To me, your work reflects current times through a lens of aware nostalgia. Which role do memories play for you?
Memories, pictures and experiences are essential to me. In terms of the creative process when I start a new collection, I think my method is often a recollection or memories’ fragments of either things I’ve experienced, or things I’ve read about or seen. It’s like I don’t have a complete picture of something, there are some gaps in an idea and those gaps become a kick-off point creatively. Hence, I like to have kind of romantic recollections, but not fully resolved, because I feel this is the space where I can start from, filling certain gaps. I don’t want things to be too creative, historical or specific.
Still talking about memories, why was designing the path you chose for your future?
I think, in a way, I came into fashion quite late, I wasn’t necessarily sure that I wanted to be a designer, I was more interested in either identity or representation. Then, I found fashion and clothing as a tool of communication. I think clothes are really into an idea of representation. So, over time I started realising the power of clothing, also creating imagery. In a way, making clothes is a very direct point of communication. So I started visualising the influence that clothing has, as well as the culture and possibilities con- nected to that.
Going through your collections, it seems you’re con- structing a diary of suggestions, memories and identities that people can relate to. After all, you have a smooth yet sharp way of storytelling. Would you describe yourself as a narrator?
I wouldn’t say narrator is how I’d describe myself, but I’m really influenced and interested in literature and reading. Besides that, I quite often observe or look for interesting personalities in order to imagine and bring my characters into shape. In that way, there’s some kind of connection with the idea of a narrator. However I think a narrator is more interested in giving out a resolution to things, while I believe that I’m more interested in the emotional side of my story and the picture I’m constructing.
It’s really fascinating the way you always select precise interpreters for your collections and projects. Your castings are so delicate and powerful, at the same time. What can you tell me about the process behind it?
Castings are really important and quite an intimate process to me. One idea that I always connect to is the black intellectual, so I’m into people that have this intellectual sensibility or sophistication. Initially, when I started designing, I was casting my friends and creating a visual beauty and narration that was quite familiar to me. Probably an aesthetic that’s not so represented in fashion, but it’s represented in literature. The human side of my work, the connection with people, is a great part of my creative process, as well as a truly relevant part of the emotional stories I’m constructing collection after collection.
We’re living an era where, luckily, we have the possibility to openly stand for something and make others listen to our voice. However, sometimes I truly feel the need to stay in silence and indulge in it, probably in order to take a distance from the “sharing” reality. Which value and meaning has silence to you?
Reflection is a very important part of a personal process. You need that step in order to understand and assimilate what you went through. However, it’s also true that there are different ways of communicating and it’s not always about being vocal. You can communicate in a direct way through an evocative image, as well as though a movement, an attitude, a sound and, obviously, clothing. My way, for instance, is quite subtle, open and gentle.
To me, fragility is one of the most human and precious feelings ever. For instance, strength is constructed through fragility, as well as braveness is, and it’s impossible to say the same the other way round. Is fragility a weapon for you?
I’m interested in some kind of vulnerability and sensitivity, something that could be quite delicate and precious. That’s my idea of fragility. It’s precious, so I agree there’s a lot of strength in fragility.
Looking at your collections on your website, together with images and written pieces, different sources related to your work are either mentioned through the text or listed, like if it were a book, or better, a study. It’s some- how an academic approach, isn’t it?
I’m very influenced by different things, and I want to make my process quite transparent in a way. Sometimes culture isn’t properly credited, so I think transparency is something important, but it also belongs to an archival approach to connections. In some sense, it’s a part of an academic method, but it’s also really creative.
‘Rhapsody in the Street’, your issue of ‘A Magazine Curated by’, is proof of that. It was defined as an ‘academic journal of sorts’. How would you describe that experience, and what will you keep forever with you?
I worked on a few publications in the past, and it’s a format I always like to spend my energy on. However, it also takes a lot of time. To me it’s really natural to work with books, because I grew up with them and I’m still a passionate reader, so it’s something I’d definitely like to carry on doing in the future. In a way, curating the magazine felt a little bit like working on the exhibition ‘A Time for New Dreams’, which I curated in 2019 at London’s Serpentine Gallery, where different generations were combined together, in order to connect people and stories. My work is so much influenced by a broad community of artists and thinkers, and I’m just ensuring it exists in a way that each reference and story is shown. I honestly want to reveal all of that. There’s one picture in the issue, taken by Durimel in Los Angeles, of a boy wearing a cap and red tracksuit bottoms: it’s a very beautiful and sensual image, as well as being very evocative to me. That’s something I recall. It was a part of the section called ‘Some Elements and Meaning in Black Style II’ and it was picking out some kinds of references that’re really timeless to me, as well as certain images that’re always in my mind when I’m designing a collection.
Culture is synonymous with respect and curiosity to me. What’s the best way, for young creatives, to acquire and improve their knowledge?
Having a big sensitivity and taking time to reflect. Just keep your eyes open and listen to your feelings. You don’t necessarily have to understand everything, to me there are also lots of emotional qualities to learn something. I think for young people it’s good to try and get a foundation of knowledge in order to start understanding and framing things. When I was a student, I did it myself and put lots of commitment into that, as well as lots of emotions to try and process that knowledge into my world as a creative and artist.
Can you tell me the name of a book that made you think about freedom?
‘A Time for New Dreams’ by Ben Okri. It’s a collection of essays about how to live in the future. That book, to me, gives the idea of freedom in terms of creating your own story, your own future and path.
And what about music? Can you tell me about a sound, or song, that moves you?
I’m really into sound. If I were to mention something that moves me, I’d definitely say Zouck music as a genre. Sometimes, it can be very emotional.
