For the launch of her new line on the Fashion Week Mexico catwalk.
This 2021, Mercedes-benz Fashion Week Mexico celebrated 15 days of fashion, creativity, culture and talent, through a festival that began in 2006 and that year after year has established itself as the most important event for the fashion industry in our country.
To close one of the editions that brought together the creative proposals of national designers with audiences outside of Mexico City, the platform culminated last weekend in the Riviera Maya with the presentations of Nanoush México, Benito Santos, Alfredo Martínez and Carla Fernandez.
In an exclusive interview for D'Casa Magazine, Ninotchka Constandse tells us more about Nanoush México:
How did Nanoush start?
Nanoush was born when I learned to use fashion to talk about Mexico. Living abroad, I began to contact and initiate collaborations with prominent artisans from my country and upon meeting them I was even more motivated because we were able to round off the spirit of our project. Trying not only to talk about the art of piteado, canutillo, Otomí embroidery, Mazatec embroidery, Yucatecan embroidery, filigree, rebozo art, palm weaving and the art of making leather jackets; but also to present our artisans, share their networks and recently have invited them and shared with them the platform in the Fashion Week Mexico parade, in order to recognize their talent, expand their network and empower each other.
How are the collaborations with artisans done?
As I live abroad we communicate virtually, I try to respect their art and never ask for a modification of what is essentially their work. To cite an example: My Huichol line. We choose together the color of the beads and depending on the design of my piece, I send them fabric patterns of how it should look and I do not intervene after that. They know you more than I do.
How do you decide which artisans/communities to work with?
I found most of them thanks to the Banamex cultural promotion books "Great Masters of Mexican Popular Art." Others, as I mentioned, this line is inspired by Xcaret, a place that also tries to show off the art of our artisans. They provided me with some contacts.
Why does Nanoush describe itself as an ethical and sustainable line?
Because we not only admire and show off the art of our artisans, we try to instill even more admiration for their work, we buy them at a fair value, we evolve together making new proposals without crossing the line in which it loses its essence and because in our networks they we acknowledge, we share the contacts of their own networks. We encourage those who do not have exposure to open their networks and, for example, which is not the usual thing, we have just invited them and shared a platform with them during the fashion week parade this December 12 held in Xcaret
All empowering each other.
Where do your materials come from?
They are diverse, it depends on the art of each one. For example, the shawls, mostly the dyes they prepare themselves with seeds and flowers, the filigree, silver threads. Also at Nanoush we create our own jacquard woven fabrics.
How do you decide which Mexican culture elements to portray onto your designs?
In each of my visits to Mexico, some type of art catches my attention. Or, as I mentioned earlier, through books that talk about crafts in Mexico.
Any art that I see I can adapt in a garment, it is in the row of the next look.
Keep talking about Mexico and in particular honoring the talent of our artisans through fashion
Which is Nanoush's main objective?
To keep talking about Mexico and in particular honoring the talent of our artisans through fashion.
For more of Nanoush México's designs visit www.nanoush.com
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