In a "recent" conversation with my friend Rosa Ng from QualityControlI told her about how important the competitions I've participated in have been. They've given me A LOT of exposure (which has brought other opportunities) but also (and I think most importantly) encouraged me and given me the confidence to go out there and keep working on my art.
Later on she emailed asking if I'd be interested in writing a little something for QC sharing my experiences with the various competitions (Mittelmoda & TGFC) as she thought students would love to hear about them.
I didn't have to think about it twice; I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything about QC:
1)Because it is a wonderful community/industry-building initiative. I am so proud of Rosa and Tiffany for coming up with this idea and keeping it going!
Quality Control is: a SPACE to read and share about your internship experiences while streamlining the word-of-mouth operation within the fashion internship community.
a TOOL to provide easy-access tutorials, templates, and guides relevant to daily tasks in the fashion industry.
a RESOURCEfor those interested in the fashion industry and those who have a sense of entitlement to knowledge.
an INSPIRATIONfor your mood, archive, and portfolio.
2) Because I would've loved to have someone share some insightful information about the competitions when I was thinking about applying to them. Plus, I want to spread awareness about all the great opportunities that are out there and encourage more students/recent-graduates to take advantage of them!
Last Fall when I returned to NYC after my Euro-trip (the Mittelmoda competition, and the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris) I re-connected with my ex-boss, fellow puertorrican eco-designer, and friend Auralis Herrero Lugo; the designer behind Auralis (an eco-friendly label of exquisite clothes with an "Urban-Tropical" flair) .
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I interned with Auralis in the Fall of 2010 during my senior year of college, and helped with the preparation for the launch of her line during The Green Shows. It was an amazing experience, and I felt very connected to her vision and her line. It was super heartwarming to work with/for someone who comes from my beautiful little island but is out here trying to make a difference.
Every time I went to the studio it felt a bit like going back home... and thats how I became part of her eco-venture. We've kept in touch ever since, and she's been incredibly supportive of my creative endeavors... given me advice and even wrote an article about the work I exhibited at the MMXIproject on Elpuntoes!
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Anyhow, when we re-connected last September, she told me she was experimenting with natural-dyes at her studio. Since I was very interested in learning more, I offered to go help her out+learn for a few days. From that a knitwear collaboration was born.
Auralis wanted to include a knitwear element in her collection and I got really excited about developing some samples for her. Its the first time I collaborated with someone else and made accessories. It was a challenge, but definitely learned a lot and the pictures look amazing!
3+ months and MANY samples later (we tried various hat, scarf and headband shapes) we ended up with a turban/headpiece called "chacón headband" and the "iris scarf" all in reference to Iris Chacón. “Iris Chacón was a character I grew up watching in Puerto Rico. She had a variety show in the island for over 12 years. She was a fashion and beauty inspiration to all Puerto Rican women of my generation”
"For autumn 2012 Auralís collaborated with fellow sustainable designer, Zaida Adriana Goveo-Balmaseda. The collaboration includes a scarf and a turban, knitted using a blend of organic merino, baby alpaca and silk yarn; luxurious on the skin and beautiful on the eye. All yarns were also dyed naturally at the studio."
*pics from Auralis' blog
"In Auralis’s vision Iris Chacón travels from Puerto Rico to Scotland via New York wearing the Autumn 2012 Auralis collection; she leaves all the men in kilts speechless. This Urban Tropical takes her city chic attitude combined with her Caribbean flair everywhere she goes."
The Knitwear accessories I created with/for Auralis which were just shown at MINTfair in Amsterdam and at CAPSULE NYC during their respective FashionWeeks and will also hopefully be up for sale online through Auralis' e-shop.
"Auralís just showed the collection at Amsterdam’s MINT Modefabriek and in Europe for the first time with Origin 23 Showroom, “MINT is a driving force for the eco fashion world which is where the future of fashion lies”. – Eileen Moran, who started Origin 23, brings together talented eco designers and gives their collections a home."*
I'm posting my favorite pictures from her Fall '12 collection below (and some process/behind the scenes pics as always)PLUS a wonderful video by Emerald Gold/Omar King. You can see more looks in her lookbook.
So much talent on that photoshoot!
Auralís Herrero Lugo for Auralís Jewelry - Luiny Rivera Gelpi Talent - Laura Wilson, Collin Tanner Director - Mónica Félix Shot/Chop - Omar King Makeup - Karlo Beau Hair - George Ortiz PA - Mayumi Yamada PA - Jenny Macgregor Dennis Mario Sweet "Mario"
Thi video documents some of the handwork/fiber/textile ♥ we've been using at the "studio" for the collection we are preparing to show The Green Fashion Competition on Jan 27th.
I'm back to being cybernetically connected. After spending two days knitting intensely (for The Green Fashion Competition and Auralis), here are some visuals from behind the scenes!
Also, this week we were featured in an amazing article written for ECO SALON by Abigail Doan. Abigail is an incredible writer/textile artist/master createur who I've had the pleasure to connect/interact with a lot lately. Its super gratifying to see she truly understands/appreciates my work! Please check it out: Plying A More Fashionable Fiber Frontier
Zaida shared some of the following sentiments with us regarding her resourceful process and intention:
“Through my work I intend to encourage and engage people to use craft for solutions, and for my current project we are recycling studio textile waste. I discovered the spinning process while researching recycled yarns, and given that I was not really satisfied with my finds, I wanted to work with a fiber that I had complete control over and that would positively impact my surroundings, including the people I know.
Spinning yarn can be done with a very simple tool, and many people can participate in the transformation of this raw material. In just one week I taught my grandparents, brother, sister, and mother how to spin. We are creating and sharing stories together, and it has been incredibly rewarding to see everyone cooperating and enthusiastically wanting to learn a new skill. Each skein is unique, just like its spinner and the runway garments that we are knitting as well.”
enjoy the pics...
view from the "studio" window- our pincushion is a small sofa and behind id the BKLYN bridge
just a photographic update of what's happening in zaidibirindilandia!
we've been playing with natural dyes, and these are some pictures from a few weeks ago. so ironic that after the travels and the experimentation two of the most important colors came out of things that are so familiar to me and that I never thought of DYING with... achiote (annatto) and black bean water! the black bean water was very intriguing. when i dyed a piece of mordanted organic cotton in the cold water (from the soaked beans) that had never been heated, the fabric turned out purple. after heating the water, the resulting color on a new piece of mordanted organic cotton was gray!
fabric being dyed in black bean water
left: black bean skins, right : fabric drying
fabric dyed with achiote, coffee, curry, turmeric
those colors made me think of THIS- which remind me so much of my days in FLORENCE, and make me wish this was my view -from the studio-
and that this was me, going outside to have a chat with the sun and wish him a good night
I guess you will just have to stay tuned to find out more.
Its been a whirlwinding couple of weeks, working hard in the preparation for our collection for The Green Fashion Competition.
I've been able to connect to people through my work and it is one of the most rewarding feelings. Its inspiring, encouraging and reaffirming: Its like knowing that you are doing the right thing at the right time, that you are on a "mission" and that the journey is magical!
I love sharing my work, receiving feedback and advice; and I am so fortunate to be surrounded by people that are interested, supportive and sending me amazing vibes.
So, before I bombard you with images I'd like to thank each and every one of you who has reach out and given me good energy and happy wishes, - they go a long way- !
Tara St. James from STUDY NY, Daniel Silverstein from 100% NY, and Auralis Herrero Lugo from Auralis Studio for letting me recycle their fabric scraps and the encouragement.
Jessica Velez from Jessica Velez Knitwear for letting me come over and use your studio to drape and knit, and for being there since day 1.
To my mom -master seamstress and crafter- for joining me on this adventure and becoming a FULL TIMER on our "travelling studio", my sister and her boyfriend who've donated all their free time to cutting fabric strips and learning how to spin (yes, the boyfriend is discovering the world of craft but I won't mention any names because I promised I would say that he was watching the football game while "the girls" sewed their lives away ;P )
To Leo and Dani for coming over and lending a hand, to my uncles for letting this greenventure take over their apartment, for the understanding and the feeding the entire crew!... AND, thanks to my friends, whose inboxes I've clogged with emails asking for music, styling suggestions and business-plan advice.
There was an incredible panel of very inspired and inspiring individuals:
- Carmen Artigas: A sustainable design consultant and professor of Ethical Fashion at FIT and Parsons The New School for Design - Eileen Moran: from NOW Showcase which has fostered incredible support and collaborations between buyers, press and designers.
- Summer Rayne Oakes: from Source4Style
- Deidre McGuigan: INDEGO AFRICA a social enterprise that partners with women artisans in Rwanda on a fair trade basis to drive forward a sustainable, long-term solution to systemic poverty in Africa.
- David Radparvar: from HOLSTEE which produces designer products and sustainability standards.
- Erica Wolf: from Save the Garment Center
This great evening full of motivated, commited, like-minded people working towards a common goal made me realize that being in New York is not that bad after all. Maybe I should think about that saying... "When life gives you lemons (this is a pretty GREAT lemon BTW), make BANGING lemonade"
I have tons of work to do regarding the collection for The Green Fashion Competition, but I'm too inspired and wound up...so I'm sharing with you some of my notes from tonight.
INNOVATION & SOCIAL IMPACT
- be INNOVATIVE with your SOCIAL IMPACT by COLLABORATING and sharing, busines to business, and SPACES.
- share the stories behind your product and TALK | TALK | TALK about what you are doing. This creates AWARENESS
- when you go shopping, ASK the salespeople about where the product was made and the working conditions there... this shows you care, and that message will get through to the people running your favorite brands, and change will happen
- look at the existing business model, re-examine it and think about the life of your product. Create a closed-loop with your customer.
- as designers we can reduce consumption and still keep our customers... its all about that closed-loop. We can create things that SOLVE our world's problems
- let's align our business practices to the Millennium Goals
- make a BOLD statement
WHAT INSPIRES YOU to be a part of the sustainability efforts?
- the opportunity for CHANGE
- women artisans... giving them the TOOLS so that they can later access clients themselves and we can act just as "consultants" and advisors.
How can we INFLUENCE our customers?
- when you have a product speaks for itself and competes with market mostly because of its quality and design.
- through EDUCATION... reaching the people who DO care, and teaching the people who don't (YET)
- through relationship building and long-term story telling
- by establishing a dialog with your buyers/customers... ask them their opinion (even throughout the designing process) so that you are making things that are needed/wanted.
- help customers UNDERSTAND your CHALLENGES, and show them they can be FLEXIBLE in their choices.
What can we do to REDUCE our IMPACT?
- PRODUCE LOCALLY, try to MINIMIZE your carbon footprint, create jobs, and sustain YOUR resources
- Make sure your LABOR workers are working in conditions that meet certain standards.
- ACCOUNTABILITY is important | Humans MATTER | look and force other people to examine the supply chain and to see the connection between everyone and everything. Its NOT just about the materials OR the end product.
- ASK Questions
- establish POSITIVE peer pressure; question your friends, start the dialogue!
- THINK about every purchase you make, don't create excuses or justify yourself.
Mittelmoda is an annual international design competition, held in Gorizia, Italy. It acts as a platform for recent graduates and young designers to connect with each other, network and gain some exposure-while presenting their capsule collections- to a jury composed bt some of the most powerful and important people in the Italian/European fashion industry.
I had the honor to be chosen as one of the 17 finalists (out of more than 600 applicants) and I was truly excited to be a part of it: http://zagb.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-horizons.html especially because it gave me a CONCRETE reason to come back to EUROPE!
photo x Jesee Lee
I've been in Italy for a month and a half now, and its been a rollercoaster of emotions. In fact - I APPOLOGIZE for being MIA, and having abbandoned the blog-
I spent my first week back sleeping a lot, attending a friend's wedding, eating delicious food, and catching up with important people... I needed a breather because the past 3 months had been incredibly tough/crazy- and what was about to come was no piece of cake.
I had to make 4 outfits in roughly 2 weeks. I'm talking about knitted outfits composed of 2+ pieces each- so... lets think= 7pieces.
I went to MILAN and was able to use the labs at the Politecnico di Milano (where I studied abroad x a year) to finish my collection. I was at the lab every day from 9-6pm and then kept going once I went home. I mapped out a work schedule, taking in consideration how much time I thought it would take me to make each garment- but as usual- everything took twice as long.
After many sleepless nights ... the collection was done! (mind you, i was still burrying ends of yarn on the train ride to Gorizia)
MY backstage rack. photo x kat chen
All the finalists were invited to spend 3 days in Gorizia, IT. It was an amazing oportunity to meet incredible people from all over the world who share the same passion, to discuss, and have a great exchange of ideas. PLUS... we got to see our collections modelled by professional models, in a real catwalk- AND have nice pictures- I'm still trying to get some more, in the meantime... enjoy!
the 3 "graces"! celebrating the 150 of a united Italy.
Its been a couple of crazy days/weeks/months and I PROMISE I will write a long update POST after the 2nd of July (along with pics, emails and pictures to those of you I owe)
THE SCHEDULE:
currently- MILAN (until WEDS)
June29-Jul2 = GORIZIA/Mittelmoda
Jul 2-Jul7= FIRENZE/Pitti Filati
Jul7-Jul19 = LONDON/Miss England
...unknown...
Sept 1-4= (maybe)Paris/Ethical Fashion Show
just some pics of my fun fun time preparing the "collection"
