Vancouver Fashion Week FW23 Interview With Designer Neithan Herbert (San Miguel de Allende, México)

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Neithan Herbert will be showing his collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week FW23 on Wednesday April 12th at 6:55 P.M.  Purchase Tickets HERE!


From the VFW Website - 

NEITHAN HERBERT/CREATIVE DIRECTOR. “Boys and girls grow up under the protection of women, I was raised by a mother who in a foreign country taught metraditions that celebrate innumerable pretexts, of life and death. These rituals provide the framework to live as free spirits. There is a love and respect for nature and to work together as a community. My mom, with the help of other
artisans, dedicated her life for 40 years to promote the art-craft and textile work of the local Ecuadorians around the world. When I was born she opened her first clothing store in Mexico, this is exactly where I had my first contact with the fashion world. That’s the reason why I chose to dig inside the diary
of all the things that I’ve learned over the years from my mix of cultures and reinterpreted on my way.”

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I titled this collection “Granchio del mare in acqua” (Crab in the water). For this collection I found inspiration inside of my zodiac sign CANCER. A water sign that helped me find symbols of the sea side that reminded me of when my mom was pregnant with me. We used to live on the beach, my first contact with the world as a baby was with the ocean. Honoring her I decided to follow the silhouettes that the water creates, the lightness but also heaviness of nature are part of the elements that complemented this collection and that I followed to create the shapes of each garment.

Working totally on handmade pieces of Jewelry for the accessories of the garments, all the buttons, closures and elements in metal were designed following my favorite symbols of the sea. Always following romantic silhouettes and giving the feeling of a free spirit. This collection it’s made to wear on your favorite beach.

2023 Interview - 

How did you learn your skills? 

I was born in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Because of my Mexican roots, which is where I was raised, my interest in fashion was born looking and analyzing my mother’s traditional clothing, an indigenous woman from the Inca culture who was living in Mexico. Furthermore, because of my mum’s clothing store, I developed, at a very young age, a connection with fashion and growing up, I started to work along with the indigenous communities from different regions of Mexico. Somewhere along my journey, I found myself developing my aesthetic.  In 2020, I graduated with a (BA) Fashion from the IED Milan, and made my debut at Milan Fashion Week last September thanks to the Milano Moda Graduate Contest.

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Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

If I had to describe my work, I would say it is nostalgic, romantic, mix-cultured and free-spirited. I am surely more focused on womenswear, exclusively made with handmade techniques, now we expand the brand also with creations of handcrafted jewellery and accessories.

I am always looking forward to collaborating with local artisans from México. I have a fascination for the handmade and the organic process employed to create each garment and jewellery. Therefore, I am always looking for sustainable alternatives to make each piece unique.

I want to dress the nomad women of the 2023, the ones that go and visit the cities, learn from new cultures and are not afraid to stand out with their silhouettes. Bring all the nostalgia of the past to the actual time but a modern twist. Laces, linen and silk fabrics are the ones that will hold forever my muses.

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What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

I love the creative process and Visual Research. Because I studied Visual Communication and Fashion,  those are the things that come easier for me. To project and sketch the design motivates me to create and I love to materialize all the things that are on my imagination. The hard process is to translate and make the production team understand how to translate into patterns, fabrics, etc. what is on my mind. It’s a hard process but no doubt the one that I also enjoy the most, because it involves good communication and brainstorm of ideas from all the team that work and believes in this brand too.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

I titled this collection “Granchio del mare in acqua” (Crab in the water)

For this collection I found inspiration inside of my zodiac sign CANCER. A water sign that helped me find symbols of the sea side that reminded me of when my mom was pregnant with me. We used to live on the beach, my first contact with the world as a baby was with the ocean. Honoring her I decided to follow the silhouettes that the water creates, the lightness but also heaviness of nature are part of the elements that complemented this collection and that I followed to create the shapes of each garment.

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I created handmade pieces of Jewelry as accessories for the garments. All the buttons, closures and elements in metal were designed following my favorite symbols of the sea - always following romantic silhouettes and giving the feeling of a free spirit. This collection it’s made to wear on your favorite beach.

Black and white are the main colors present in all of my collections as a motif for nostalgia. When we look back to old pictures, all of them are in black ann white. That’s why these two colors are essential to me. On each collection I choose a different popup color, like gold or pink. For this resort collection brown is the one I have chosen to represent the sand and earthy elements that are present when we think about the beach.

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Readers would love to know more about the current collection you showed at Vancouver Fashion Week.

This is the official reveal of my first Resort Collection. I am excited to show all the talent and work of Mexico to other countries, and nothing feels better than feeling welcomed by Canada. I hope that with this collection I can transport you to my world and give you this feeling of summer and seaside.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

The first look is one of my favorites. It shows the pleated techniques that I am working on for the rest of the collection. As mentioned, I was connected the sea to when my mother was pregnant, so I feel this A cut dress helps give this feeling. It’s like if I am telling the world that this collection is for that motherhood. It is mixed with the jewellery that represents Coral, her favorite stone. That’s why this look iss so personal to me - the mix of motherhood and all the elements that my mom loves. She’s my muse, so any opportunity to celebrate her always makes me emotional.
 
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Where can readers purchase your designs?

On the Website, and right now we have a presence in Four Seasons Resort in Mexico, Houston and Italy. My showroom is located in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

Taking the brand to new countries and cities is what we are working for. This brand is the result of my mix of cultures so, I think it’s perfect for a big range of public from different nationalities. On the other hand, I want to keep promoting the maintenance of traditional techniques that we are losing for new generations in Latin America. I want to inspire people and show them that we can make a living keeping these beautiful traditions, because we can do so much more with all the talent that we have in each country.

Womenswear 2023 ‘Stop Watering Dead Flowers
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In closing is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?

Don’t let people stop you from following your dreams. People used to tell me that it was impossible to achieve anything as a designer as an Inca Indigenous boy. Now at the age of 24 I can tell you that I am so thankful that I never listened to these people. I have had the opportunity to show my collection in Milan, Paris and now Vancouver. Follow whatever brings you passion and work hard to make those dreams your reality.

Links - 

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