Photography: Natalia Garcia
We meet with Patricia Benitez in “Galeria Cosmo”, a place
that harmoniously combines a café with an exquisite art gallery. Its decoration
is extremely beautiful and colorful, and it offers an ideal environment to talk
about the brand La Chica de Papel,
for its similarity with the young and sweet artistic concept…
How would you
define what fashion means for you?
I define fashion as a way of personal expression: it is what you wear,
what you are and the image you give to the world. I think about fashion as a
way of absolute free expression, and that’s why I love it when people adapt
their closet to their personalities and they dress as they want, not caring if
it is trendy or not. The important thing is to dress it the right way, I mean,
you have to feel comfortable in it. For me, this is fashion.
Where does your
passion for the design world come from?
I’ve had it since I was little, because of the typical reason of growing
up with dolls, to which you buy clothes or make clothes for… I’d say my passion
for clothes has had its ups and downs, although the idea was always growing up in my mind. Maybe because my
mum sew my clothes when I was a child.
In which moment
did you start thinking about creating your own brand?
The idea came from the fact I have a defined style. Here in Spain, the
kind of clothes I like is a very expensive one, and I got tired of not finding
the clothes I like in shops.
One day I thought about asking my mum to teach me how to sew, not with
the idea of creating a brand, but of having my own clothes. Later on, I thought
about uploading my own clothes in a blog and, if people liked it, I thought I
could commercialize it. The brand started at that point, and it’s already been
two years since the first spring – summer collection.
In general, was it
difficult to start in the fashion world and boosting your own brand?
For me, it was and it still is difficult. The fashion world is very
elitist and it is very difficult to build yourself a place in it, mainly in the
crisis situation we are nowadays. Getting your brand to be known is a very slow
process, and it requires a huge effort.
I guess you’ve
found loads of obstacles in your way which you’ve had to overcome. Which kind
of problems have you had?
I’ve found loads of obstacles. The most important one: the financing
issue. Starting a project is expensive and in order to get financial aid your
brand must be consolidated and you must have a very strong sales channel. For
now, we have a private group of investors.
The money issue is always a problem, because it has to be understood that
we use very expensive materials and we create exclusive designs. We have to get
the public to accept the brand, to like it, but to also think that our prices
are fair, and this last thing isn’t easy.
Is there any
contact which has brought you a positive experience? And a negative one?
From our collaboration with the blogger and stylist Irislovefashion in
Madrid, we got a publicity offer from an agency of the Spanish capital.
Reality is: if you have no contacts, you have nothing. But you have to be
careful, because contacts can turn into competence and play bad tricks with
you. In regards to this fact, I haven’t had more problems than just a specific
case. But I do have had some surprises. In one hand, bloggers with just a few
followers to whom I have offered a collaboration which also benefited them sent
me a very demanding application as a contract. In the other hand, we haven’t
heard back yet from the agent of some of the most famous bloggers.
Did you study fashion design?
No, I haven’t studied it. I’m a self-taught designer. That means
everything I know about fashion I’ve learnt it on my own. In fact, what I would
have liked to study is interior design.
Do you design the clothes by yourself or do you have more people working
with you?
We have a designer, who was the first incorporation. The first collection
was designed by her, but she had to leave the brand because of familiar issues
and now I’m the one who designs. In the production process, I’m working with
two dressmakers.
Where does the
meaning of the brand’s name come from?
I’d say it came out alone, because it is one of the names I wrote in a
list during the space of one week.
Which is your
favorite fashion style?
I’d define my fashion style as vintage, retro naïf, preppy… I look for a
very childish outfit, perfectionist, always taking care of the little details
as little bows. I love dresses which look simple at a first look but that
result to be unique and original.
Which public do
you address the brand to?
I address the brand to a public who loves the vintage aesthetic. For my
own surprise, when I started the brand I discovered I also address my clothes
to an urban group called “malenis”. In case you don’t know, it is a group of
girls who, inspired by Amelie (a French film from the director Jean-Pierre
Jeunet, 2001), love cupcakes, muffins and the naïf aesthetic.
How many
collections how you created so far? Where can we buy them?
Just a few weeks ago we started selling some clothes from the
spring-summer collection, and now we are going to do the same with
autumn-winter clothes.
Next month (March 2014) they’ll be on sell in the etsy website. We want
to address the brand to an international public, so everybody (I mean not only
people from Spain) we’ll be able to buy our clothes.
Describe your last
autumn-winter collection…
The last collection is specially inspired in London’s swinging sixties.
You’ll find dark colors in it, mainly navy blue, grey and black, but
there’s also white in order to bring the informality we want for our clothes.
Why have you given
so much importance to dark colors in this collection?
For me, there is
an evident difference between spring-summer and autumn-winter time. Good
weather makes me feel like wearing pastel colors, and I like to combine them
with happy floral patterns, polka dot prints… While on the other hand, I
associate winter’s season with cold, humidity and darkness, and that’s why I
immediately think about dark colors.
Which are the
materials you love working with?
The tissues I work the most with are cotton and polyester. The reason? I
consider them the ones which give more form and presence to clothes, and they
are also very easy to work with.
Do you usually
wear your own designs?
Yes and no. If I wear my own designs then I tend to combine them with
other simpler clothes. I like simplicity in outfits. I must add I am a bit of
an anti-brands person right now.
Could you name the
features you think a designer must have in order to succeed?
The most important feature is having a strong personality. Knowing who
you are and what you want to transmit with your clothes is essential. It is
okay to look what the other designers create to see how they do it, but never
for copying them.
What or who inspires
you?
Our inspiration is clearly vintage, and I search for examples in 50-60’s
films and in singers and actresses of those years. I never look to the current
fashion trends. Although I have to say that, normally, anything beautiful
inspires me.
Do you have a
reference designer? One from Catalonia?
My two reference designers are Orla Kiely and Coco Channel, because they
have reached something which took a lot from them but that is so consolidated
nowadays. If I had to say one from Catalonia, I’d say Lidia Delgado. She
doesn’t really fit into my style, but I quite like how she works in her
designs.
How do you play your next projects?
Our closest project is launching our own bags line with La Chica de
Papel’s logo or with “Mr. Pepe”, the brand’s mascot.
You must have
fulfilled a great part of your dreams as a professional. Could you explain some
of the personal goals you think you have achieved?
The fact I just have a small collection and yet I have gotten so much
attention with it, is already an achieved goal for me. We’re making a
collaboration with a Spanish singer, Zaharapop, and at the same time we are
about to find a blogger who will promote the last clothes we have presented.
Another achievement has been that physic shops, mainly French and Spanish
franchises, are now interested in my brand.
Tell us your
biggest dream.
My most immediate dream is consolidating the brand, being able to sell
the complete collection, and having a good website for selling it online. In a
longer space of time, my dream is presenting my collection in the 080’s catwalk
and in Madrid, and having a little shop for it. I also consider very important jumping
into the international market. The most you expand your brand the better, and
the more limits you put into its distribution, the more limits you put in it
and to yourself. In just a few words, I’d love to be able to make a living with
my brand, keep creating clothes which people will buy and wear.
What do you think about fashion’s situation in Spain and Catalonia?
I think Spanish fashion is in a very good position. There are a lot of
talents in this country. I’d say the problem is it is still unknown, and there
will pass many years until it gets resonance in the market. I encourage people
to bet for the national production. As a consumer, I think the problem is it
doesn’t see anything beyond the low-cost, which takes advantage from the crisis
in order to monopolize itself.
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