It all started from dream about fashion and quickly evolved into creating designs that, for many, are just a dream. Oscar Carvallo is a designer who is inspired simultaneously by art and nature. In his projects you love nonchalant Paris and sunny coast of Miami. Carvallo says that the pinnacle of every designer’s success is when the his fashion is not only pleasing to the eyes but also when the people can afford it. When creating, he thinks mostly about comfort and warm sand of Venezuela.
You studied Law. What made you decide to pursue an interest in fashion?
I was inspired by a photo of my grandparents from the 1940s and the fashion my grandma wore. To me, this photo represented timeless elegance. After I graduated from a formal career path, I started to work on my hobby of fashion which became very serious over time. I realized that fashion interested me the most in an incredible way, and was the only career path I could see myself pursuing.
Was your family, strongly connected to law tradition, supporting of your decision? How did they react to it?
The majority of my family chose the law career path, but they were very supportive of me when I decided to pursue fashion.
You were born in Venezuela, studied in Milan, lived in Paris. You always travel, you’re always on the move. Which one of the places you visited is most inspiring for you?
The most inspiring for me is Paris. Every place is an inspiration for me, every place has something to offer. Paris is a city that fascinated me, I loved the history, the architecture. Warsaw was also incredible. I miss the beaches of Venezuela. I love the design scene in Milan. I love the Latin flavor, energy and the sun of Miami.
You have recently been coming to Poland more and more. Does this country have anything special going on? How does polish fashion reflect on the rest of the world?
I think Poland is an up-and-coming country for fashion and I saw in my impressions of Polish people a love for sophistication and good quality products, and the people are very open to new trends and designers.
Rumor says that Cristóbal Balenciaga was obsessed with sleeves. Is there any clothing part that you like to design the most? That you have the sentiment for?
I am obsessed with textiles and designing textiles. I love to create custom prints. And of course the heart is my obsession as a designer. I think heart communicates humanity, happiness, and positive thoughts. As a designer brand, we have created a technique that is a border finishing, and you can recognize our pieces through the style of manufacturing.
If fashion could talk, what would your projects say?
They would say fashion is art.
They used to say that every designer has a muse, that inspires his/her work. Who do you think about when you’re designing a new project?
I think about women of every day. I think about what women want to wear, and how to make them feel beautiful, and the new tendency/trend for women: comfortability.
Finish the sentence: A beautiful woman is a woman who…?
Who keeps her femininity in an elegant way.
The book that summarizes your current work is titled “Art & Nature”. These two are commonly thought to be the opposites. How do you combine them?
Nature inspires art and they are always intertwined. Art and nature have been my inspiration since I started my career. I have been surrounded by artists my entire life, and they have inspired me in many ways, and nature because I grew up in a tropical country where nature is wild.
You often say during interviews that working with Carlos Cruz-Diez was one of the most important in your life. Why?
This was the only time in my life I had the chance to show a collection with an intensity in the art world. The kinetic art also called optical art has inspired me since I was very young. Cruz-Diez has been a master since I was born and I always admired his work so collaborating with him was an unexpected dream and an honor.
What is, in your opinion, the future of haute couture? Do you think the future is bright for this kind of fashion or do you doubt it will prevail?
Haute Couture will always be “The art of Fashion” is the concept of the Couture brands it is the artistic expression of the designer. The clients are very reduced but it is the exclusive part of fashion. For many brands like ours it is the base for every concept. In fashion we must make people dream .
You are in fashion industry for a while now. Nowadays it tends to rapidly change and evolve. When you compare it to how it looked when you started – what are your conclusions?
Yes, fashion goes so fast, but in our brand we take it easy, we don’t run, we work the collections and we dedicate ourselves to our clients, with is the most important. Sometimes we make 3 collections a year , sometimes we make two , it depends . We make our own world and we make our own trends, we don’t follow the trends, we make them.
What would be your advice to young designers that start right now and hope to reach the level of success similar to yours?
Fashion is a hard career , but the formula for success is to work hard every day, and believe in yourself. The thermometer of every designer is their clients, we must make collections that people can wear, if not it would be only conceptual and it would be so hard to go on. In a collection you can make some image pieces for fashion editorials or fashion dreamers, but you must have a part of the collection that women want to wear. The success of a collection is the acceptation of the public, when people want to wear it and they can afford it, it is a success. If they want to wear but they cannot, it is a pity. You must always think about your public and not about yourself.
