The young woman from Guayaquil assures that Ecuador has quality textiles, a highly skilled workforce and a market that is committed to the national market.
When Maria Gratzia Donggilio was little, she spent the afternoons at home watching fashion shows on TV and correcting outfits in her pen sketches; As a child, she liked to combine her shoes with the purse she used, but when she turned 15 it stopped being a game and she released her skills with her friends, in the quinceañeras. “I discovered that fashion was not only wonderful, but also expensive”He comments.
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At the age of 21, he has managed to partially crystallize his dream of design and manufacture between patterns and sketches that he keeps in his notebook and opted to launch a clothing collection through Instagram, where this young promise collect 10,000 followers And it seems that technological platforms have become the new showcases for aspiring local designers and dressmakers and that, according to Donggilio, is a key opportunity to stand out.
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In addition, he is a student of Business Administration and trusts that this knowledge will allow him to manage his ventures with totally Ecuadorian products. “When I discovered my vocation, I began to contact seamstresses and buy fabrics in the center of Guayaquil, and I can assure you that our country has quality textiles, highly skilled labor and a market that, although many may not believe it, does bet on the local purchases, ”he explains.
The path to creating his brand was not easy, it began in August 2020, in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic, when creativity to do business was the protagonist. His net capital was $ 300 after selling 70% of his wardrobe in second-hand places and thus he reached the budget to work together with a Quito textile company managed by Jimmy Cebrín, selling hoodies embroidered with images of bands and artists.
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People’s response was wonderful, he says, even though at this time I was not uploading daily content to social networks. “Thanks to a very successful model by the singer Harry Styles, I was able to obtain capital for the following venture, with its own essence and unique designs: Grazzia.”
This new bet is about delicate, limited and exclusive designs, with style cottagecore, made by hand in its entirety. So the initial investment for the production of his first collection was much higher and reached $ 1,000.
At the moment his first collection has five different models and he plans to launch swimsuits soon.
“Definitely this is a complicated industry, and although for young people the challenge is twofold due to economic issues, it is not impossible,” he says. In addition, it invites emerging dressmakers and designers to use technological tools to promote their work and make a profit.
His entry to TikTok was another important factor; many of his videos went viral and thus managed to direct users to the pages of his ventures. “Currently, 40% of buyers are people who see my products in my videos or in my Instagram stories “, concludes. (AND)
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.
