Looking back at almost more than 10 years a go I had the opportunity to meet the amazing Johnny Carmona! I was her student at CENTRO University in Mexico. He taught us about fashion marketing, and I loved his classes and the way he spoke about fashion. I became a Sex and the City fan because of him. We had the opportunity years later to make a radio program together. Talking about my first blog (Que Coman Pastel – Let them eat cake) and curiously we shared the same hair color turquoise blue. He had it on his beard and I had it on my hair. Johnny has become a very unique fashion icon in Mexico, popular for his particular fashion and style which I love. I wanted to interview him, because I consider Johnny as a very important reference of fashion in my country.
When you scroll his instagram timeline you can tell that he has fun with his outfits, and he sends a very strong message every single time. He is not afraid of being himself. And fashion is all about expressing yourself through clothing and accessories.
Who is your favorite designer and why? I don’t have a favorite designer per se, but there are a group of designers that call my attention. The ones with a playful and maximalist and eclectic style like Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott in Moschino, and Vivienne Westwood. I can also be very sober and minimalist and suddenly like Chanel.
Describe your style in 3 words Eclectic, Vintage, and Playful
If you could be any character of Sex and The City who would you be? To an aesthetic and the way I live and experiment fashion In a stylish level it would be definitely Carrie Bradshaw. Since 1998 when I saw the series I fell in love with that eclectic, extroverted and interesting style.
Where does your love for fashion come from? My love for fashion began when I was a child while interacting with my cousins first Barbies, and with the paper dolls you would find on magazines and you would just cut out and paste their outfits. Also the narrative game within, interchange different accessories and tell stories through garments worn by the dolls. If I come to think on what I love about Disney’s princesses it’s the scene about the gown from Sleeping Beauty when it’s being design and constructed on the movie adding colors and silhouettes, also the transformation of the dress in Cinderella ( Walt’s Disney favorite scene) and also mine!
How do you get inspiration for your outfits? The inspiration from my daily outfits it’s a mixture of several things, I think on the work of Patricia Fields, Molly Rogers and Sex and the City Multiverse and Just Like That series. That mixed with stories I wanna talk about everyday, also inspired by movies, Pinterest, and play with the elements I have to give life to my outfits and not repeat them most of the time.
What are your fashion favorite pieces? My favorite fashion pieces are bags and misty pieces like capes, tails, skirts, semi- skirts, wide shoulders, wide t-shirts. Tails, mist, and circumference I love.
If you could give an advice to new bloggers who are just getting started what would it be? I think that the greatest dare for new up coming fashion bloggers is.. not to repeat the mistakes of the past. I would recommend them to check out earlier shows like Fashion Police with Rivers, also the Mexican edition of the show. Unfortunately there are things that felt on a dark place like “gordofobia” (meaning the fobia of voluminous bodies – body shaming) , also violence, racism, classism, and criticism among others. The challenge today is to do a well written or well done critic about fashion. How to wear a piece of garment without criticizing and body shaming niche of people.
What does fashion mean to you? Fashion for me is a ludic exercise of experimentation and communication on the quotidianity through fashion and clothing. Like garments, colors, textures, silhouettes they can tell stories, you can have fun living your life this way! Fashion gives you a heads up and energy. And experiment with all the stages of your mood and how it makes you feel. I think fashion is a tool for self expression completely.
What has been the most rewarding experience you’ve had in the fashion industry? I think I have a lot of experiences in the fashion industry, more when I was younger having all the illusion of being on runway shows at front row, and experience the splendour of Fashion Week and D Fashion by Chema Torres Communication Agency. Just being there all the years, during de 2000’s was very pretty and so much fun. Also all my friends and contacts I have today and forged during those years. Specially one that introduced me to Patricia Fields one of my best moments, to be able to get to say hi to her and talk to her and address her, and she would comment on how she loved my beard and my tattoos. To have the opportunity to socialize with her, and drench all her good vibes. Definitely the most important and beautiful experience I’ve had.
What is your opinion about fashion in Mexico? I think that the panorama of fashion in Mexico is difficult, challenging, and impossible. There are many trends that can be adaptable to Mexico, there is a lot of competition with fast fashion like Shein, Inditex, and even the Mexican brand “Cuidado con el Perro”. I think many fashion brands instead of betting on retail they also need to go back to bet on something more local. More of personal and costume made experiences, and unique pieces. With this there is also a competitive pricing. When you make unique pieces in a small volume, eventually you can’t have the same pricing as a piece from Inditex or fast fashion. There is also to keep in mind that you can’t over prize it either because no one will buy it. It’s a very challenging panorama, to find the equilibrium between pricing and acquisitive power. Suddenly there are some Mexican fashion brands that their niche are Sweden people, not people from everyday living in Mexico the ones who take the subway and go up and down. What I can say is that I’m not on a segment that is economically distressed, or part of a niche that with it’s hand on it’s waist can buy a garment made of leather in $25,000.00 Mexican pesos. That’s why I go to the “pacas” and garage sales, and second hand and ZARA’s sales it’s complicated. It’s a challenging panorama, we have to unite forces to make it better.