To make the world more beautiful
Make the world more beautiful
I believe it's very important to talk about the influence of fashion on the world. There's a lot of talk about fashion giants, but sometimes very important and beautiful things happen inside a brand that's still unknown to the whole world.
Last summer I discovered Naira and its brand of sustainable bags in a fashion magazine. Me ha impressedo lo que hace y tenía muchas ganas de hacerle preguntas. Quiero compartir con vosotros esta mini entrevista con Naira, la creadora de The atypical project.
Last summer, I read about Naira and her sustainable jute bag brand in a Spanish fashion magazine. This woman left a big impression on me and I really wanted to talk to her. I am sharing a short interview with Naira, the creator of The atypal project.
Muchos hablamos de que hace falta cambiar el concepto de la moda pero a menudo la
idea se queda en el aire. Tu marca represents la sustainability y la ética, colaborando
con las mujeres artesanas de Bangladesh intentando ayudarles a conseguir sus sueños.
What is your relationship with this country? ¿Cómo y por qué lo escogiste?
Realmente fue una relación que surgió por mi propia evolución personal y profesional. I knew I wanted to install something. Necesitaba saber quién fabricaría ese *algo porque previously I had a business of products that were made in India and my supplier there never let me make clear the conditions of work neither who nor how they made any products. Eso me dejó con una espina clavada siempre y por eso cuando surgió el hacer *algo, yo tuve la necessidad de conocer QUIÉNES iban a confeccionarlo. Busqué información y resulta que lo que yo queria se llamaba COMERCIO JUSTO…seguí buscando providoses, ahora ya de Comercio Justo…y una cosa líveo a la otra hasta acabar trabajando con Bangladesh, uno de los majores produceres de yute, y uno de los países más pobres y machistas del mundo. Las artesanas necesitaban trabajar…y yo necesitaba artesanos del yute. Fue un match perfecto.
Many of us talk about changing the concept of fashion, but it often remains just an idea in the air. Your brand represents sustainability and ethics – you collaborate with artisan women from Bangladesh, helping them achieve their dreams. What is your connection to this country? How and why did you choose it?
It was actually a discovery that came from my own personal and professional growth. I knew I wanted to create something. I had to know who would make that “something” because before that I had a business that had goods sewn in India and my supplier never clearly told me under what conditions, who and how they sewed those goods. So I had a thorn stuck in my side, so when I decided to create “something” again, I had to know WHO would make it. I searched for information and it turned out that what I wanted was called FAIR BUSINESS, so I kept looking for suppliers… Speaking of fair business, one thing led to another, until I finally started working with Bangladesh – one of the largest jute producers, and at the same time one of the poorest and most sexist countries in the world. Women artisans needed work… and I needed artisans who knew how to work with jute. It was a perfect coincidence.
En tus stories te vi con una camiseta que te compró tu tía cuando tenías 13 años y la
sigues luciendo ¿De dónde proviene el deseo de cuidar tanto tu ropa y mantenerla
durante tantos años? How is your relationship with your closet?
La ropa de antes tiene, en su majoria, una calidad indudably mejor que lo que se nos ofrece hoy en día. La moda rápida es barata por algo..la calidad es barata…dañina…poco ética.
Para mi las prendas vintage me cuentan historias…son como libros…y al igual que depending on your estado de ánimo lees un tipo de libro u otro…la ropa te aporta unas cosas u otras. A mi me gusta mucho reinterpretar las historias que me cuentan mis prendas…
No estoy de acuerdo en el méthode Mari Kondo de deshacerte de la ropa si no te la has puesto en no se cuánto tiempo…eso es válido para la moda rápida…que está ideada para eso mismo…usar y tirar…usar y tirar…
Mis prendas pueden pasar años sin salir del armario…pero son historias que atesoro y de las que me es difícil deshacerme.
Mi armario me ayuda a ser creativa ya reaffirmar uno u otro estados de ánimo…me cuenta historias y me ayuda a contarlas. Yo no me visto para eso que en ingles se dice show off (presumir)…yo me visto para SHOW IN! (presumirme yo misma conmigo misma! No para los demás!)
I saw you in the thickets wearing a T-shirt that you bought when you were 13 and you still wear it. Where does the desire to take such care of your clothes and keep them for so many years come from? What is your relationship with your wardrobe?
Most clothes from the past are definitely of better quality than those offered to us today. Fast fashion is cheap for a reason… Cheap quality, it is harmful and unethical.
For me, vintage clothes tell my stories… like books that you choose to read depending on your mood, clothes give you one feeling or another. I really like interpreting the stories that clothes tell me…
I don't agree with Marie Kondo's method of getting rid of clothes if you haven't worn them in a while. It fits the fast fashion that's what it's designed for... wear and throw away... wear and throw away...
My clothes may sit in my closet for years, but they are stories I cherish, so it's hard to give them up.
My wardrobe helps me be creative and enhances one or another state, feeling… It tells me stories and helps me tell them. I don't dress to show off, I dress to SHOW IN! (to show myself to myself, not to others!).
In an ideal world, what function would fashion have?
En un mundo muy, muy ideal, realente la moda...debería vestirnos y punto. Yo, que tengo muchísima ropa, fantaseo con tener lo mínimo…en un mundo ideal would have an armario mini capsule que me vistière para VIVIR..y VIVIR no trataría de TENER COSAS….sino relaciones bonitas…ser buena gente, ayudar…colaborar…aportar…
In an ideal world, what function would fashion have?
In a very, very ideal world, fashion should actually dress us up, period. I have a lot of clothes, and I dream of having minimal… In an ideal world, I would have a mini capsule wardrobe that would dress me up for LIFE, and LIFE wouldn’t mean HAVING THINGS, it would mean having beautiful relationships, being a good person, helping, collaborating, contributing…
Muchísimas gracias Naira por dedicarme parte de tu tiempo.
Thank you very much, Naira, for your time .