Learning the Layers
Kimberly Ortega’s journey to becoming the fashion designer she is today began with her love for art and dance. She found herself always searching for a path to New York, having been in awe of the art she saw in the city and falling in love with the idea of dancing around the world. Through studying art and completing a minor in fashion, design became a profound form of expression for her.
At the time, she drew inspiration from presenting experimental design within performances, such as in theater or dance. Gradually, she realized that there were so many layers to fashion. Through expanding her knowledge on textile fibers, pattern making, and collection development, she became deeply passionate and involved with remaking, reusing, and reinventing.
Recycling textiles for designs came naturally to Ortega. The process of giving new life to discarded materials was intuitive to her, as she had seen her parents do it all her life in their family business of selling second-hand automotive parts. They would always tell her, “I made money from the trash.” Similarly, she now makes garments from the scraps.
“Their creativity in reinventing, redistributing, and reimagining business models grew with me without my noticing.” - KO
With the vision of creating a sustainable brand, she started working with natural dyes, but with time, she realized that sustainability did not only mean producing garments with organic fibers and pigments. She began to question what sustainable fashion truly means, especially on a social level. This sparked her to continue to find balance in her brand, its production, and its business model. Rooted in her belief that garments that hold art, craftsmanship, and history should not be reserved for only one class status, she hopes to not only reduce impacts on the environment but also to make sustainable fashion accessible to people of all different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Sustainability and ethical practices being central to her brand, Soak Art Studio, she believes fair exchange is essential for collaboration with artisans to be considered ethical. Ortega uses the word collaboration with caution, as she has seen how it can be used as a way to get out of paying artisans fairly for their work.
“I do not believe in trading exposure or credit for labor; I believe in paying fairly and never bargaining down the value of skilled artisan hands that carry years of experience and cultural heritage in textile-making.” - KO
From Material to Story
Comfort is one of the most important functions behind the garments she designs and wears. Stemming from the idea of comfort and layering, Andean silhouettes have become a considerable part of her collection as well as representative to it.
Additionally, non-binary bodies are critical to her work, not only to represent gender in this way, but also to represent the liberty to create and wear her designs regardless of the body-type, gender, and context. Non-binary bodies serve her design process as a guide to find balance between volume, comfort, and aesthetics without sacrificing form, intention, or functionality.
“Freedom of expression through a garment, a textile, and a fluid, limitless dynamic is fundamental to my work. I feel that my creative process has no boundaries, and I enjoy expanding my imagination into aspects of my environment that I consider deeply important.” - KO
Ortega’s conceptual search for a new collection starts when she notices something visually that does not certainly relate to fashion. She often enjoys finding new textures, whether oversaturated or minimal; she holds a fascination and appreciation for all types of textures. She begins to question why she is drawn to it. During this, her answers evolve into more introspective questions about her current environment, situation in life, and the larger society she participates in.
Core and initial to her intentional design language are textiles. Her process involves taking time to develop, prototype, and rethink them while reassessing her ideas and intention through them. After selecting her materials, she combines her historical references, personal story, and visual ideas into a single functional piece that expresses what she wants to be communicated emotionally and symbolically. Although perfection within the functionality of her pieces is crucial, it is not within her creative process. She welcomes mistakes as she sees them as a passage for innovation, these errors allow her creativity to be expressed freely.
The Art of The Unwanted
For Ortega, personally, The Art of the Unwanted represents the beginning of a new chapter, creating fearlessly and unapologetically proud of her Ecuadorian roots. It signifies taking up space, being heard, and reclaiming respect for her culture. She hopes that her pieces provoke a dialogue surrounding Ecuador's culture and history, paying homage to the raw materials that come from the land and the artisanal craftsmanship created by the Ecuadorian people. She hopes that people can begin to recognize her country for its art and talent.
Through silhouettes in her collection, she wants people to reimagine what they already know about Ecuador, and for those who know little, she hopes for her silhouettes to become a symbol of Ecuadorian fashion and art.
She hopes her work serves as a source of inspiration to other designers to feel empowered and proud through their art. By sharing culture and tradition in a way that inspires and motivates them to create history, she intends to inspire people to have an impact on future generations.
Looking ahead, Ortega hopes to investigate textile techniques produced from textile waste that provide greater practicality, with an objective of someday commercializing clothes in a fair and ethical manner. She is also interested in exploring the interaction between the automobile
industry and its waste, with the goal of reusing these materials to provide textile inputs to the fashion industry. By doing so, these plastic materials may be given a longer life cycle, new value, and a new meaning.
Written by
Mariana Monahan Negron
This article is based on written responses from Kimberly Ortega.
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