Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Valeria Watson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Valeria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

When I started my college education, I was a painting major. It took me a couple of months until I realized I wanted to do fashion. I started by looking for inspiration everywhere: fashion magazines, photography, paintings, plays, and more. As I grew as a designer, I realized my strongest connections were the ones inspired by my personal story. Telling my memories through fashion was my first ‘aha’ moment when I realized I could do something unique There is not an exact day and time when I realized I wanted to launch my own brand. The dream started little by little. Sometimes I would be walking on the street wearing my designs, and people would stop me to ask where I had bought it. Similar small gestures like that gave me the courage to start thinking of building a brand. One of the fundamental moments for starting my brand was while I was a graduate student at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). After having worked with sewers around the garment industry in New York, I realized I wanted to work with some sewers in Mexico to support my community and heritage. I shipped garments and patterns to my hometown, Guadajalara so that a seamstress there could sew the garments for me. I felt very connected and empowered to be working with my community and inviting them to be a part of NY Fashion Week. I presented my business pitch to Bob Fisch, former CEO of Rue21, and he decided to support my fashion brand. He gave me enough money to start production for my first collection. After receiving the money, I went straight to Mexico to look for factories and vendors. After extensive research and many car drives with my mom, we found the perfect factory. A factory located in Guadalajara that prints fabric, cuts, and sews and has many years of experience working with American designers. After doing some fabric printing tests I came back to New York to work on finishing tech packs, digitizing patterns, and designing prints to be shipped and emailed to Mexico. And so the production of my brand began.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a multidisciplinary artist and fashion designer based in New York City. Inspired by my Mexican-American heritage, my concepts are rooted in personal memories and are imbued with the traditional craft of Mexico. I design through collage to create silhouettes with bold volumes. I used up-cycled materials, especially my parents’ clothing. And I use my fine arts background to create graphical prints that are colorful and bold.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to bring high fashion to my hometown, Guadalajara, Mexico. I love working with Mexican artisans, to teach and to learn from them. Since most of my collections are inspired by my Mexican heritage, I strongly believe in giving back to the country that has inspired me to create everything. My goal would be to have my own factory in Mexico employing mostly women. I would love for my clothes not to tell only my story but also their story. I want to build a fashion community in Guadalajara where it is sustainable to work in the fashion industry.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

While being in school, I learned how to do everything myself. From choosing fabric, making patterns, cutting, and sewing, I was there in every step. When starting to work on my own brand, I had to learn to let go of control. It is impossible to do everything, and it is impossible to be the best at everything. I had to learn to let go and trust other people to take over, as well as learn how to communicate so that everything would be as planned. It was a process of unlearning and learning new skills that had to do more with communication and trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.valeriawatson.com/
• Instagram: @valeriawatson
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/valeria-watson-479997138
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Photo: Paolo Lanzi / Gorunway.com