Fashionclash#11 – All catwalk photos by Pasarella Photography! Introducing designer Annaïss Yucra Mancilla with a one to watch the interview. Annaiss is advocated to transmit her country through her designs. The platform shows a range of her creativity combined with her heritage. Peru is the source and the MUSE of her work.
Name: ANNAISS YUCRA MANCILLA Age: 27 Hometown: LIMA, PERÚ Menswear or Womenswear: GENDER FLUID ANNAISSYUCRA.COM / instagram.com/annaiss_design
KALTBLUT: Fashion – Makes Sense ?? What does this means to you?
Its means starting to create a circular change from our brand in a social perspective. We dye the peruvian cotton in a small community with fruits and vegetables and after this process we send it to weave to another community called “AWAK-WAYNAKAK” what means in QUECHUA ( native language in Peru) WOMEN WEAVING TOGETHER, We really wanted to bring this traditions towards creating jobs and generating incomes for this small communities of women and empower them through their art elevating and making recognition of their work.
KALTBLUT: Hello. Welcome to KALTBLUT. Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival?
FASHIONCLASH represents not only a fashion-platform but also an art encounter and a great network for young designers who want to connect worldwide. I believe it gives not only great exposure and media, but also all the artists and exhibitions that are involved create such an inspirational environment.
KALTBLUT: Can you tell us something about the collection you presented at the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2019? What was your inspiration?
MATRIARCADO is the name of the new collection of Annaiss Yucra, who continues to look for how to revolutionize fashion through their social concepts to generate questioning in the spectators and somehow expand the vision of humanity. As a narrative, Annaiss has wanted to involve part of her family, as an introspection in her collection, this is how through Matriarchy, she tells us a story that connects her past with the present.
This is the case of her grandmother, who was forced to marry since she was a child, who had to work forcefully as a child to be the pillar of her family, omitting the natural development of her age. Similarly, there is the true story of a girl, Lina Medina, a native of Huancavelica, who gave birth at the age of 5 in 1939, causing great controversy and being worldwide news. This case was linked during that time, with witchcraft, cultural stories that what they were doing was to overlap a very sad truth, which to this day is still a cause for struggle. The abuse and rape of girls. If we expand a little more, other issues related to the collection are the oppression of women, lost childhood, how patriarchy forces women to carry heavy weights in their lives without having the power of decision in their hands.
Part of doing retrospective on the subject, was also to recognize as in ancient times, there was a woman in command, during the Inca period, this woman that many Peruvians should know, they call her the Lady of Cao, who had a representative hierarchical rank, with a religious, political and healing power. It is clear that to move forward, sometimes we have to take into account our past, both to avoid making the same mistakes, as well as to rescue those thoughts and actions that root us with our land and with our peers, to surface that freedom of existence egalitarian.
KALTBLUT: What kind of material did you used for the collection?
For this collection we wanted to use 100% peruvian materials, we worked with communities in the highlands of Peru to dye the cotton and afterwords weaving for two months creating our own significant patterns and generating incomes for the artisans. Every aspect of the collection has a reason why its develop in the way. We created in collaboration with CROMATIC the ceramic earrings and a young artist that is still in the school called Jose from CALLAO a district were poverty and violence terms part of the every day journey to create the metallic pieces of “ABORTO”
KALTBLUT: What challenges did you face during the design process?
I believe the biggest challenge was to create something significant out of such a controversial context that will help people to connect with the story and to be able to really start a conversation, my curator & performance director CHRISTIAN DUARTE created the whole process of the visuals and performance we showcased on the platform we really wanted people to feel the Rolle coaster of emotions that went into the whole process.
KALTBLUT: How would you describe your self and your work?
There is a big juxtaposition of me and my designs, I always wear black since I can remember, but somehow all my design process really comes with all this colours from my country, I beliebe its genetic you can see the colours and spirit of people in Peru since the moment you wake up and watch the colourful buses that surrenders the city, the women selling candies in the street wearing her traditional polleras, the multicolor buildings that build up the joy and dreams of people. KALTBLUT: What would you say that is the biggest influence to your design process? The women behind me, my grandmother AURORA, my mother CHABELA and my aunt EMMA.
I believe I am the result of generations of frustration and broken dreams, somehow come together and reflected into myself. Having all this heritage of women with lack of education and that outcome their barriers through hard work and dreaming are my biggest muses.
KALTBLUT: If you had not become a fashion designer, what would you do instead?
A politician, I do not discard my dream of one day become part of a social change in my country and really fashion has made my voice louder and make people to stop for a second and listen what I have to say.
KALTBLUT: Who’s your dream client?
If FRIDA KAHLO was alive I believe she will be the one, if SALVADOR DALI was alive I believe he will be the second one. If I have to pick someone alive that will be Yayoi Kusama for sure she inspires me from so many angles.
KALTBLUT: What was the first item you have ever designed? And who was the lucky one to get it?
The first thing I ever made was a jumper for my dog at the sweet age of 6, I remember I hand-stitch and made a pattern from the left over fabric I found in my family textile factory, somehow it made sense when I started building it up from a 3D form, my chiquitita was so happy she ripped it off in a couple of days, she was for sure part of team Bollock naked.
KALTBLUT: What can we expect from you in near future?
ASIA is the goal for next year, really my aspiration is to land into Tokyo for Fashion Week and just be able to make it into that industry seems the place for my pieces to be.
Pasarella Photography, www.pasarella.eu
Instagram: @pasarella @pasarellaphoto
www.fashionclash.nl
