SMALL TALKS: PERU MODA FINALISTS // LIS BAZAN
A TALK OF MEMORY, LOVE AND CREATIVE PASSION.
Search, it's an importan word. Lisett Bazan is a recently graduated fashion designer from Lima, Peru. She is, as most creators, in constant search of something. She pushes valiantly through the conventional, with ideas on her mind and a quest in her heart. Her work is strange and fearless, always experimental and always full of thought. We have asked her some questions.
SMJ: If you had to describe your style in five words, what would those five words be?
Lis Bazan: Experimental, textile intervention, extravagant, conceptual, unisex.
SMJ: What are the things that most drive you as a creator?
Lis Bazan: I like to investigate and generate new shapes and formes relates to the body, to learn ancestral textile techniques and working with artisans, applying them to collections with more current trends. i also love being able to experiment and create fabrics myself, from natural dying techniques, or hand-embroidered appliqués.
SMJ: Who is someone you admire very much?
Lis Bazan: i will always admire mi grandma, from my mother's side of the family. mama Laura, as i called her dearly. she never really went to a fashion school, she vas self-taught, she would buy fabrics, make her own patterns, and would make her clothes herself. she couldn't understand how people could walk down the street knowing that someone else had the same look or garments as them. i remember that every time she saw a new sewing machine she would buy it. Her main focus was always raising her kids, and she loved textile investigation, she would always sign up for embroidery courses or knitting, she would paint and dye her fabrics and then make her own clothes. i believe she is my greatest inspiration, and the person i admire the most.
SMJ: What is the most important thing being in perú moda's jovenes creadores al mundo has taught you.
Lis Bazan: beyond the contest, i think it's a great platform to get more people to know my work. I also believe that it has given me the opportunity to collaborate directly with artisans, that have contributed greatly to my ideas and helped me realize them.
SMJ: Can you talk to us a little bit about your collection?
Lis Bazan: My collection is called Sentí corpórea, it is a Fall/Winter collection. The proposed theme for the contest was duality. From that i started to create a collection inspired by how we need both mind and body to develop ourselves as humans. I translated that by implementing a dark color pallet as base, and and then intervening them with vibrant color threads that that interconnect. I used mainly alpaca fibres, cotton and denim. the techniques i implemented are knitting, experimentation with denim and cotton, and pedal weaving.
SMJ: Were there any challenges you had to get over while making this collection?
Lis Bazan: I saw them more like opportunities to learn. Trial and error is a big part of my work, since my ideas are very conceptual. Being a perfectionist, i feel like i'm constantly experimenting with shapes and textures, that come out of the innumerable try-outs i do, and without noticing it i get new ideas. Every mistake is a creative opportunity.
SMJ:What do you think should stop, when it comes to the fashion scene in Lima.
Lis Bazan: We need to learn to value correctly all the techniques and materials our country has to offer, and on the other hand i believe Peruvian fashion should start opening its mind to new ways and ideas. And when it comes to design itself, it would be great not to be so focused on things like bejeweled gowns and office tailoring, as designers we know that everything has been done, but we need to think of the added value you can give a garment or collection by giving your work a fresh perspective, be it in the cut or the shape or new ideas in general. finally when it comes to our culture, we need to stop being so retrograde, respect people's styles more. how one dresses shouldn't define people as it does. the change should come from us, and that is why i don't think we are yet in the conditions to call ourselves avant-garde.