Latinx Fashion Designer Fuses Mexican Clay Into a Heritage Collection: Colores de la Tierra
Have you ever heard of a Latinx fashion designer who was inspired by Mexican clay to make a heritage collection? Evelin Danaee Zermeno is a first-generation immigrant from Aguascalientes, Mexico who has always been interested in the arts. She developed her love for knitting, pencil drawing, and crocheting at a very young age. This is because she always loved making things out from scratch.
Her road to become a fashion designer started when she was a sophomore in Lane Tech where she took a Fiber Arts class. She was able to learn how to sew and soon fell in love with the fashion design process, especially with its technical aspects such as draping and pattern making. At 15, she received her first sewing machine from her parents. She still has it and actually uses it everyday!
Evelin hopes to make a career out of what she loves and has finalized her college experience with Colores de la Tierra, a unique collection made up of handcrafted pieces. Learn more about her, her design process and her perspective around fashion.
Why were you inspired by Mexican clay art and how did that influence the pieces in your collection?
When brainstorming about what I wanted the theme for my collection to be, my boyfriend suggested we visited museums. We went to many museums around Chicago, but I felt most connected to the pieces I saw at the National Museum of Mexican Art. I remember we went in the summer of 2019, and we were lucky enough to go on a day when artists themselves would be there displaying their work and selling some of their pieces. That day I saw incredible authentic Mexican clay art and I fell in love with the idea of modeling my collection after the motifs and colors present in the pieces.
Do you have a certain design philosophy or way of looking at the fashion industry?
My design philosophy is that fashion should make you feel authentic. As much as clothing is used to express our individuality to the world, it is also a tool of self discovery that is deeply personal.
Does your nationality influence your design process ? If so, please specify why
My nationality has definitely influenced my design process. Even though I grew up in the United States, my family has held on to our Mexican roots. My grandmother was actually a professional seamstress, and my mom and I often credit my love for sewing as being something I inherited from her.
Ever since I was little, my grandma would tell me of all the plans she had for my fifteenth birthday; mi “Quinceañera.” She dreamed of making me a beautiful dress; I think that’s where I first understood the cultural and personal importance that clothing holds. When I design, that’s what I am trying to create - a piece that will be cherished by its wearer. I love creating evening-wear, and focus mainly on women’s wear.
What was the goal or mission for your collection? How did this affect your design process?
For my senior collection, I wanted to play homage to my family and culture. Colores de la Tierra is a heritage collection that took inspiration from the memories I have from when I was a child in Aguascalientes in the Feria de San Marcos, a yearly festival held in my home city. That is where I first experienced the liveliness of Mexican culture and fell in love with the dresses that the women performed in - I derived the silhouettes for my pieces from them. I also took inspiration from the terracotta clay art that Mexico is known for. ….. My ultimate goal was to create a collection that paid tribute to a beautiful and vibrant culture.
How were your clothing made? If by hand and/or sewing machine, how long did each piece take to make?
Each piece was a mixture of hand sewing and machine sewing. For more delicate pieces like the crochet neckline of my second piece (magenta dress) I crochet that by hand and also added the beads one by one with a needle and thread. The burgundy bustier has hand painted flowers and a belt that I crafted by hand as well. The actual fabric pattern pieces were mainly sewn together by machine. I believe each piece took about 30-40 hours to make, including patterning, draping, and construction.
What are your dreams and aspirations in the fashion industry?
My ultimate dream is to create my own line of women’s evening wear.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in pursuing fashion design?
Don’t give up on the process. It’s so easy to get discouraged when things take longer than you expect, be it completing a project or finding a job in the fashion industry. Give yourself time to learn and grow in your skills, everything else will follow.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on https://zermenoevelin1229.wixsite.com/website-1, I am also in the process of creating a design-focused Instagram. It’s still in the works, but I will be launching it and linking it on my wix site soon.
