Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Luisa Fernanda Castillo Alzate of Luisa Castillo Studio

LFC will show their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Friday October 16th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio -

Luisa Fernanda Castillo Alzate is a Colombian fashion designer and a student at Colegiatura Colombiana. Her work seeks to combine innovation, textile experimentation, and conceptual design. She has participated in academic and research projects focused on developing new proposals for the fashion industry. Her brand explores the relationship between art, identity, and the transformation of materials.

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Fashion has always been a way for me to explore creativity, identity, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. Over time, I realized that fashion design allowed me to bring together my interest in art, materials, and conceptual development. That is why I decided to pursue my professional education in this field and continue building my own creative language through my studies and projects.

How did you learn your skills?

I am currently studying Fashion Design at Colegiatura Colombiana, where I have developed my skills through academic projects, research, experimentation, and hands-on work. My education has allowed me to explore different materials, textile processes, garment construction techniques, and different ways of approaching design from a conceptual perspective.

Who are you as a designer? What is your aesthetic, customer, and brand?

As a designer, I am interested in combining innovation, textile experimentation, and conceptual design. My aesthetic explores the relationship between art, identity, and the transformation of materials.
I am interested in creating garments where the material plays an important role within the concept and can communicate an idea or create an experience. My work seeks to find a balance between the conceptual, the experimental, and what can become a fashion proposal.

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

What I enjoy most and find most natural is developing concepts and turning an idea into a visual and material language. I enjoy researching, experimenting, and finding different ways to communicate an idea through garments.

The most challenging part is taking a concept from the initial idea to a finished garment while maintaining its artistic intention without losing sight of construction, functionality, and balance within the proposal.

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

I find inspiration in nature, art, materials, human behavior, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. For my collection Fitomorfosis, the main inspiration comes from plant life and concepts such as adaptation, transformation, and permanence.

Color is important in my process because it helps create the atmosphere and emotional language of a collection. However, I also consider texture, structure, silhouette, and materials to be essential elements.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week.

Fitomorfosis emerges from a dialogue between human knowledge and the essence of plant life. The collection reflects on the human ability to recognize life beyond our own existence, to understand it, interpret it, and transform it.  The garments interpret the organic structures of life as symbols of adaptation and permanence. The collection combines industrial precision with handmade processes. 

One of the main processes in the collection involves working with different layers of laser-cut materials to create volume, depth, and relief. The base is made from natural linen, while the upper layers use leather-like synthetic materials to help create structure and tension within the garments. After the laser cutting process, each opening and edge is manually frayed. This process creates a contrast between technological precision and a more organic, handcrafted transformation. 

The collection consists of 12 looks: 4 menswear looks and 8 womenswear looks. 

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

Honestly, I don’t have a favorite look. I love all of the looks in the collection because each one represents a different part of the overall concept. I really enjoyed the creative process, and I feel that every look has something special that contributes to the collection as a whole.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

My designs can be purchased through my social media. Anyone interested can contact me directly to learn more about the available pieces or to request a personalized design. I can also create each design according to the person’s measurements and needs, making the garment feel more personal and unique.

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

I want to continue building my identity as a designer through research, experimentation, and the development of new fashion projects. I also want to continue participating in national and international fashion platforms, developing my brand, and exploring new ways of transforming materials and communicating concepts through fashion.

In closing, is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?

I would like people to see fashion not only as a way of dressing, but also as a tool for communicating ideas, exploring identity, and creating connections between different forms of life.
With Fitomorfosis, I wanted to create a space where technology, craftsmanship, nature, and human creativity could come together through fashion.

Links - 

• Instagram - @lufashion__20