A hurricane complicated the arrival of the designer Juan Pablo Socarras on one of his first visits to San Antonino Castillo Velazco in Oaxaca, Mexicowhere Martha, master craftsman of the community of embroiderers Aguja de Plata.
“I asked God that if you are a good man, that you will arrive. But if you were a bad man, take it to the hurricane”, the woman who is jealous of her traditions and culture would later confess, but who now shares them with great generosity with the Colombian creator, who opened the night of July 25, the catwalks of Colombiamoda, in Medellín.
Earn the trust of communities —as he did with the teacher Martha, who even read his energy and Socarrás passed the final test when the quartz turned from pink to white— that allow him to insert himself and learn from his work to later make it visible and tell it through his collections, It’s the only way he knows how to work, he stated via Zoom for La Revista.
A) Yes, fashion shows like this week’s are the tangible result of the work and cultural immersion that the designer has carried out for 16 years now with various Colombian communities, under the project Socarrás: handmade storiesand whose work dynamics it now extends to Mexico and Guatemala.
“The fashion medium, without a doubt, is the most important voice and our way of reaching a larger audience. The way we become a sounding board for this project and its stories is by taking it to a catwalk”, he assured.
The collection, for men and womenpresented by Socarrás on Monday night was called To love and included blazers in tones reddish sunset and sand, shorts, capri pants and palace combined with crop tops Y corsets who shone in coral tones and dresses inspired by the dazzling sunrise. The navy blue and black found their place in the proposal and also their mesmerizing and unique hoodies.
A-Mar has a narrative connected by the cultural impact of hydrography in different regions of Latin America. The designer has worked on a concept inspired by the story of a woman who is born in the mountains, a character who travels through rivers and oceans, and who, upon finding the love of a Mayan man, discovers water as a common element, an element that reminds us that we are made of the same.
The proposal makes use of natural fibers, recycled PET, natural and PET threads, Coca-Cola can rings, green and dark bottles, filaments of face masks, bottles, cans and plastic. Elements that I amThey are complemented with recycled leather, organic cotton, canvas, wool, silk chiffon, cloth and silk shantu. Everybody intervened with techniques and trades characteristic of each region, among which are embroidery, crochet, two needles, loom, waist loom, 3D printing, leather goods, tailoring, jewelry and waste transformation.
“I really don’t know how to do anything else. When people ask me if I do this because it’s trending, I tell them this is the only way I know how it works.r, with the populations in Colombia in difficult contexts, artisans, victims, displaced persons, indigenous people. I don’t know if I am a good or bad designer, but I am clear about my purpose”.
socarrás repeats this work today also in Guatemalaa country that he defines as the best kept secret in Central America. “I have the opportunity to work there with Violeta Gutiérrez, the director of the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Costume and she is the woman who knows the most about Mayan textiles in the world”celebrates.
His designs —and he himself— find their inspiration in those stories in which he immerses himself every day. “To continue fighting and to have the desire to get up every day because this is not an easy world and it is a world where many told me ‘no’but I turned those ‘no’s into opportunities to continue designing with purpose”.
What would it take for Ecuador, its neighboring country, to follow this path? “I would tell them that when you think local you become global,” he stressed. “When one has the ability to feel proud of the place where their fabrics were born, of their communities, that will make them global. The world is full of shapes, of fabrics, but our stories and our fabrics are the only way to differentiate ourselves. and telling those invaluable stories is the best way to make a difference.”
The event that runs through Thursday, July 28 continues tonight with one of the most anticipated catwalks: the Maluma x Gef collectionwhose profits will go to the benefit of the The Art of Dreams Foundation.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
