“It was not so easy to find the connection between the rebellion I felt when I saw how fashion was produced contaminating the environment and the figure of my grandfather. Until I saw his work and I understood that something of his and my mother was part of my essence, ”he says Milagros Pereda From Paris, its current city of residence.
The young clothing designer, who was surprised by her very personal use of biomaterials, the morphologies that replicate nature in tissues with a hive spirit or textile ecosystem, is the granddaughter of the famous plastic artist Nicolás García Uriburu and daughter of the renowned blue architect García García Uriburu, a symbol of ecological defense since times where global warming was not even an issue. Milagros, the last winner in the revelation category of Martín Fierro de la Fashion, constant researcher, tenacious worker, owner of a brand that bears his name, translates that inheritance into new searches and meetings.
News: There are many fantasies around the international market. How is it really working in Paris being a young Argentine designer?
Miracles Pereda: In principle I moved to Paris to do a master’s degree, I spent two years studying and I had enough in the faculty because the idea is not only that you go to classes but that you spend the whole day in that area, it is a fairly intense training. Then in times of Fashion Weeks he took short internships to help in backstages, for example. There were good and bad experiences, interesting jobs and others that did not have fun doing, sometimes you learn and take some of the experience, others no. But you also know people who can help you later.
News: Grace Coddington, a legendary stylist of “Vogue”, said that good contact is more important than 5 years of experience. Are the recommendations to apply as an intern in a great brand?
Pereda: Of course they help, especially when you start the strong work stage. At this moment I am very happy because I just started a internship in Rick Owens. On the other hand, I recognize that it is a bit exhausting to go through all the stages of the intern because they have been in parallel, luckily I have my brand where I enjoy independence and another way of working. But it is a super interesting experience to be in a luxury brand, I am knowing a lot of people, understanding how a brand of this dimension works.
News: Parallel to this work at Rick Owens, he continues to maintain his own brand. How did he decided to assemble it?
Pereda: I always wanted to do something of my own and sincerely, I never sat down to plan a business strategy. At first I sold a couple of garments in the summer, then I won the contest while studying clothing design at the University of Palermo, that was the starting point. Then, when I entered the fashion industry, I faced with another panorama, nothing was like I thought, the first blow of reality was nine years ago when I entered Mishka as an intern, a brand that I love, in which I learned a lot The one that will always be grateful because they taught me everything. But there I understood that the role of a designer in Argentina was not what I imagined, designing involved being in front of a computer all day, I did not want to do that alone and it was one of the reasons to put together my own project. In addition to understanding other issues …
News: Which is it?
Pereda: That the textile industry is the second most polluting in the world, also that there is a lot Great defenders of ecology, led me to say: “What do I do here? How to fit my values in such an industry? ” I always had a great passion to create, so I looked for my own way, putting together a capsule of 20 garments with materials that I chose, watching fabrics, painting them by hand. Then I was giving opportunities that I was taking, I am happy with the path I have been doing.
News: What happens when the system and convictions are faced?
Pereda: Over time I learned, reflecting, adjusting, because I don’t want to have a business model with which I do not agree. I am interested in aiming at renewable resources, hurting the environment as it is currently not sustainable in time. I still have no clear how to face it, but my brand is not only the scope for creative freedom but also for consciousness. It makes no sense to design a giant dress with 15 meters of tulle because the waste is huge, it will take to degrade hundreds of years. It is a matter of looking for the balance between what you want to do and how to do it. That was always my motor, finding biodegradable materials, reuse, that the most experimental things are not the best material to avoid wasting it, the best fabrics leave them to create garments that will be used for years.
News: The great theme of the textile industry is that many production surpluses are discarded in open -pit dumps or burn. Another controversy is that of raw materials, exotic leather, for example. Does your environmental commitment face any dilemma?
Pereda: I tell you this, today I had to open a 3 -meter python snake that were going to use for a design. I looked at half frightened (laughs). With the issue of waste when you are inside the industry you can not do the boluda and the truth that hurts me, but it is part of my training, it will help me to learn and not repeat, I take it a little like that.
News: His name began to be known by winning the contest “I, the young fashion creator” and consolidated with the Martín Fierro de la Fashion to the new talent 2024. Do the contests and awards are commercially served?
Pereda: They serve. With “I, the young fashion creator” I went from selling linen shirts on the beach to assemble a complete collection, which is not less. It was my letter of introduction to the world of Argentine fashion and the root of that came out a lot of opportunities, if I had not won that contest everything would have been more slowly. Martín Fierro gave me greater visibility, it is the validation that you are going for the right path. Outside there are a lot of competitions in which I was participating because many have mentoring awards or cash to enhance your brand, they are always a good opportunity.
News: While in the epicenter of the fashion industry, how much of real and how much of pose regarding sustainability?
Pereda: In Paris, the most worrying thing is that they are not even interested in doing as they care, in luxury brands it is not a priority. I am impressed how those who work with the same techniques have been rewarded for hundreds of years, continue with the usual leather and that is applauded. I feel that other cities like London or New York is a different vision, but Paris is so traditional that these things are not questioned. With massive brands it is different, there is a tremendous amount of Greenwashing, although you can never know what a brand really does unless you are inside, it is a very complicated issue.
News: Is there access to a more sustainable fashion for the average pocket or the American fair is our option?
Pereda: They are more expensive products and materials, I agree with that, but the reality is that the best thing we can do is reduce consumption, we do not need everything we have, start there, to invest in garments that one can repeat. I am to dress very sober, capable I have a blazer that uses it from seventh grade (laughs). I love to buy vintage because before the clothes were better made and resisted much more, that quality of the fabrics is already difficult to find, you can get very good vintage options at a better price. I think you have to change habits, it is not easy, it is even an internal debate because I want to see my brand grow, but I am not interested in becoming someone who needs to make 200 shirts, I prefer that ten people wear my clothes. Maybe I’m being naive and I can’t hold it in time, but in my head I want to believe yes.
