Leyre Valiente and Antonio Alvarado are the designers invited to a new edition of Viernes Visten Canas, a meeting aimed at creating links between senior and emerging talent, organized by the Mymo collective for this new edition of Madrid es Moda. Halfway between a presentation and a debate, these one to one fireside chats are configured as a space to reflect on ageless talent. On this occasion, it took place on Friday, January 26th at 7:30 pm at the Eugenio Trías Public Library.
During their presentation, both fashion designers emphasized that fashion has had an irresistible degree of attraction for them. Antonio presents himself as a lover of fashion by default, not by virtue. "When you have a fixation for an aesthetic theme, it's a real obsession." Leyre, in turn, comments that she sometimes wonders what is it about the fashion world that attracts her so much, a vocation that requires enormous effort and that, on the other hand, does not always provide security as a profession.
Alvarado set up his own atelier with 23 years of age and, although at that time some members of his team were older than him, he has never vetoed younger professionals as the years went by. Looking at the trajectory of younger professionals has always enriched him. He has followed Leyre, for example, since she started her fashion career as a student.
Leyre contributed to the talk important baggage despite having a career noticeably shorter than Alvarado. As a teacher in several fashion colleges, she says she recognizes little predisposition for effort in younger generations: "They educate them to be stars, and sacrifice costs them a lot".
In Alvarado's opinion, "on the one hand are the designers that cover the needs of the market; on the other, the creators and, finally, there is a third category that is that of the artist who uses it as a form of expression. In this sense, popularity is useless, it is an annoyance, because it generates many expectations that must be maintained collection after collection. Television and media are promoting it, but the value of the designer is not there. "
Leyre agreed with Antonio: "Sometimes we sell smoke. When you make a lot of noise with something, people keep your name, which is precisely the most difficult thing to retain by the consumer. It's a very smart way to reach the consumer: through scandal. " But beyond that strategy, regarding fashion as a business model, Leyre advised those present to transfer their expectations and desires towards reality. "You always learn through the binomial trial and error." The designer, who has her own couture and prêt-à-porter lines, and is the creative director of the fashion brand Kimoa, is aware that new brands need a huge investment to launch their collections, and by her own experience she advises young fashion designers: "Do not go to trade shows with a first collection. The best thing is to start being humble. Build your atelier little by little; work in made-to-measure, make bridal wear, diversify. Create an economic mattress. Getting direct feedback from a client is the best thing that can happen to you. Once you have that stability, take the next steps. A first fashion show will make you appear on magazine covers, but it will not give you the continuity you need in the first stage. "[:]