He tattooed “Faith” on his right hand (“to do from faith”), “Love” on his right leg with the symbol of infinity above (“to walk the path of love and truth”), “Mary ” on the chest and “God” on the back (“because he was always there to pick me up and lift me up”). He feels protected. But he also lives with the anguish of moving in an environment where betrayal is latent. Javier Saiach He is dressed in black in the middle of his store in Patio Bullrich, which he opened in July, with crimson red carpets and curtains. He has fresh memories of his childhood and cries when he talks about his mother. He prepares a book and defines himself as a creator of dreams.
News: How do you sell luxury in the midst of a great economic crisis?
Javier Saiach: Money changes hands, there will always be someone who has to buy luxury. You want to belong to such a brand and wear their shirt, that shirt that sold for 300 dollars, today it will cost 980 and whoever stays here wanting luxury will pay. There is a lack of inputs because China stopped for two years and supplied the world. All those limitations made luxury look like something much more exclusive.
News: This store was not in your plans, right?
Saiach: It was unintentional. It was December 2021, I was meeting with my assistant to decide when we finished closing Argentina, and the manager of Patio Bullrich approaches and insists that I make a pop up store, which is like a lighter concept than the store . When I began to analyze the costs, it was the same to do it like this than to do it seriously. And I like to do things well.
News: The lightness does not seem to be its characteristic.
Saiach: (Serie) It is that haute couture was never modern nor does it pretend to be., he made sure that 90% of the garment is made by hand and has the magic of being especially for the client. Question that seemed to me that, being Argentine and having lived a lot abroad, it was time to give back a little bit of the magic that these nine years gave me with my return to Argentina and an audience that accepted me right away.
News: In any case, he said that he experienced situations of xenophobia here.
Saiach: Yes, because I have an accent determined by being from Corrientes and having lived so long in Paraguay, that is why I am judged and told that I was more stuffy. At first it’s like I broke the instructions that came as a code in the culture here and with a fashion in which people adapted more to the less than to the more, like wearing jewelry, combing your hair, putting on makeup was a sin. But I was always half an only child, I always did what I wanted and it wasn’t so bad for me because every hunch I had ended well. You can like it more or less but I have a career in the world, I have international awards and a tour of all of Latin America.
News: Was he an only child?
Saiach: I have a sister who is 14 years older than me, I was practically an only child because I came to my mother at 44. In ’73, imagine, my mother was bold. And she with that audacity she was the one with whom I grew up.
Bring the strength of the unplanned. An irreverent brat who at the age of five maintained the following dialogue: “Mom, I want to be famous.” “You can be for stealing.” “No, mom, I’m going to be famous for who I am.” “And who are you going to be?” “A very successful worker.” Later, he was a different teenager, in checkered OshKosh pants and a tight T-shirt, instead of the cargos with his native Corrientes.
News: Did you make an effort to fit in?
Saiach: No, on the one hand, I suffered, but I didn’t want to give in either. Turkish is in my blood and it’s hard for me to bend, I’d rather feel a stab than betray myself. I never prostituted myself before anything or anyonethat was the biggest dogma I had.
News: Is it true that your mother was extremely demanding and always raised the bar?
Saiach: Yes. At the age of 20, I started working in three different companies, in image decoration: Givenchy, Dior and Calvin Klein. I won prizes for them, my salary tripled and I wanted to buy something nice for my mom because I owe her a lot. I bought her a three gold ring, with a sapphire stone in the middle surrounded by diamonds. I remember that it cost me exactly eight months’ salary. She told me it was divine, she tried it on, looked at it and asked me if there wasn’t another color of stone… That’s when I understood that she was fascinated but that there was always something that could be better.
News: Do you recognize that same attitude in yourself?
Saiach: No but The hardest I am with myself, especially when it comes to competing with myself. There is always something to improve and continue. I am a very believer and I tell the Virgin that the day I believe myself or start doing things without caring, she will take everything out of me.
News: I heard that he wants to be a father.
Saiach: Yes, I wonder if my most cherished dream is going to come true. I say that God would have to call himself Just, because things happen when he wants and to his measure. I would love to have a girl, I have so much love to give.
News: How do you imagine that paternity, from adoption, from a subrogation?
Saiach: I imagine it’s going to happen the way God chooses. Next year, I’m going to give myself the license to start thinking about it, because I don’t want to be the grandfather either.
News: What was your biggest pain?
Saiach: (There is a long silence, he cries) When my mom left…
News: In the midst of the pandemic and unable to say goodbye.
Saiach: Yes, not being able to get there… I took it upon myself to cultivate friends who were blameless with me and, when what happened with my mother, I had five private planes to leave Paraguay and I couldn’t use any of them because I didn’t have the entrance to Argentina. I was able to come swimming… I remember her every day. Sorry, but I’m such a blessed guy that I can’t escape the excitement. We live in a very hostile, very aggressive world, where emotion can be interpreted as mediocrity or professional failure. But I cannot separate my emotion from my character and from my creation.
News: How do you protect yourself in such an egotistical and hostile environment?
Saiach: Very simple: I ignore what they may say and I become the child they don’t want me to be, so I say no. In that whim, I find my shell.
News: He says it’s a very lonely race.
Saiach: Yes, fewer and fewer people accompany you. Everyone is at the base of the mountain and they celebrate you. Suddenly, on the first esplanade, they tell you: “I loved accompanying you, but I have to do things.” In the second, “This is not my dream.” In the third, “I am not physically prepared, you are selfish that brought me here.” He becomes more and more lonely and you wonder if it’s worth it. But yes, it’s worth it, not only for the bank account but also for the satisfaction, because I’m a boy who, since I was 5 years old, dreamed of being in a good place but deserved it. I did not make my career based on scandals, or criticizing anyone or cheating but the opposite, making women dream, so they can feel feminine again.
News: Do you have insecurities?
Saiach: My insecurity as a person is regarding the betrayal of the medium. Living in an environment where you are constantly betrayed, where you are constantly being tested, not knowing how long someone can be honest and truly dignified with their feelings. But I always take the initiative again to try to illuminate what surrounds me and to do everything with joy and faith. I am going to publish my book, “The story that I tell myself”, where I tell that that 5-year-old boy that he dreamed of is on his way. And if he could do it, anyone can do it.
