Creating an aspect of clothing without an aesthetic compromise with the canons seems easy, how to draw automatically (which Dadaist) any erratic strokes on the canvas. However, the wardrobe proposal of the Collina Strada brand goes beyond the whim of not being tied to the rules and creating freely.
This firm -founded by Hillary Taymour (a millennial Californian born in 1987) in New York (at the height of Generation Z, 2008)-, has several commitments: with sustainability, eighties kitsch humor, the reinterpretation of classics to which it incorporates highly personalized crafts and the enormous irreverent feat of stripping fashion of its halo hedonistic. Peccadillo.
“I always try to design elements that can be solved through crafts. This is, without a doubt, the most visible hallmark of my aesthetic, ”he told Spindrift, in an interview two years ago, Taymour.
Collina Strada, a brand aimed only at women, is strongly committed to veganism and sustainability, according to its creator.
“It is us, the independent firms and designers, who can change everything that is corrupted in the system, which is a lot. We are real human beings interacting with your customers. It is in our hands to create products that do not pollute the planet.
"The idea of fashion glamorous with lights, makeup and party dresses, it's not real. Our job is to create fashion in an honest and transparent”, Taymour described.
The firm recycles and reuses garments and objects from the garbage to raise awareness, from a playful perspective, of the seriousness of the situation: “What is happening with the planet is serious; we know. Let's talk about it in a way that doesn't sound so depressing and apocalyptic. No one is going to change the way you live if you don't represent yourself in a fun way."
“I would like it to be of paramount importance to young designers, but I don't see this being a reality for most of them. It has always been very important to me. I don't want to be part of the problem but part of the solution. It is not about being better than others, but about fulfilling your responsibility ”, concluded the creator regarding the commitment of her brand to transparency since it was founded.
Very attached to the present, Strada's work was included in the exhibition In America: A Lexicon of Fashion from the Met along with established designers such as Ralph Lauren or Anna Sui.
“As an independent designer I will be constantly bought by the firms of luxury, but it is not fair since we do not have the same economic or human resources. Despite everything, I do have a fundamental advantage, which is what makes me special: I have the freedom to create. This is impossible when you constantly have the CEO's breath on top of your signature,” reflects Taymour.
Among the followers of the brand's colorful and patterned garments are the singer Lorde, the actress Tavi Gevinson or the Spanish Rosalía, who wore a creation by Collina Strada at the 2020 Grammys.
This New York brand (an unbeatable urban setting for such an eclectic aesthetic), takes sustainability seriously; Its website describes it as "a platform for social issues and awareness" rather than a fashion brand, but it's loved by a younger demographic because it's also about having fun.
Collina Strada is produced in small batches in New York, prioritizes more sustainable fabrics, and has a partnership with a Ghana-based textile waste nonprofit called OR Foundation to reuse materials.
Crucially, Collina Strada's clothing is consciously made, but it also has a Y2K, club-ready aesthetic that appeals to Generation Z.
"My goal with Collina is to teach people and have fun," says Taymour. "We're just trying to make fashion a little less horrible."