By Pablo Donas
Creativity is essential for fashion designers. In an industry of constant competition, emerging designers look to attract new customers, by either creating new fashion concepts or reinventing old trends.
Chema Diaz is one of these new emerging talents.
After moving to London in 2012, Diaz did impressive work as an associate in Clapham Apparel. His latest collaboration is with GFOTY, the princess of PC MUSIC.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 12: Polly-Louisa Salmon of GFOTY performs live on stage at the Troxy on April 12, 2016 in London, England
Diaz’s first steps in fashion were creating costumes for his home town’s carnival in Galicia, before he started designing T-shirts to get some extra money. After moving to Madrid he started performing as a stylist for multiple magazines, then created his own brand under his name and direction.
Today, the designer is popping out with his latest collection BANDIDO, inspired by Spanish culture, typical and modern sounds and his experience as an LGBTQ immigrant in London.
“My collection targets the Queer community. I see how designers take appropriation of the Queer culture and aesthetics but under an economical point of view. I want to get to the people who I share references, ambitions and lifestyle,” he said.
His pieces range from shirts to trousers to underwear, and he uses a variety of materials, including vinyl, cotton, synthetics and leather.
The inspiration for his latest collection? “Living abroad helped me understand and appreciate my culture. I also noticed that my idea of Spain can be considered different,” he said.
“I got inspiration on my favourite emerging and classical Spanish music icons and mix it up with the Queer, and Bandido is the final result of this.”
The collection was presented in a warehouse in Tottenham Hale, famed normally for raves and live performances. “The place was divided into two different rooms. The first one was the traditional part of Spain with traditional Spanish music and food, the second one was the rave. The public could live the trip between the deep Spanish culture to my present as a modern DJ in London,” the designer said.
“My future goals are to make my brand efficient. At the moment I’m managing everything by myself. I would like to keep creating new concepts and keep working on my brand,” he added.
The collection is available online at www.chemadiaz.com and on WSIURA (Berlin)
Leave a Reply