If I were a boy part II

 

Finally some time to get lose and ....write... yeah I don't have energies to get off my sweet sofa, these whole stitching-my-dreams philosophy has been hectic but incredibly a.ma.zing.... Like I was saying, I'm the head designer for WILSON and this is the first collection I designed for them. I wanted to do a basic, easy-to-wear and El Salvador-weather friendly collection so I thought Oxford Pinpoint Fabrics in very light colors would be perfect for this and some prints that would add up a modern look to the collection, since it can be worn for work or leisure and still look nice. For the campaign I wanted the new WILSON man to be very modern, clean, crisp and free, with a little flare and twist from the traditional ..cough..boring... cough.. salvadoran men. That's why I decided to use Torre Futura as a location for some of the looks and a sugar cane field for others. I was lucky to have my very good friend and favorite photographer Lucho  as part of my team.

When done, I realized that this is more than a project for me, this is my life and je l'adoreeeeeee! I love thinking about fabrics, cuts, details, sewing, even pattern-making which can be a pain sometimes... I love scouting locations, styling and beeing stressed as hell... at the end its worth every single moment... I love the pics, I love the shirts, I love the looooook!!!!!! .. Salvadoran Fashion Scene... here.. I... goooooooo!
 

If I were a boy...

Its been ages since last time I posted something here... but I've decided to share my new life project. I've called it like that because I have the feeling that since February 1st I live, breath, eat, dream, talk and laugh about WILSON, a Salvadoran menswear label I'm working for.

So, If I were a boy, I would definitely start following this brand to discover how its transforming from a boring old man brand to a very cool/elegant young man lifestyle.

As a fashion designer I'm in love with this project and I've decided to share what I can, when I can. So first things first. The story begins around 1967 in El Salvador, when the company decides to launch a shirt line named WILSON, during times where products Salvadorans consumed were locally created and produced. The brand grew very fast, it was THE shirt to wear. But the world took a different path and so did the fashion business, they started to change and evolve.

Now 40 years later, things have changed. The brand got lost in translation and never made it to current times... and this is where I come into the story... We're taking the label and brand to the next level...

One of the first things I was in charge was the brand identity which was a total mess! It wasn't cohesive, it didn't had any feeling and it was old fashioned not to mention it looked like another brand which made it even worst.. so this is the before...


and THIS is the after....

If I were married…

We had to do a S/S 09 Collection for a sports brand and right away I picked Adidas for different and personal reasons. One of them was that I admire the loyalty some people have with the brand. I see Adidas more than just a brand, is a complete life style and philosophy!!!, and every time you wear a garment you are making a statement with it.

So I started analyzing that concept: loyalty, when all of the sudden the light came to my mind. For me loyalty a is acommitment, is something you decide for how long you want it, when you want it, how you want it and so on... just like a tattoo.

Tattoos are like stories, they’re symbolic of the important moments in your life, they’re statements and with them you can tell people what you are and what you believe in. Tattoos are like marriage it’s a lifelong commitment... is for life, is until death due us part. So that is how I see Adidas, a brand that people are loyal to. Loyal for life, loyal till death.

Here are some of the proposals, click on them so you can see them more in detail.

If I were the Nutcraker...

While I was a student in fashion school we had to develop a high-end luxury collection for F/W 09/10 and since I’m a big, I mean HUGE fan of John Galliano, aka l’enfant terrible, I pretended to be one of the lucky dwarfs/slaves chez Christian Dior and so I assumed my roll and started working ASAP et voilà my inspiration: The Nutcracker.

I was very inspired by the shape of the Nutcracker, its made out of wood therefore has almost no movement. I love the proportion and shape it has, so I was aiming for a very structured and stiff feeling with a ballet-fluffiness contrast playing with some layers and military details... I love the playful result. And if you're wondering why I left some of the sketches uncolored its just because I love to see the plain shapes sometimes...


For the accessories I was inspired by the roll of what the Nutcracker is in the play, a soldier. I experimented with the shape of the hat and these are my babies, the accessories I designed.




For the bags, I decided that I wanted to do my own version of the Lady Dior bag, trying to keep it as it always has been, classic.

If I were a designer…

One of my first assignments when I was in fashion school was to develop a streetwear collection and so I did. During that time I was crazy about/fixated with the old, vintage, rusted, molded, washed-out, worn-out things… it was supposed to be for spring/summer 09. It has been one of the project I’ve enjoyed the most…

If I wear sequins…

I don’t know why before I would relate sequins with tacky or with an over-done outfit and would wear them exclusively at night, if I ever did… but lately I’ve found myself having dreams and fantasies about sequins on garments!!! sequins and more sequins!!!!!!! I would LOOOOOOVE to have some with the tiny, little, matte sequins in a really, really light grey…

So to “make my dream come true” I decided to do some outfits... I think sequins can turn a simple outfit in to a chic, different outfit..


P.S.: I’ve moved places and aaaall of my drawing kits are in boxes, far away from where I am now :(… I wish I could have had them with me to do these outfits… oh well…. Tant pis!

If I were Kandinsky…

I remember the first time I heard about Wassilly Kandinsky, it was on the early years of my college education as a Graphic Designer. We studied his Point and Line to Plane (1926) theory. But it seemed that the more I read about him and looked at his work, the more I felt related to his color fascination.

Not long ago I was going over his work, again, and I noticed the title of one if his pieces “Yellow – red – blue” (1925) it made me think right away: PRIMARY COLORS, obviously. So I started brainstorming “if I was Kandinsky and I wanted to create a fashion line, what would I do?” And I came up with the idea of getting inspired on the today’s printing principle: Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black (CMYK) and the result of the mix of them.

And so I did!… this is a little screened t-shirt collection for kids. I wanted something playful, clean and simple just like “On white II” (1923). I even thought about the brand’s name: “CaMdYnsKy”