By Francisca Vargas Ramos
They recently participated in Viste la Calle 's latest fashion show, where they presented their Quiltre collection , an upcycling capsule that combines street wear with neo-couture and hot couture, but which, beyond its materiality, portrays the process of fusion and the trades of different cultures.
It began as a means of artistic release and experimentation. In 2015, Priscila Huaman N. , a textile designer, and Diego Yáñez G., an audiovisual creator, began an interdisciplinary project that would allow them to distill their philosophical, audiovisual, and design beliefs . Their main objective was to disrupt their own thinking and thus invite their viewers to question the conventions of the fashion world.
According to its creators, Huaman Autor's journey has been short, but they consider it quite successful and rewarding. At Vístete Local, we wanted to hear their thoughts after their latest release and learn more about their philosophy and mission as designers within the national fashion industry.
What characterizes Huaman Autor?
Huaman Autor has been very active in everything he's done since he was born. From the capsule collection called Exile to many collections we've launched regarding fishing nets and migration. We're always committed to raising awareness about certain issues that arise in everyday life and bringing them to light so that, at the same time, the user who wears that garment also feels identified both with the brand's philosophy and with the clothing itself, and also sees design issues, but as a backing, as an example. (...) So, all those convictions, both social and cultural, our exploration through various countries and the textile and heritage legacy, we try to catapult and carry them out in a sense not of appropriation, but of conceptualization, under a perspective that we both have, which is the artistic perspective that converges with authorship.
How did your Quiltre collection come about?
The collection we presented at Viste la Calle, called Quiltre, is a representative fusion of Latin America. It's called quiltre because of the inclusive language, but at the same time because quiltro is a pejorative word regarding the fusion process. So we wanted to emphasize that as a social critique and at the same time establish it, take it out of context, and establish it as the word that hit the nail on the head, in order to somehow even represent that fusion in the garment. That fusion between the European, which are the jackets, the fusion between the indigenous, the Andean, the ancient. It's clear that all of this is a fabric that intersects with all these typologies. So it's that mixture we wanted to achieve, and I think the Spanish side, the Argentine side, the gaucho side were also evident.
In the digital media Quinta Trends, an analysis was made of this runway and they mentioned Huaman Autor in a very positive review. How do you feel about this reception?
Well, the truth is, we read the article and we really liked Sofia Calvo's critique and analysis regarding the environment and taking it seriously. Her comment gives us the strength to be persistent and continue with what we're doing. Criticism that addresses current issues is also important, because yes, there are millions of critics who criticize garment shapes, construction, etc., but I think what we need to focus on today at the production level is production that is developed consciously, that doesn't overproduce, that truly measures the traceability of materials and where they come from, and how the people involved in that production chain are treated.
What do you think is the current challenge facing national designers regarding the sustainability of their brands?
We're not 100% sustainable; no one is, and no one will achieve it, as it's impossible. But having criteria, at least for care, or for example, on a runway, requiring five sustainability criteria for your chain, seems to me to be something that would be possible in the future. And it's not something impossible to do either. It's difficult now, precisely, because in some way, creating a sustainable brand isn't about something abstract. It's not just about having noble materials or so on. It also has to do with measurement. And measuring traceability in terms of the carbon footprint one emits through transportation or other actions. Therefore, we're not fundamentalists regarding an issue that can't be fundamentalist. One can't be fundamentalist; rather, everyone has to contribute in some way to prevent the level of pollution, overproduction, or waste that exists.
What do you think of fashion shows like Viste la Calle?
We're very grateful to Viste en la Calle because it's given us a lot of visibility. Many people have signed us up for it, publishers and others, and we believe it's a good opportunity in Chile today to showcase emerging designers. We believe it has done so over the course of its 15-year history, and several designers have become known there. That's what's happening to us, and we're very grateful for that space. It's essential for us to have it. In fact, in Chile, it's an opportunity that brings together different independent designers, not just those with industry visibility, and in some ways, that enriches the design world.
Your clothing uses biomaterials, mono-material fabrics, certified fabrics, and locally sourced recycled clothing yarns. Is it difficult to source these types of raw materials in Chile?
Whenever you arrive in a territory, you have to study the territory, what its raw materials are, what the raw materials it produces, what the prevailing markets generate, what its waste is, what the problems are. So we began to investigate this market and realized that there is a large amount of wool here, there is alpaca, there are artisans from all over the Petorca region who have a tremendous legacy throughout the years, from indigenous to contemporary. Therefore, we began to reflect on our task with design and that it is better to work in a more conscious, more intelligent way. Not in a super-strenuous way without achieving anything, but in an intelligent way to optimize the work.
What practices should be maintained when designing a clothing brand?
Everything converges on design strategies geared specifically toward zero waste, super-recycling, upcycling, which is creative recycling, and giving garments a new lease on life, so they're not left as trash. We also involve the customer in that cycle, since it becomes your responsibility. Now, if it breaks, we'll repair it; if you want an upgrade, we'll do it. We reprimand them because, ultimately, they're not passive consumers; they never were, because if you're buying a garment, you also have to take responsibility for it.
Has it been difficult for you as independent designers to position yourself in the national design market?
Yes, it's difficult. In terms of visibility, we've achieved these highlights where we've become known very quickly, because for me, two years isn't much. There are many people who really like our project; we've built a community with users. However, it is complex because our clothes aren't cheap. I mean, you go to a mall and clearly an acrylic sweater is cheaper, and people might still buy it and so on because it's from such and such a brand. When it's a designer brand, people might not be familiar with it, even if it's 100% analysis, and people are a little hesitant. It's difficult to scale and try to compete with more established and imported brands. I think that awareness among people about choosing national designers with clothes that are somehow also higher quality is also incipient at that level (...) We operate with a concept we invented that was modular clothing. We don't create trends, but rather we create clothes that nestle within the concept of the identity of the person who wants to wear them. (...) Therefore, we do not impose, that is one of the things we tried to do from the beginning, not to impose an aesthetic fashion system, but rather in some way that the user or the client finds that garment that will match other things that they already have.
How do you see the future of Huaman Autor in three years? What would be the next step for your brand?
We hope to internationalize and be a brand that allows us to say that Latin America is present with its fabrics, with different types of artisans. We'd also like to have a store and be a little more established. And also, to be able to extend it to other regions, take advantage of the cultural level and legacy of other regions to continue growing the project, because it's an interdisciplinary project, and equally important are the collaborators who have always supported us. Design is collaborative, and it will be until we have a truly well-established industry here in Latin America. We're not worried about that other thing we're also trying to dismantle in the fashion world: the suspicion that I did it and they copied it, etc. We operate with a term that I also take from programming, from my world, which is open source, which is also common in fashion today. It's like, we're not afraid to collaborate, to show, to say, or to have that very top-down perspective that used to exist in the fashion sector.
Are you satisfied with the work done at Quiltre and its presentation on the Viste La Calle runway?
Yes, we feel fulfilled, happy, and proud. It's something that revitalizes you, that drives you to continue working hard on the project and, in a way, do it with even more strength and determination. After Viste la Calle, we're happy with how the project is being received and we want to keep going. We see mistakes, because that's who we are, but that drives us to continue with a new collection, to give even more.
