CARLA FERNÁNDEZ'S INTERVIEW
Desing Boom: what made you take fashion more seriously and make a career out of it?
Carla Fernández: I also noticed the incredible clothing that the indigenous people in Mexico wear and was in awe at how amazingly well dressed they seemed in comparison to the majority of people in the streets of Mexico City. but when I listened to people talk about fashion in Mexico they weren’t aware of these amazing colors and garments, rather they had the belief that Mexicans didn’t know how to dress and simply looked to the USA for inspiration. so I had the idea to try and create something I thought could be classed as Mexican fashion I wanted to challenge these views.
(Report Speech)
Desing Boom asked Carla Fernández what she had made take fashion more seriously and make a career out of it.
Carla Fernández answered Desing Boom that she had also noticed the incredible clothing that the indigenous people in Mexico wore and had been in awe at how amazingly well dressed they had seemed in comparison to the majority of people in the streets of Mexico City. But when she had listened to people talk about fashion in Mexico they hadn't been aware of those amazing colors and garments, rather they had had inspiration. So she had had the idea to try and create something she had thought could be classed as Mexican fashion she had wanted to challenge those views.
DB: are you self-taught or did you study fashion design?
CF: I wanted to go and study fashion in London at st. martins but it was too expensive for me. so I studied art history in Mexico because there were no real fashion courses at universities here at that time. After that, I went and studied fashion at a small institution called Ibero Mexicana de diseño where the course was very hands-on and I learned how to design and make clothes – I was a fully capable seamstress by the time I finished there. These two areas of study were both very useful for what I wanted to do with my own designs.
(Report Speech)
Desing Boom asked Carla Fernandez if she was self-taught or if she studied fashion design.
Carla Fernandez answered to Desing Boom that she had wanted to go and study fashion in London at St. Martins but it was too expensive for her. So she had studied art history in Mexico because there were no real fashion courses at universities there at that time. After that, she had been and had studied fashion at a small institution called "Ibero Mexicana de diseño" where the course had been very hands-on and she had learned how to design and make clothes - she had been a fully capable seamstress by the time she had finished there. Those two areas of study had been both very useful for what she had wanted to do with her own designs.
DB: How has your work evolved since you began your own label?
CF: the basis for a lot of our work is what we call ‘the square route’ because most traditional Mexican clothing is made from square or rectangular pieces of fabric, as to not create any waste. but once the Spanish introduced their complex garments to Mexico the artisans were influenced by them and started to make more and more complex clothing.
The evolution I see in our work is that we have gotten gradually closer to the essence of the original Mexican style and at the same time made it increasingly appealing to a contemporary audience. we’ve managed to make these garments which everybody said they were un-sexy into sexy pieces even though we have maintained the original geometry.
(Report Speech)
DB asked her how her work had evolved since she had begun her own label.
Carla Fernandez said that the basis for a lot of their work was what they called "the square route" because most traditional Mexican clothing was made from square or rectangular pieces of fabric, as to not create any waste. But once the Spanish had introduced their complex garments to Mexico the artisans had been influenced by them and had started to make more and more complex clothing.
The evolution she had seen in their work was that they had gotten gradually closer to the essence of the original Mexican style and at the same time had made it increasingly appealing to a contemporary audience. They had managed to make those garments which everybody had said they had been un-sexy into sexy pieces even though they had maintained the original geometry.
DB: Have your pieces become more appealing to people as a result?
CF: yes, I think so. People today seem willing to dress a little bit differently from one another. I definitely see young people today making more effort in the way that they dress than young people did ten years ago. people are getting tired of just wearing a t-shirt and jeans every day and it’s great to see people express themselves more in what they wear.
(Report Speech)
DB asked her if her pieces had become more appealing to people as a result.
Carla Fernandez answered that yes, she thought so. People that day seemed willing to dress a little bit differently from one another. She definitely saw young people that day making more effort in the way that they dressed than young people had done ten years a week before. People were getting tired of just wearing a t-shirt and jeans every day and it was great to see people expressed themselves more in what they wore.
MY FAVOURITE TRENDY CLOTHES
This week I have done some activities to improve my English, for example:
- I have read some newspapers to know the news of these days.
- I have listened to the radio some days of this week.
