Madre, Hermana, Amiga
Here, de Javier has sought inspiration from his family and friends, finding ways to weave the strong women surrounding him into each piece, pumping the collection full of fierce, femme creativity.
We got a chance to catch up with the designer the day of his first drop to discover more about the abstract, artful collection, the star-studded social media campaign, and the process of diving into womenswear design.
Check out the interview below, alongside the campaign featuring the likes of Jazelle (@uglyworldwide), Sita Abellan, Eartheater, Noah Carlos, Georgia Palmer, and more.
How has your concept evolved since the debut collection?
The concept for this collection is basically my homage to women, my mother, my sisters and every female that has had an impact in my life, titled in Spanish ‘Madre, Hermana, Amiga’. I was heavily inspired by the first female figures [whose] fashion really caught my eye growing up— the chavs in the early 00’s— which is linked to one of my all time favourite spanish movies titled Yo soy La Juani, the low budget Spanish edition of Fast & Furious.
What is this collection trying to say? What is the “mission statement”?
It’s the first time I’ve explored womenswear. I envisioned a woman empowered by my morals and how I have acted upon situations that I have been through my life. It’s the ultimate empowerment of the queer movement, regardless of gender. I felt the need to [create an] homage to inspire the women around me— hand them the vision of how I see them through my eyes. With this, they can do whatever they want to do with it. I’m just empowering them in the best way I can do, which is through making actual garments. If they put the clothes on and feel like they can take over the world, then my job is done.
Who are your top influences in the design process? (Could be musical, fine art, other designers, etc)
Myself, my girls and the community I’m a part of in London heavily influences my design process, everything we wear and what we stand for, making something magical out of nothing— grabbing a tea towel, putting it on as a mini skirt and feeling unstoppable. I have always been identified with communities that have been repressed due to their physical appearance or sexuality, and their most powerful way to fight back is with their image. The techno underground scene also has a heavy influence on my designs and so does my Spanish heritage.
What about the chosen models exemplifies your brand?
We hand-picked the models for the campaign covering all the spectrums of sexuality, race, gender—we wanted to be a homage to all women that can potentially represent the brand or simply feel empowered by it.
Who are you designing for?
When designing I usually have myself in mind, what I would wear, how I would wear it, where I envision myself wearing it, is it short enough… Basically I design for myself and all my girls, luckily I’m surrounded by the most powerful women I have ever had the pleasure to meet, so creating clothes to the standard of how I see them in my eyes is what I aim with every sketch.
