Fashion has never been so intriguing, mysterious and particular with the work of Carla Boré, a young Parisian Fashion Designer who has just graduated from LISAA Paris Mode. A visionary artist with her head in the clouds and her feet firmly planted on the ground. With respect for the environment, Carla thinks, draws, designs by hand, relating to the materials as if they were living beings. The only rule in fashion is to be brave and to dare. Create, mix and get dirty as if we were in a laboratory. And that's what Carla does.
We met Carla, we talked about her passion, her work and her artistic vision.
I didn’t have much knowledge of contemporary fashion through my family and my secondary school, so I had to create my own inspirational imaginary and create my personal culture of Art.
Hi Carla tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in a classical Parisian wealthy environment with parents passionate about classical Fine Arts, and a very elegant grand mother who used to wear Hermès and Yves Saint Laurent. I think that was my first encounter and admiration for fashion, before discovering Fashion through 90s-20s pop culture on MTV’s with my favorite bands at these times. I studied literature with a Plastic Art speciality in a strict and conservative environment, which later helped me develop a strong desire for going out of this boring life circle everyone around me had to follow: go in the same schools, follow what your parents wanted for you, without taking time to really understand what you wanted deeply and individually.
During high-school I started to feel a real need for self expression, independence, liberty. I knew I wasn’t like the others at school, and this meant finding myself through creation.
So I first attended Advertising and Graphic Design School, where I studied three years, only to realize they were not enough for my creativity. I wanted to do something more spontaneous and feel what I make with my hands. I guess this is why I love textile and plastic arts so much.
I didn’t have much knowledge of contemporary fashion through my family and my secondary school, so I had to create my own inspirational imaginary and create my personal culture of Art. I love contemporary Art, because it talks to my generation, with the help of surprising and uncommon materials and shapes. Also, I really am inspired by digital art and 3D art, I think technology and progress is not something to demonize or to be afraid of, and you can find beauty in it.
Finally, this strong desire for emancipation and finding my true self in , in opposition with the environment I was born in, definitely gave me a different perspective on fashion. I see clothes as a way to express yourself, and we can definitely use fashion as a tool.
When did you realize that fashion would become your job?
I realized that fashion would become my job at the very beginning of my studies in fashion school. Honestly I knew since I was very little that I loved fashion, I dreamt about fashion all the time, but maybe I wasn’t old enough to understand it was meant to be my job. After three years in the Advertising field I just knew I had to reorient myself, no matter what my family would say. Of course I had my close friends' and my grand mother’s support. After I had the first interview with the Fashion school director I realized I wanted to learn and grow in this environment. After some time in the school and several very passionating creative workshops and projects, I realized I did the right choice and I wanted to spend the rest of my life working in fashion.
I wanted to experiment textures, transform fabrics and work with colors. I felt I really had colors and textures sensibilities as I am a very visual person. Textile is a way of imagining a story.
How was your experience at LISAA Paris Mode?
It was such a good experience. LISAA is the place where I first discovered and fed my personal creative universe through different interesting subjects, from the draped creative volume dress, to the line of experimental jewelry, and a lot of sustainable re-used fabric projects.. I think this was essential for us to understand conscious fashion as future fashion designers. I really liked this school because they, give you freedom to express yourself creatively, but always with a very professional view and with pragmatic advices. I think this school was really meant for me, more than the others, because it is an Applied Art school, rather than just a fashion school where you study drawing and sewing. In this school you have a lot of artistic courses, like life drawing, collages, textile experiment.
Also during the second year they offer you to choose for a speciality between Draping, Textile and Marketing. I choose Textile because I wanted to experiment textures, transform fabrics and work with colors. I felt I really had colors and textures sensibilities as I am a very visual person. Textile is a way of imagining a story.
In these courses, I developed my own textiles lines, I experimented different techniques such as weaving, laser cutting, silkscreening, and I started to look for uncommon materials and subversive ones to experiment these techniques. What I love the most is to mix techniques to find the more powerful and unusual textures. During my third year, I took up draping as well. The meeting between textile and draped shapes is fantastic.
How did you feel when you heard about your selection for Graduate fashion week?
This contest was about creati