GABRIELLA MARINA GONZALEZ INTERVIEW
‘AND NOW FOR SOMETHING – AND SOMEONE – COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. MISS GABRIELLA MARINA GONZALEZ. WITHIN THE LAST BATCH OF ART STUDENTS TO GRADUATE FROM CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS COLLEGE, THIS EXTRAORDINARY YOUNG FASHION DESIGNER HAS A LOT TO SHOUT ABOUT, AND SHE’S NOT AFRAID TO MAKE HER VOICE HEARD. BORN IN MANHATTAN, RAISED IN MIAMI, AND EDUCATED IN LONDON FROM THE AGE OF 18, SHE’S NOT AVERSE TO CHANGE. HER BOLD AND DISTINCTIVE STYLE OF DESIGNER HAS EARNED HER MUCH PRAISE OVER THE PAST YEAR, BUT JUST HOW HAS IT COME TO THIS FOR GABRIELLA, AND WHY DOES SHE BELIEVE SHE’S GAINING SUCH SUCCESS? AGENT2 FINDS OUT ALL THE ANSWERS TO THESE BURNING QUESTIONS.
Why all the moving about when you were younger?
I was born in Manhattan but moved to Miami when I was young because my parents, and I quote were living in an A.I.D.S epidemic and were tired of bringing there three year old daughter to their close friends’ funerals.” By 18 I’d had enough of Miami and decided to move to London to continue my studies. Here I experienced the perfect placement and the worst placement. The perfect placement was at Jean-Pierre Braganza. He was encouraging, realistic and gave me a good understanding of what I was to encounter over the coming year, an all around inspiring individual. The worst placement I will leave unnamed; I left early and never went back without explanation. I’m not one to be treated like a subservient c*nt and well, I was less than grateful about the opportunity in the end. I graduated in July and am planning on staying in London until it’s had enough of me. When it comes to a city as mysterious but predictable as this one, it seems it’s more in charge than I am and will decide when to evict me. Have you noticed I left out my age?
What first interested you in fashion designing?
I have been sewing since I was very young. It must be in the blood because my grandmother was a seamstress and my father was a fashion designer. Art and design was all around me and I was encouraged to be creative while growing up. This is most likely because it was apparent at an early age that I did not care about multiplication as much as I cared about dreaming. I tried a lot of things as a kid, maybe just not to be like my family, but with age I came to realise that maybe the best thing for me was to be like my family and so I allowed my passion, which was of course, clothing design.
You have a clear, bold and recognisable style, which is easy to spot. What gave you this style and how did you develop it over time?
I can honestly say, and call it a cop out, that I have no idea how to explain this question. Some times these images appear, ‘poof’ in my mind, and I if I keep my eyes closed long enough I see the details and then I draw it. It’s like trying to remember a dream. Sometimes the idea does not come and I have to reprimand it for being so cruel. I have no formula; I just make what I draw and draw what I imagined. If anything, the style is a real life materialisation of the drawing.
Those monster platform shoes are quite something! What inspired you to develop such chunky soles?
I drew the shoes on about a million girls in my illustrations while designing the collection without giving them real attention. When it came time to make the clothing I had subliminally convinced myself that it wouldn’t be the complete vision without them. So they crept up on me and weaselled their way into real life.
Is there a type of garment design you find much easier and natural than others?
Yes, the natural kind. Otherwise it looks forced and manipulated to be what you think others want it to be and I think this makes it unsuccessful and stuffy.
So many successful designers have passed through the doors of Central Saint Martins. What makes you different, and how did the place help nurture your talent?
I don’t want to lure people into my brand by subliminally advertising it as something they need to consume because they are told it will make all there dreams come true or help them play the part they want in glamorous circles in society. I want to create clothing that becomes a treasure in the closets of the wearer that they will have for the rest of their lives and makes them feel like it was made just for them. I want it to be a worthwhile keep sake with all the qualities of luxury without the guilt. The place helped to teach me how to survive entirely on my own. Whether that is my doing or theirs I may never know, but I am grateful.
What made you come up with a collection title ‘Clothing for the emotionally dispossessed’? Is it to do with your perception of women?
It’s not to do with my perception of women; it’s to do with my perception of people. They roam daily, trying, but sometimes its just not there and these hollow facades make it impossible to be intimate with others. This causes a lot of grief and makes you feel like the only one on the planet, with only your echo as a companion.
Do you wear the pieces you’ve designed? How does it feel?
A garment has the capability of morphing depending on the personality of the wearer. On me I have experienced the clothes to give me a tough but strangely graceful strength of character.
Is there a particular designer or single person who has particularly inspired you?
Most of my inspiration comes from the state of mind I’m put in when people act just how they really are. The truth is a powerful thing and in the people I encounter and the experiences I share with them, be it good or bad, is were I find most of my inspiration.
What are your hopes for the future?
The future is so vast and the abundance of plans and ideas I have seems endless. The most important thing for me in the future is that I never run out of inspiration, never succumb to complacency and that I am recognised and more importantly respected in the industry for my work.’
gabriellamarinagonzales.blogspot.com
Words Emma Zücker Images Leon Mark Hotel – leonmarkholt.co.uk
