Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Restrepo.
Christian, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up playing in my grandmother’s sewing room back in Texas, she was a tailor and seamstress for Medieval Times, unknowingly that kind of exposure laid out the foundation for me to explore the arts and creative process. I ended up studying architecture for two years, but it never felt right, so I applied to Massachusetts College of Art + Design originally for illustration, but ended up in Fashion design.
Post grad was a little confusing, no one really prepares you for what to expect once you’ve graduate. It was a limbo phase for me, so on a whim I moved to New York City with a few friends and worked in the industry freelancing with a handful of designers. It was a rough year, I was really depressed for awhile, but I’m glad I made myself do it, my time in NYC exposed me to all sorts of amazing projects, people, and most importantly it taught me a lot about myself, and what I’d I wanted and didn’t want as an artist/designer. The hardest thing for me though was realizing that I didn’t have the community of friends and artist I used to have back home. I realized how important and essential your community is. How important it is to be surrounded by people with good energy, intentions, ambition, and a drive. Suddenly an opportunity came up back in Boston, so I jumped on it and moved back.
Throughout all these experiences my body of work started to change as well, it became more structured, heavier, and brutal. Aside from growing my body of work I also work at MassArt as the Studio Manager in the Fashion department and teach a class in the Continuing Ed. program.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I mean, everything has its ups and downs, if it wasn’t challenging we wouldn’t learn and grow as humans. I’m obsessed with the process, it very much defines the results, and my work is very process oriented. It’s funny, as much as I love collaborating, when it comes to my personal body of work I am very selfish. Everything is done entirely by me, so time and value is a big struggle.
It doesn’t help that I don’t create the most wearable or practical pieces, so a big issue that I struggle with is finding that middle ground where I can justify the amount of time and money I put into a piece. Will anyone actually buy it? Will it be worn? Do we really need another garment in the world? Or will it just hang in my studio?
It’s a gamble but I feel like it has to be done, we live in such a consumerist, fast fashion society right now and its hurting people and our environment. We have to relearn how to value what we have and take care of our things, it’s about quality over quantity. That’s one of the things I hope to address with my work, I am by no means going to disrupt an entire system, but at least bringing an awareness is important. It’s a struggle being part of the damage, while trying to change it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with SIGILO – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
It’s very new, still a learning process for me, but I have a small network of people that connect with the work I create, so I decided to house my work under the label SIGILO, where everything is created by me. The pieces are made in a “slow-cooked” manner using unusual materials and fabrics, meaning I don’t over produce piece in large quantities, and all the textures and textiles are originals to the brand, all hand done, everything is a one-off that I’ve made or custom made to order, tailored for the person. I aim to have a commerce page on my website by the end of the summer and post the one-off pieces as I make them.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I had the privilege of sharing my work at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum a couple of times, I would really love to conquer all the museums in Boston, and beyond. I’m fortunate enough to have an amazing job where I get to be surrounded by driven, and talented students, and I can’t wait to see what new things I’ll be learning from them this coming semester.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chrestrepo.com
- Email: chrestrep@gmail.com
- Instagram: ch_restrepo
Image Credit:
Photos by Mike Zaia, Ally Schmaling
Models : Akou Diabakhate, Erin Robertson, Dyan McClimon Miller
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