Jorge Ayala Paris Spring / Summer 2014 Shoes by United Nude
Hailing from Mexico City, where he grew up, designer Jorge Ayala moved to Paris to do an undergraduate course in Architecture followed by a period of time in London to complete a Masters degree at the Architectural Association. After returning to Paris, in 2011 he founded [Ay]A Studio, a collective research laboratory that explores the physical dimensions that surround the human body through digital tools.
Jorge gives us an insider on how today, he is combining Architecture and Fashion.
Noora: Your SS14 collection has a beautiful name: ‘Coexistence’. What was your main inspiration and is there a story behind the collection?
Jorge: I understand coexistence as a very important concept in our lives.
I think my conversion to fashion design relies too on the coexistence between architecture and clothing; two different disciplines that meet on many levels.
For my SS14 collection, I put forward a degree of coexistence within different garment construction logics, from hand stitch to pleating; but also novel ways of making clothes per se, which aren’t necessarily following the existing protocols in traditional tailoring. Also, an innovative coexistence of materials which, based on their nature, weren’t ever meant to coexist and complement.
N: What materials did you use for this collection and why?
J: My clothing collection interconnects with a set of experimental elements involved within my architectural projects. This collection allowed us to structure materiality; giving a three dimensional input to textures and spatial properties. For instances, I came up with some vacuum tactics and corrosion in certain clothes, while I remixed silk with plastic obtaining a pleated façade implemented as a skirt.
N: Do you have a favorite colour that you always use in your designs?
J: Colour is at stake within my architectural approach, as long as it contains an embedded coded with self-intelligence, in that case I will attempt to implement the specific coloured areas towards a special feature in the garment, from structural to ornamental.
N: Do you prefer sketching designs or actually constructing them?
J: Since I was studying in Paris and London, I always enjoyed putting my hands on the physical aspect of design. In general, I would engage with a partially constructed toile first, in order to test onto a completed toile, to then actually conceive a full silhouette based on the outcomes of this processual physical experimentation. This allows the construction of clothes coming from a game of tests and failures combined with architectural knowledge.
N: How do you balance creativity with commerce?
J: Any young designer faces this matter, especially when it comes to delivering a complete collection a few days before fashion week. Nevertheless, I reckon today’s society is one of social integration, enhanced criteria and architectural flair and, thus, commercial goals have to engage with these factors. I have never believed in monopoles homogenising social and cultural thinking.
N: Last but not least, your favorite places in Paris?
J: My studio in Rue Saint-Dominique! It has become, since we started 2 years ago, a very happy place for everyone that has been involved with – a place with plenty of love and ambitious dreams.
Interview: Noora Uusitalo
