ZAGB x QC: Competing Creatively

In a "recent" conversation with my friend Rosa Ng from QualityControl I 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 RESOURCE for those interested in the fashion industry and those who have a sense of entitlement to knowledge.

an INSPIRATION for 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!

CLICK HERE to see the FULL article!

MANIFESTO_of creativemoulding+criticalweathering on MUUSE. Photoshoot w. Michael Butterfin + Mallory Matoush

Pictures of our latest photo-shoot are here!!!

Have you heard about MUUSE?

MUUSE is a really cool new platform for emerging designers. "It exists in order to bring better design to the world and help young fashion entrepreneurs launch collections, through bringing a new and more sustainable business model to the fashion industry." 

They sell limited edition pieces and it is all made to order. A very sustainable concept!

I've been trying to work with them since last fall, but timing just was not right... UNTIL NOW!

HOWEVER... I am super excited to announce that some pieces from my thesis collection "MANIFESTO_of_creativemoulding+criticalweathering" 

will be up for sale through MUUSE starting MARCH 7th (hopefully)!!!

My thesis collection is the one I showed at the 19th edition of MITTELMODA, in Italy last July.

Although I had some nice images from the runway + from a shoot with friend/amazing photographer Jordan Cortese... I did not have detailed images of each garment.

In a bit of a rush I was able to organize a photo shoot (with the help of Model Mayhem) and was super lucky to find a wonderful photographer and model. We planned everything in 3 days and had the shoot at my uncle's apartment in Brooklyn Heights.

Thanks:

-MODEL: Mallory Matoush

 for understanding our concept and being such a trooper. you are a true beauty!

-PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Butterfin

for helping me organize this in such a short time, and being so passionate about everything you do!

-Hair/Makeup: HELP Ileana Goveo Balmaseda

hope you like the pictures as much as we do +
catch me on MUUSE on MARCH 7th!
xox

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "moss_formations_cutout_tunic"
made w. recycled cotton yarn (from T-shirt production waste ) hand-dyed w. vegetable (coffee +curry) and non-toxic dyes. embellished w. hand-embroidered French knots

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "moss_formations_dress"
made w. organic/recycled yarns, hand-dyed w. vegetable + non-toxic dyes

 

  

Mallory Matoush is wearing the"mossformations_HWskirt" made w. museling-free wool, 

hand-dyed w. low-impact/non-toxic GREENER Dyes® + vegetable dyes. 

embellished with hand-embroidered french knots. 

AND the "root-ed_2wayshrug"  made w. crocheted + felted 100% organic + recycled wool (from de-knitted sweaters).

Mallory Matoush is wearing the  "root-ed_2wayshrug" 

  made w. crocheted + felted 100% organic + recycled wool (from de-knitted sweaters).

 

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "root-ed_transformableshrug" made w. crocheted+felted 100% organic + recycled wool (from de-knitted sweaters).

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "birch-en_cuffedleggings" 

made from 100% recycled cotton (from T-shirt production waste). 

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "onesleeve_croptop" made w. 100% organic cotton and hand dyed w. low-impact/non-toxic GREENER Dyes®.

            

Mallory Matoush is wearing the "root-ed_dress" outer part made w. crocheted organic+recycled yarns (from de-knitted sweaters) base textile is an irregular rib knitted from dead-stock yarn.

 

new chapter + UPDATES!

Returning to New York has been -as always- a bit strange. 

In the past few years I've been spending some time in Europe, and the more time I spend there, the more It becomes a 3rd home (Puerto Rico my first, NYC my second, and Europe-mostly Italy- my third).

It is always bittersweet, as many of the great opportunities I've been given as an emerging designer have come from initiatives happening in the OLD CONTINENT:

Last year Mittelmoda in Italy, and The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris, and this year The Green Fashion Competition during Amsterdam Fashion Week. Not to mention our latest feature on Mellina+Co's spring look-book which we shot in Florence last month.

I have this never-ending argument with myself, as after graduation I didn't imagine myself being here in NY. I was/am relentlessly searching for opportunities abroad... and every time I go, I want to stay; but this time it was very, very different. 

I realized that although the European mindset is one that I appreciate, and that I admire their respect they have for a lot of things  (like arts+crafts/ personal+family time/quality of life/social programs)... it will take me twice as long to get things done there, to promote my in-the-works brand, and to excel. The fastness of this city is both what I love and hate, its what makes me want to be here and what makes me want to run away.

HOWEVER...Now that I've started building my company,  I think will be here for a bit longer and take advantage of the wonderfully supportive design community I'm part of, the endless and accessible resources and the flexible/versatile/varied- yet intense lifestyle you can have here. If I get tired a few months/years down the line I can always run to my other/adoptive homes in Europe or Puerto Rico for a bit (or a while)...

Anyway, following will be a set of blogposts updating you about the articles where my work has been mentioned, what I've been concocting lately and the very-exciting collaborations we've been a part of.  

Hope you enjoy reading:

xo 

zaida adriana

• The Knitwear Accessories I created with/for Auralis which were at MINTfair in Amsterdam and at CAPSULE NYC during their respective FashionWeeks
•  Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda featured in Mellina+Co's Spring '12 lookbook
• My MANIFESTO_of creativemoulding+criticalweathering collection shot by Michael Butterfin + model Mallory Matoush for MUUSE
•  The KNITTING PARTY at Rosa Ng's (from Quality Control)
•  The photoshoot we just had for VNB Magazine's April issue where our clothes will be featured!!!
• The launch of my collection on MUUSE.com on March 7th!

post-summer report

This summer was amazing and eventful; and I know I completely dissappeared from the face of this blogging-earth....

I've recently graduated from FIT with a BFA in Fashion Design:Knitwear Specialization, and a Minor in Italian Studies- finally!-.

After finishing an amazing internship at STUDY NY (with Tara St. James), and putting together an art-gallery event at the Tribeca Grand with a designer's collective I'm part of (MMXIproject), I headed to Europe...

I was chosen as a finalist for an international competition called Mittelmoda which gave me  the amazing opportunity of showcasing my work in a runway in Italy. I left for Italy in the begining of June, and after attending my first Italian wedding, and going to the beach for 3 days in Tuscany; my batteries were re-charged and ready to go to Milan to work some crazy hours and finish knitting my collection.

After the competition, I went back to Florence, to my "adoptive" family, and waited to attend Pitti Filati (an amazing yarn show). I have to write a long-overdue post on that too, but that will be on a new "knitting/yarn" blog that I'm working on.

A few weeks later I went to London for a bit:  I worked on my CV and website (which is FINALLY up now), did some eco-fashion research, and was freelancing for Kimmiekakes while preparing for the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris where my work was exhibited and "represented" FIT in "its" Sustainability efforts.

Europe has always given me the chance to express myself, and this is one of the places where I feel my work is most embraced and respected. However (and unfortunately), because I am an american citizen, there are difficult immigration/bureaucratic issues and geographical barriers to face- which is why I am back in New York... and re-planning my future.

enjoy the next series of posts- I owed you big time!

mittelmoda2011_appuntidaunafinalista

mittelmoda_2011

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.

HERE I GO!...
this outfit opened the show!

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Roberta de Min

photo x Jean Kim

photo x Laura Jean Bailey

photo x Jesee Lee