Warmi
If you knew me from my years living in Paris, you may remember I used to have a knitwear and leather brand called WARMI (Warmi means Woman in Quechua).
It seems to me like another life, and indeed, it was! But it also was one of the most fundamental experiences in my career as a designer and an entrepreneur. The learned lessons from those years shaped the way I see and approach creativity, and now provide me with the know how to support and accompany other founders and creatives because I have been there!
Me in my late 20´s, in the couloir of my tiny apartment in Paris with my knitting machine and the Barranquilla’s Carnival masks.
Shot by my dear friend and amazing artist Cecilia Jauniau.
It was back in 2007, I was working as a trend hunter and consultant art director for Martine Leherpeur Conseil. My first proper job in fashion in Paris and an incredibly rich experience as well. However, being a designer, after 5 years of working as a consultant, I got to a point where I needed to go back to making things, and to reconnect with my home country, its people and traditions.
Sutatausa authentic spinster Photos by my dear Carlos Llamas, circa. 2008
So WARMI was born, a project of contemporary fashion knitwear, made by women artisans in Colombia, preserving ancestral savoir-faire, while generating employment in rural areas and giving visibility to people behind the manufacture of things. Each garment thus bore the name of the artisan who had woven it, the hours worked, the techniques used, the material, etc... this linked to a rudimentary website that told the life story of each woman (a ‘Who made my clothes’ before time).
Sutatausa, the town of the Warmi weavers. Photos by my dear Carlos Llamas, circa. 2008
Everything was a little ahead of time, really. At that time there was no interest about Colombian fashion, much less talk about Latin American lifestyle. There were not many support platforms or showrooms specific to this type of project. The so called ‘ethical fashion’ had a marked bias of hippie–without the chic, and there were only a couple of actors like veja or misericordia doing the first pines on conscious–&–cool projects.
Following my intuition, I left my job at MLC, and I partnered with my mother, who would take on the arduous task of coordinating the management of artisan production in Colombia. I, in turn would be in charge of designing, marketing and sales in Paris.
Infashion - Colombia. Circa 2009
It took us a year to build a first capsule of 8 models and from then, everything began to develop very quickly. We won the Fresh contest of the Salon Who’s Next, we were invited to show at Le Showroom of the late Hortensia de Hutten and with these, the first orders in stores like Gas by Marie or Rail in Brescia.
By our 5th season we were selling at Le Bon Marché in Paris and Opening Ceremony in Tokyo, we had been invited ironically to make a capsule for Top Shop the UK temple of fast-fashion at that time, and Japan had become our main market. Dazzling!
What happened then? You may ask.
Many things… which I will try to summarize to get to the reason why I tell you this story.
Nylon US - FW 2010
First, we were facing the fast-fashion boom where it was increasingly difficult to justify the value of a garment. This also accelerated the pace of presentations, and now brands where expected to propose pre-collections, capsules, croisières... more and more, faster and faster. A rhythm that was not going at all with the slow spirit of WARMI!
By then, selling directly to the end customer was not an easy task without a brick-and-mortar owned boutique; e-commerce in fashion was incipient, and instagram was still a place to upload digital polaroid photos. Thus, the sale was mainly done wholesale with the impact of margins and the conditions that it implies for a young brand. We also had to face a couple of intellectual protection concerns, our designs were copied, our brand name was not correctly protected, and other management issues inherent of any entrepreneurial adventure were in play.
WARMI - Fall Winter 2008
And yet, perhaps the biggest challenge I encountered was not giving in to my creative whims or my need to reinvent myself every season, and to see that I needed to build a clearer voice. And by doing it, I wasn’t betraying my creative self.
Cahiers de recherche WARMI, circa 2011
Still, we had very loyal customers who followed us, we did what we did! Our iconic pieces where copied all over, from young designers to massive brands! But it was difficult to consolidate long-term relationships with most of the buyers who were lost in my very vast universe. I was searching myself, in an expensive manner. Commercially, season after season, every new presentation was like starting over.
WARMI - Fall Winter 2012
WARMI - Fall Winter 2011
WARMI - Spring Summer 2012
WARMI - Carrieles Collection 2011
Yes, I dare to be so honest with this, because even though I didn’t immediately understand it, eventually I realized that this is perhaps the MOST important thing that a brand, an artist and any other creative person should focus on. Allow the time and space to deep dive into your foundations, to find a truly authentic message, and then convey it in a coherent and comprehensible way.
This does not mean that a creative should cut its wings, not allowing experimentation, or using a formula to wear. It means that it is fundamental to build an alphabet, a toolbox (a silent language) vast enough to be shelter and inspiration, but solid enough to be recognized and have lasting effect over time.
Over the years I have substantially evolved on that skill, it becoming one of my strongest expertises I enjoy sharing with other creatives and brands.
If you need help with your brand language, reach out!
If you liked this story, please leave me your comments or share! I would love to read you too! ☺