Diego baseball team , just as his competitive spirit keeps him analyzing and staying on top of industry trends .
“ Success in fashion — it ’ s just like chasing a national championship for sports ,” Barham describes . “ You go day by day , you don ’ t look too far ahead in the future or dwell on the loss you had yesterday . You just keep striving for your best and do better and better until you get there .”
See more at : tritonmag . com / ballgowns
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