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- A MORNING...
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A MORNING WITH NAGUISA DESIGN TEAM
Welcome to NAGUISA’s fabulous idea factory! Today we want to introduce you to Claudia, Sofía and Paula, the team behind Olivia, the new SS23 collection. These three women are the creative compass behind the brand and have invited us today to visit their studio/workshop to learn how their ideas come about and are transformed into comfortable espadrilles and sandals.
Get ready to dive into a world of colors, shapes, and textures, where talent and passion for design freely mingle to create something thoroughly comfortable and functional. Come along with us on our visit with the NAGUISA design team!
Claudia, as the founder and creative director for the brand, how has NAGUISA evolved over time? Tell us about your role now and what the collection’s name, Olivia, means to you.
Well, 10, 9, 8... 5 years ago it would have been me and Pablo answering these questions. But look how much NAGUISA has grown! I am so proud that now we have more people initiating and closing out the design process for each collection. My job now is to support and encourage the team in the decision-making process. What are the requirements for a new NAGUISA design? It must be functional, new, and have the recognizable aesthetic of the brand.
My involvement is key during two stages of the development process: sending the prototypes to factory and deciding on colors. This last stage has also been my favorite, what I enjoy the most. It’s like “putting the cherry on the cake.” Defining the concept of the collection and how the communication is conceived throughout the season, that really depends on what is on my mind at the time, what I’m thinking about, what I want or desire. Olivia means “woman, defender of peace.” We started designing this collection a year ago, right when the Ukraine war broke out. It was a tough period and we were all shaken by it. I already knew the meaning of Olivia as it is our second daughter’s name. She is a very energetic child, spontaneous and brimming with affection. Olivia was definitely on my mind at the time.
I’ll hand it over to Sofía and Paula. I am so proud of both of them, for their excellent work and their commitment. Sofía is responsible for the sewing line (espadrilles) and Paula for the assembly line (woven sandals).
CLAUDIA AND PAULA CHECKING COLLECTION'S INSPIRATION PANEL
Sofía, where do you find the inspiration to make each collection so different? And specifically, what was the inspiration for OLIVIA?
It may sound a bit cliché, but it’s true: inspiration can be found everywhere. As for me, I came from the industrial design world, so I typically focus in on details, composition, materials, and the aesthetic of the products around me. Everything we use in life has gone through a creative process, so it’s interesting to imagine what happened behind the scenes.
In terms of the Olivia collection, the start of the Ukraine war really affected all of us and changed the tone of the global climate. To tie that into the topic of inspiration, there are, and have been, global circumstances that impact people’s mood and mental condition. Nevertheless, things like these can also lead you to create concepts and colors that shine a light on the beauty amidst all the chaos. The idea came from the theme of peace and a Picasso drawing called “Peace dove.” We continued to unravel the symbolism and concept until we reach the olive tree, which transformed into “Olivia,” which means “protector of peace.”
PATTERNS DIGITIZATION IN 3D PROGRAM
SOFÍA PLACING SOME LEATHER PIECES IN THE CUTTING MACHINE
Paula, what was your experience during the design process for this collection?
The design processes for each collection tend to share common stages that we work through until we develop the final product, yet each collection has its own unique features. For example, with OLIVIA we developed several new lasts, or shapes, and some technical challenges cropped up along the way for certain styles. Experiencing the entire process is really quite exciting.
What about you Sofía?
For the jute collection, we faced the challenge of generating all our designs, from the concept stage to patternmaking, entirely in-house and implementing pattern digitization with a 3D program for footwear.
Do you think there is some intention or perhaps a set of values that is constantly being imbued into the NAGUISA design process?
Sofía: Yes, respect for the process, the value of artisanry, comfort, and merging all of these with color and materials. That is the world of footwear, a merging of artisanry, human value, and industrial production.
Paula: Of course. From the point where inspiration is drawn, to the value we place on the artisan aspect, innovation, respect, teamwork… Another value I have found in the process is experiencing all of this while surrounded by women who inspirational colleagues and examples for us all.
Did you run into any challenges while working on this collection?
Paula: This was my first collection with NAGUISA and the whole design process for the braided portion was a challenge. From researching and developing the new shapes to defining the silhouettes for the different styles.
Sofía: Yes, in my case it was a new challenge, we had to incorporate digitized patternmaking and model preparation for cutting with an industrial machine. It was a big step for us as a brand, being able to generate ideas and design lines and execute them exactly as how we had imagined them.
SOFIA TESTING PROTOTYPES AT THE ATELIER
How do you work with color and materials?
There are multiple factors that tend to guide us… from the ideas and concepts at the beginning of the collection, themes that elicit certain feelings in terms of textures and colors, and another part is the search for leather and fabrics that fit the ideas we have in our heads.
Since you have been working with jute for over 10 years now, does that require you to create new perspectives?
I guess that in the creative world, you are always looking for new perspectives because your body is asking for continuous change. In the case of jute, since it is a handcrafted product, it is convenient to always try to put a spin on a product that is so rooted in tradition. That’s where the surprise factor lies, knowing how to create new things without losing sight of the origin and its limitations.