L’OFFICIEL
L'officiel interview translation
“Animaná is a love story, truly, about returning to the thought of the heart, to the spirit of things, so it could be part of the solutions and transformations of the world we deserve.” Opening dialog with these warm, improvised words is Adriana Marina, founder of clothing brand animaná and NGO Hecho por nosotros, which has consultative status at UN. PhD in Economics, specialist in local development, inequality and poverty in Latin America, this year she was awarded the New Business Paradigm by AmCham for her work towards a more ethical, transparent, and inclusive industry.
“I never understood fashion, never belonged in it,” she claims, laughing, as if some of it still surprised her, and she tells a story that seems to explain its mythical origin: “When I was young, I found a definition that said fashion was the strange phenomenon whereby you like something now that you didn’t like in the past and you won’t like in the future. I have never memorized a phrase or a song and, for some reason, I’ve always remembered it. Well, this phenomenon has been moving fast. It is no longer in the past, it happens instantly. This has to do with the disconnection we have with the world. I think that, without belonging, I was able to make a timeless, disruptive model, inspired by nature.”
Along this path, she met Dominique Peclers, founder of Peclers Paris and renowned international fashion consultant, who assisted and worked with her for over six years: “She told me that if I wanted animaná to have a chance, I didn’t have to look for a designer, as animaná was the way I wore, the way I felt.”
L’OFFICIEL: What is animaná? When did it start and how?
ADRIANA MARINA: I was lucky to be born and raised in Patagonia and from a young age, thanks to my grandmother, I understood the great message of nature as master of life. Besides, over the years, I have built a relationship with many Andean communities of textile manufacturers and artisans, and I witnessed firsthand the effort a quality fiber
requires.
This experience motivated me to found animaná and Hecho por Nosotros in 2008. The main goal was to promote the culture, history and ancestral wisdoms of Latin American Andean communities through their textiles. Our garments, clothing accessories and decorative elements are handmade, using ancestral weaving techniques, and contemporary designed.
L’O: It is featured as a sustainable, luxury brand. Which aspects does a garment
need to have to meet these criteria?
AM: Andean people believe in nature as a deity, they call it “Pachamama” and see it as the source and home of every living thing. The connection with nature is highly important to them, they sense its liveliness and respect it considerably. Likewise, they perceive the world as a complex place where everything is interrelated. Therefore, they intend to keep balance and harmony in their lives and the world through their actions and ceremonies. From the outset, Animaná’s only goal was to conduct business under these principles, focusing on balance, regeneration and respect for nature. We aim for consumers to meet the fibers’ soul, where design is a bow to nature as deity, as history and wisdom.
For this reason, we built a business model that works on the items’ entire value chain, in transparency, traceability and strengthening of good practices. This includes the shearing process for the manufacturing of natural fibers; design as an element of creation for timeless, contemporary, long-lasting items; and trading.
L’O: How would you define your designs? How’s the creative concept and process?
AM: Andean people believe in nature as a deity, they call it “Pachamama” and see it as the source and home of every living thing. The connection with nature is highly important to them, they sense its liveliness and respect it considerably. Likewise, they perceive the world as a complex place where everything is interrelated. Therefore, they intend to keep balance and harmony in their lives and the world through their actions and ceremonies. From the outset, Animaná’s only goal was to conduct business under these principles, focusing on balance, regeneration and respect for nature. We aim for consumers to meet the fibers’ soul, where design is a bow to nature as deity, as history and wisdom.
For this reason, we built a business model that works on the items’ entire value chain, in transparency, traceability and strengthening of good practices. This includes the shearing process for the manufacturing of natural fibers; design as an element of creation for timeless, contemporary, long-lasting items; and trading.
L’O: Do you make seasonal collections? If so, what are you currently working on?
AM: Our collections are conceived and developed as the new classics, based on the fiber’s expression and simplicity. With this in mind, we create garments thought to last beyond trends, to adapt to different figures, occasions and temperatures. Besides, we draw on the natural color palette as it expresses the richness of the fibers we use.
L’O: You founded NGO Hecho por Nosotros. How do you see today’s fashion scene? For instance, we could think that the food industry began to change due to the consumers’ demand for information. Which environmentally friendly transformations do you see within the fashion industry?
AM: We see an increasing number of consumers who expect brands to be more responsible. Nevertheless, we should know that ‘sustainability’ has become an overly easy-to-use word, especially to large companies, without reaching an actual extent. In order to create new solutions, we have to imagine new models outside the existing systems. Traditional productive and trading processes fail to consider the environmental and social impact of consumption and production, compromising people and the planet.
Much collective work remains to be done on how to integrate the basis and build that missing link within the fashion industry. Today’s blockchain technology, proper digital content and decentralized funding integrate the basis into the system, as they constitute the major support sources of real social, cultural and environmental solutions. If the business of the future is co-creation, collaboration is key, and creative industries are the best framework for the completion of the SDG’s 2030 Agenda. I believe this industry, with its huge potential and its serious problems, is ultimately a weave that engages us in a joint dialog, and it must be considered a transformation platform for our society and our world.