A few weeks ago I got the honor to sit down and chat with an amazing individual from Argentina who I met through one of his friends and I was instantly captured by his passion for his work and his work ethic. Enjoy this few questions he agreed to answer about His past & His Future
What is your back story?
I was born on the 11th of August, 1997 in Buenos Aires. As a kid, I moved to a small city in the coast of Argentina called Mar del Plata, because of my parents work. As long I can remember I’ve always been into art, I would spend entire days drawing and painting, making dresses and houses for my sister’s Barbie dolls and I remember how fascinated I was by dressing their bodies. Playing with shapes and fabrics, and hand sewing at the age of 6.
As I grew older I developed more interest in structures, I remember I’d spent hours and hours in front of the computer looking for architectural photos and I’d felt amazed by it, so I really thought I would grow to be an architect, but that wasn’t my real passion, what actually moved me was still fashion. So I decided to combine both of the things that I love, structures and clothing, and started Fashion School three years ago, which has given me lots of opportunities in my career, such as winning the prestigious fashion contest “Yo, el jóven creador de Moda” that lead me to presenting my first collection in the FW 2019 Argentina Fashion Week. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I know that I’m really looking forward to find out what life will bring next for my career.
What is your earliest memory of fashion?
My earliest memory of fashion comes from seeing my mom work while I was a kid. She has a Women’s clothing store in my city. I don´t remember the clothes, but I remember seeing the way she talked to women, the way she made them feel, the advice on different shapes and fabrics she gave to them, the compliments also. She is a really nice person, and she taught me to be kind to everyone, to treat people with respect and to make women feel good through fashion, and it’s something that got stuck with me throughout the years and that I will always have with me.
What is the thing or things that inspired you?
The inspiration for this collection came from the Disney character, Cruella de Vil, her essence and her power were the main focus but since she is a really well known character I wanted to show a fresh look of her and not one that was obvious or seen before, which led me in taking inspiration in a younger Cruella, in her beginnings mostly. I imagined her being my age, starting in fashion, struggling with all the challenges young designers do, and most importantly what she would wear to take over the world. While sketching I had this question in my mind all the time and so I came with the idea of making this collection a progress that made sense. Starting with the basics, clothing she could wear day to day. For example, to go college or for doing her regular activities, but of course in a very Cruella de Vil way, and as her career and growth evolved, the way she dresses would evolve with her as well, and that’s when all the sparkles, furs and gowns appear.
What do you consider to be fashion and why?
I consider to be fashion everything you can wear that has heart and art in it. Something that’s been thought about, dreamt about and worked on, and wants to express something.
Fashion is eternal because it has life in it, the soul of the designer who dreamt it and of all the people who helped to make that dream a reality. It is really magical if you think about it.
What role do you think social media plays in fashion today?
Social media is huge. It has affected every single aspect of our lives, the way we communicate, the way we show ourselves, and it surely has affected fashion as well, and the way we dress.
In my personal opinion, I think of it as a big window, especially for young designers like me. A window that gives you the chance to have contact to the entire world at the palm of your hands, to show your work and who you are to the entire world with a few clicks, but also I think that we have to be very responsible with the message we want to give.
How do you want woman to feel when they are wearing your clothes?
I love to think about this. I want them to feel invincible. I always thought of clothing as an armor we wear every single day to face whatever we are going through, whether it’s good or not so good. So when I think about women wearing something I made, I want them to have this feeling of being unstoppable.
Out of all the pieces in your collection which one was the most complicated to create? How many hours of work does the entire collection have?
Definitely the finale dress. It is a hand-made tulle dress made with almost 500 meters of fabric divided in two colors: black and white. It took months to make, and lots of fittings with the model to make sure it fit perfect. And it’s actually one of the dresses that I made by myself, so I always joke that it has a part of my soul in it.
The entire collection took four and a half months to make, by a team of five people, including myself.
How do you choose fabrics?
Really good fabrics are hard to find in Argentina, most of it is imported from China and you do not know who produced it and under what conditions. So first, I wanted to make sure for this collection especially, that I knew the company that produced the fabrics, which led me to find an amazing family company based in Buenos Aires that distributed mostly Argentinean and Italian fabrics.
Lucky for me, I have my grand Aunt Martha who is an expert and has worked in fashion for over 60 years, so every time I shop for fabrics she comes with me and teaches me everything she knows.
Describe the collection in one word.
POWERFUL
Santiago Vaschetti
How was the experience of presenting your collection in Fashion Week?
It was really amazing the fact that they trusted in a really young designer to present his first collection on such a big event as Fashion Week.
It taught me a lot, about timing especially. All the hard work and organization it takes to make everything work the way it does. Scouting the models, the makeup, rehearsals, it’s such a big world inside of these events that only last a few minutes and it is a really special and rewarding feeling to be a part of it.
Where do you see the fashion industry 10 years from now?
I think the fashion industry it’s really going into being more sustainable each day. Because the consumer now it’s more responsible than ever. So, I see fashion 10 years from now having new bases. Being functional and beautiful but most importantly sustainable for our environment.
What is one thing you want everyone to know about you?
One thing that I want everyone to know about me is that I’m always evolving, always looking for new things to do, to experience and to create. I’m a very open-minded person and I’m always searching for the next thing.
If you would like to learn more about he’s designs and ways of purchase, visit his site by clicking the Contact Button.