Sybilla, forty years of fashion

He has always been a cult designer in Europe and the United States (although his brand is quite developed and well-known in Japan) because he does not like to reveal himself. Appreciation is in his nature. Crowds, interviews, compliments, showcasing his life and feelings make him sad. For this reason, a language of representation was invented that would both speak for him and understand who he was through clothing.

Her mother died when Sybilla was 14, and like many fashion wonders, she started her career at a very young age. At 17, he was lucky enough to get into Yves Saint Laurent’s design department: “I was the last monkey in the attic,” he said. But the great thing was to find someone like him. Anne-Marie Munoz, the right hand of the French genius who took care of him. “Anne Marie asked me to, and how much I appreciate that. She was a very strong, energetic woman, but at the same time she did everything with her left hand and sweetly. It was very important to me.”

Those who already know Sybilla will also enjoy admiring the various peaks of her creativity. They will be able to connect the dots, find answers and solve some puzzles but not all. Because the mystery of art, the mystery that cannot be expressed in words, has shaped his personality since his childhood.

He told me years ago that his mother taught him to follow his own instincts. Let no one doubt that you followed Sybilla’s advice. He was six years old when his family came to Spain. they lived in mijas (Malaga), then garbage heap (Madrid) and always on the field, endless source of inspiration.

He played patchwork with his mother, patchwork, I learned to embroider, to sew appliqués with things I found around. It’s not surprising that more adults are interested in the subject. poor art. “My first rag dolls, my first rag squares, and my first clothes consisted of colored pieces, patches, and patches. When I started working as a designer, I didn’t have the budget to design my own prints, so I made up for it with embroidery and appliqués. Later, already JapanIn the exhibition catalogue, which is an important book, I was able to unleash the reins of creating my own prints and fabrics and using increasingly sophisticated and complex knitting techniques,” writes Sybilla.

connection with art

When his parents live new YorkThe city where Sybilla was born in 1963 signed her name with the children’s clothing brand designed by her mother. Countess Sybilla of Saks Fifth Avenue. “But I was doing this to make money; I have no memory of it working. He was a painter like his father, and I think he was a very good painter. he is interested matisse, brake, cubism”

Sybilla’s curiosity also turned to cubism, “Paul Klee first of all, Arte povera, pop art, because I am part of a generation where all these languages ​​are already integrated”. He also mentions branch, but above all to Klee: “My favorite painter”. It’s not surprising. It is detected in her work, in her colorful puzzle dresses, and especially in her dress. chakras, which is a celebration of pure joy and life. There are also clear effects. optical art in a gigantic style in her increasingly sophisticated black and white dresses, where the mixture of tones is not patterned, but brought together flawlessly. Cookiewho did haute couture.

I once asked him why he was uncomfortable being compared to him. Vionnet anyone BalenciagaThe teacher and student of a superior department of sewing, although extremely different. He explained to me that the mastery of that generation, and especially of these two geniuses, was completely different. “Ours is almost another profession. It’s not haute couture. To do the best we must understand very well the limitations and possibilities offered by machines. ready-to-wear possible.”

New York to Japan

I find it particularly elegant New York fashion connectionheaded by Claire McCardell; This characteristic freshness sportswear American This can be seen in trench coats, travel coats, colorful linings and striped combinations that have nothing to do with European styles and are extremely attractive. and with japanese 80’s fashion, Anti-fashion as Miyake, Yamamoto anyone King Kawakubo. Not because of his themes, but because of the pleasure he gets from swimming upstream.

When we talk about the similarities between His creations and His creations elsa siaparelli -I’m talking about the cotton-filled dresses, the bird jacket with the big black wings, the green jacket with the smiley profile on the buttoned side, and the jacket with the words written around the whole suit – he’s laughing because it’s likeness. I remind you of the works of surrealist painters such as Varus drugs, Eleanor Fin, Maruja Mayand especially at the beginning of his career, he was surprised by the similarities with his own universe, but when designing these clothes he did not know those writers: “Not even Schiaparelli”.

In the art environment in which he grew up, he undoubtedly saw many things that remained idle in his mind. Perhaps she was assimilating those feminine visions, that surrealism too intimate, as real as the consciousness of one’s own body.

Her closest relatives assumed that Sybilla would become an artist, but she was interested in politics. “I wanted to change the world, and trying to do it through art felt like a delusion.” Gradually, life showed its way, I learned that arts and crafts can lead to social change, as advocates Arts and Crafts. And he started the sustainable agriculture projects, the training and personal transformation programs he developed, which made him very happy. Majorca.

But that never diminished his creative power. On the contrary. One of his most radical pirouettes came in 1991, when he had the startling idea of ​​joining pieces of black crepe with invisible nylon threads so that they appear to float above the body, clad in strategic pieces, and create an aerial puzzle. He worked on the idea while half the world imitated him, but dress spain (1996), which the team previously tentatively called bull dress, cannot be matched and is somewhat reminiscent of the paper cuts when Matisse was no longer able to paint.

Sybilla has been in fashion several times. He always used the same reason: “I want to save bespoke clothes, demicoture. I miss contact with customers.” Dressing women, helping them recognize their features, seeing how their faces change and feel beautiful when they look in the mirror is a pleasure and a great satisfaction for him.

Also because of the atmosphere of the sewing workshop, where he had great moments. Especially when he founded the first one by hiring extraordinary tailors through a newspaper advertisement. this is how he met carmen andresher right hand, workshop manager and sewing teacher, in those years when everything was an illusion and little money – her main characteristic madrid scene— incredible things accomplished, like launching a rare, distinctive brand that only a few people knew about and seeing it grow and fly to major fashion capitals.

I read an interview in the early 1990s. Bernard ArnaultKing of Louis VuittonShe stated that after forty years of enduring a great creator bringing challenges to her own business, she would inevitably go down in fashion history.

With the distance of time, we will undoubtedly discover new nuances of art with new exhibitions to be held in museums of all sizes. The tremendous talent of this artist whose subject is women’s clothing. It’s not fashion that barely touches the length of her skirts.