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Where do you start with the design process when developing a new collection? And
why that first?
I have a mobile fashion laboratory called Taller Flora that travels throughout Mexico,
visiting indigenous communities and the cooperatives where female artisans create
handmade textiles. In these visits, we start the design process by researching a
weaving technique or a silhouette traditional to that ethnic group, and then we devel-
op a new collection. Our unique pedagogy allows workshop participants to communi-
cate through design even in those places where only indigenous dialects are spoken.
How important is the history of fashion to your creative process?
I first studied the history of art to understand the potential of the creative process:
The better you know the creative moments in history and their relationship with eco-
nomics, anthropology, society, and everything around it, the more dimension, the
greater richness, you bring to the potential of clothing in all these scenes. Fashion
is a very accelerated process and to prevent repeating yourself, it helps a lot to be
interested in everything, from history to futurology.
Particularly, I am in love with Mexican history. I live in a country with forty-six dif-
ferent ethnic groups subdivided into hundreds more, plus the urban tribes and the
ethnic mixes. Most indigenous women continue to wear traditional garments, and
I cannot believe my eyes when I see the wonderful, daring color combinations, the
textures and imaginative embroideries of the highest quality. All this creativeness
comes from who we were as a people, what we have become, and how we want to
be seen in the future.
In your work you balance contemporary design with the preservation of ancient tech-
niques. How does that influence your brand and in what ways does it allow you to
connect with your customer?
For a long time, I have been researching, collecting, and cataloguing traditional
garment designs that were at risk of extinction. I have used them to prove that,
contrary to the kitsch stereotype that Mexico itself exports, ancient patterning is an
incredibly elaborate system: Based on the geometry of squares and rectangles only,
pieces of cloth are pleated, folded, and seamed (rather than cut) to construct a vast
array of garments. This system of dressmaking has been the source of inspiration
for my label. Our design method is rooted in these techniques, but also applied to
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PERSPECTIVES: CARLA FERNÁNDEZ
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Design 141
tailored garments. Sometimes with minimal alterations, we can translate traditional garments
into the contemporary world of fashion design, both prêt-à-porter and haute couture.
How would you describe the ideology behind your approach to your design work?
A few years ago, I joined PROADA, a government program implemented through the Depart-
ment of Folk Cultures that is aimed at developing handcraft design. When I started working
with groups of indigenous people, I realized that it would be impossible to teach them Western
dressmaking techniques. The first obstacle was language: In a co-op of ten women, none or
only one of them might speak Spanish, and hence we needed an interpreter. Centimeters and
inches were another cultural convention that was sometimes awkward; instead, the artisans
used fingers, palms and forearms as measures. At that point, I understood that it was natu-
ral to employ the codes that the indigenous people had already mastered. I had to spend an
intensive period of time observing their systems to become familiar with them. If I wanted to
teach, I first had to learn. In this way, a parallel process arose, an organic pedagogy whose
basis is, above all, visual—a hybrid between mimicry and origami.
How does the issue of sustainability and fair trade affect your design process?
Flora’s pedagogy has a number of advantages: First, it avoids turning co-ops into sweatshops
that manufacture other people’s designs. Second, artisans are artists; if they are using a
method that is familiar to them, they can initiate changes and invent their own prototypes for
new garments. Creative people who make original designs are also likely to improve their busi-
nesses. In turn, they establish ties with other co-ops and strengthen the networks based on
fair trade and environmentally friendly materials. Finally, consumers are educated in the pro-
cess: All the garments bear labels that specify how, where, and by whom they were made.
With an industry that is losing skilled craftspeople with every passing generation, what do you
think fashion education programs should include in their curriculum to best prepare designers
looking to enter the market?
I think that fashion schools worldwide should map the arts and crafts centers of their country
and link them to their design programs. I created a program in Fashion and Textile Design for
a university in Mexico, where I established an exchange between the artisanal co-ops around
Mexico and the fashion and textile design students. When they know the richness of their
country’s resources and the exclusiveness of its crafts, young designers are less likely to lose
their identity by copying global trends. It can inspire them to propose new trends that will com-
pete better in a fashion industry so eager for novelties and ultimately increase their market.
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What should a designer understand about the business of fashion?
Fashion is an industry. If looked at entrepreneurially, designers will see that creativity can be
a very good business. And a successful contemporary design practice can help prevent the
extinction of craftsmanship. The women artisans with whom I work make their crafts in their
community; otherwise, they have to go to the cities, leave behind their families, and lose their
craft skills. Nowadays, in countries like mine where a great craft tradition is no longer being
passed from parent to child, we have to recognize that we can make good profits with our own
creativity and, at the same time, take care of our cultural heritage.
Did you have a mentor in the fashion industry? Have you assumed the role of mentor for some-
one else?
I’ve had a number of encounters with personalities on the U.K. fashion scene, such as de-
signer Paul Smith and fashion writer Colin McDowell. In 2008 I received the International Young
Fashion Entrepreneur award from the British Council. I really admire the work in the creative
industries that they have promoted internationally. We’ve had a nice engagement since last
year. They give us advice in the development of the cultural sector, which we tropicalize to
make our own.
As for me being a mentor, I always open my studio to fashion students from around Mexico
and the rest of the world. I like to have indigenous interns who have not studied fashion de-
sign but have inherited their craft for generations, alongside French or English students who
have received the best education in their fashion schools. The exchange that comes out of
these different ways of learning and living is very enriching for all and is reflected, in a unique
way, in the garments that we make at Taller Flora. We take the best from everyone, always
keeping the Mexican design proposal.
How do you strike a balance between the theater of the runway or editorial and the reality of
retail?
It is very rare to have in one person the aptitude for being a good creative and also a good
business person. Part of a brand’s success is creating a strong team: There has to be a per-
son in charge of the theatrical, amusing side of fashion and another that takes care of the
business end.
What advice would you give to designers starting their career or a business?
Make whatever clothes you want to make, in any way you want to make them, but go to the
people that know how to make them best. There are artisans falling into oblivion all around
the world that know how to produce what you want. Traditional crafts and fashion are not
mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they can further each other. It is possible to make trendy
artisanal pieces.
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To efficiently conjugate these two, it is essential to understand the timing of artisanal crafts-
manship and the timing of the fashion system. In my case, I have managed to develop two
types of collections: those that are fabricated in accordance with the natural rhythm of the
artisans and the time they require to make the pieces; and those that respect the demanding
rhythm of an ever-accelerating fashion world. In any case, it is indispensable to defy the no-
tion that fashion is ephemeral and artisanal tradition immobile. A reconciliation of the two is
in order.
How have you diversified your design work?
Indigenous communities are to me a source of inspiration, not only visually, but socially as
well. I will go into a community, identify its main problem, and find a way to provide that com-
munity with solutions through design. For instance, in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, a com-
munity that makes dolls using ancient handcraft techniques faced an overproduction that was
impoverishing them. At the same time, women artisans were too busy making dolls to attend
to much else, including health and hygiene. Medical service is scarce in the area and preven-
tion is crucial; but occupied by housework, child care, and craft work, it was very difficult for
these women to attend health courses. I decided to teach them how to make other types of
dolls based on the shapes of the main viruses and bacteria that were jeopardizing the com-
munity. Through this initiative the women have learned about the prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of these diseases, and the social bonding that happens while weaving has allowed
for instructive conversations. Simultaneously, the doll makers have been able to diversify their
production and aspire to new income by offering a unique product in the design market. The
project was a way to save these women time, to foster health while working, and to further
literacy through design.
Overleaf Taller Flora, Women’s, Men’s, and Children’s Wear Collections.
Photographs by Mark Powell.
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