Sustainability, sophistication, and safety.
Recently we caught up with designer Gabriela Hearst. We find ourselves at a very surreal time. On day 18th of our lockdown, Gabriela shined a light on how to keep moving forward, how to incorporate sustainability practices into our everyday lives and how CEOs of big companies can limit their waste. Never one to follow a crowd or trends, her ranchero background has strongly influenced the way she runs a luxury company. A big-name designer that stays humble, practices a conscious lifestyle and is a self-proclaimed lover of Bob Dylan. Scroll on down to read more about the designer herself.
What are some of the methods you learned growing up with your father on the ranch that you still use to this day in your clothing production?
My background was very formative. I grew up in a rural environment with my mother, father, and my stepdad all were ranchers. Ranching has always run in our family for generations. Since we were not near the industry sector or involved with it, everyone was a rancher. Of course, we have a few family members that have now branched out but this was always our environment. We grew up in a very remote place which was 2.5 hours away from the nearest city. My mom still lives in the same ranch that has been in our family for over 170 years, we are almost completely off the grid. We have a sustainable way of living because of our utilitarian lifestyle, this meant that things had to last.
I’ve been in fashion since 2002, my brand, Gabriela Hearst was launched in 2015 and our values have always been about sustainability and have remained the same. It can take up to one generation to create a product of good quality just as with my family’s work. There is always a survival instinct, we learn how to move forward, farmers move the economy forward, they learn to only take in a certain amount of animals which you can properly care for, keep well fed, healthy, only what the land can take and handle, this instills integrity. These same values we injected in Gabriela Hearst, 5 years ago, not a long time, our principles have only grown stronger. More important than ever to have a sustainable brand, and products that last, best craftsman in italy, no polyester, all natural fibers, stay away from cotton water absorption, linen, blackseed, a timeline of increasing how to better our products with the least amount of impact to planet, bio packing, company is innovating, ourcollection products you can track in 2 weeks and go on our website and it tracks you to journey of product.
We are currently experiencing something new to our generation. How can we react and move forward in our current situation?
Be careful and be cautious. Responding with a sense of a panic and stress will not help your immune system. There’s so much fake news, so many things going around that riling people up, let’s not panic, let’s take measures, try to be cautious and help those who cannot help themselves. It’s time to work together as a community for the greater good.
We are huge fans of how you support and empower women globally, from places such as Uruguay, Italy and the USA, which makes us curious on the subject as to what inspired you to become such a big advocate on this subject?
Mano of Uruguay was a special project I’ve been happy to be a part of. It is a non-profit that has been around for over 50 years empowering women. A basic theory of it lies with the idea that if you give a job to women, how many people can then in turn benefit from this, it can trickle down to many other services, support families and the economy as a whole. Mano of Uruguay has 50 years of working with a successful model in terms of how to have a non-profit, how to better service women and employ them.
What women are you designing for and what sort of women appeals to the ethos of Gabriela Hearst?
Our biggest clients are professional women who find themselves in very demanding situations and want to appear presentable, yet not in a boring way. They don’t want to have the typical corporate look, they want to have a bit of spice to their wardrobe. We begin with tailoring, it’s something I think women need. We never follow trends, we follow what’s in our hearts and what we feel women want. We aim to empower them in making sure they feel like themselves in our clothes, not walking around in logos. We’ve always tried to be very mindful of who the women are who wear our pieces in a public profile. We’ve always been attracted to women who use their spotlight to illuminate and help others rather than themselves. This ranges from actresses to artists. It’s a huge honor to empower women in our clothes. We feel good, we aim to design feel good clothing. Our passion for our brand is difficult to show through a digital platform, it’s about the senses. Our pashamas and cashmere are made from artisans who have been working and perfecting their craft for generations in Italy, you put one of these sweaters on and it feels so incredibly luxurious. The way our clothes feel, can change our mood and definitely make you feel better.
In regards to sustainability and the urgent need for reaction, how do you think fashion will evolve in the next few years?
In my own experience when it comes to sustainable practices, you start with something you can do. For example a big company of maybe 20,000 employees can make a simple change such as deciding not to use any more plastic bottles, they can shift to reusable and refillable options. At the end of the day, around 160 million tons of natural resources are used up in a year, the truth is we can use only 3% a year. National Geographic published a piece titled “The End of Trash” that is very insightful. There are so many resources we can use and re-use that come from trash. As a whole being sustainable won’t cost a company more, moving towards a non- wasteful and sustainable mindset will actually benefit companies. One big CEO can make 58 million products a year, but how many products do they sell? Specifically if we look at the food industry, ⅓ of the food in NY goes to waste. What we can do is be less wasteful, be mindful of what we consume, consume better, less and find where we can cut the waste we produce immediately. In fashion we should look at the past and embrace slower and better as a mentality.
Who are your style muses?
My mother. She is somebody that has natural beauty and she used to compete in rodeos. She’s very tough yet she treats other people beautifully. She is non judgmental, no one is superior or inferior, and she is always democratic with respect for everyone. I really admire my friend, Lauren Hutton. She is the coolest woman, with natural beauty and is effortless. She is the most beautiful person in a dress and sneakers. She is an amazing person and an incredible human being. She continues to be responsible for her mom, her sister and aunt in any way she can.
How did the attraction to fashion come to you?
No one that knows me would expect me to end up in fashion. I’ve always been fascinated by my surroundings, I did not watch TV growing up, I listened to the radio, I loved reading and getting lost in books. I spent a lot of time using my imagination by sketching and drawing. My mother found pages and pages of shoe collections that I drew as a young girl. There was no fashion school in Uruguay, it was like being an astronaut… we didn’t have a space peak until after globalization. I really think that things will choose you, instead of you choosing them. Fashion was one of the things I began to study from the bottom, and it became one of the few things that I was good at, commercially and creatively. My commitment is now to be good at it, in every sense of word. To create a sustainable and sensible environment, from the people that are consuming my products to laying down responsibility from our investors, clients, and our own employees.
Does fashion influence politics or vice versa?
A lot of fashion changes are sparked by social changes. Women stopped wearing gloves and hats in the french 1969 riots. A lot of things happened because of cultural waves and changes. I studied audiovisual production and communications and spent time learning about the Free Love Movement and of course, Woodstock. My mom was a bit of a hippy herself. Speaking of Woodstock, we are currently working with tie-dye for our new collection in a way that we’ve never explored before.
Speaking of, which women do you highly admire? Who has impacted the person you are now and your beliefs? Anyone who has sparked something in you.
There are so many women that have changed me and have made me a better person. From my mother to my best friend, factory workers, all kinds of different women. They haven’t necessarily been high profile. I’m constantly impressed by women and what they can achieve. I admire my longtime childhood friends. A new girlfriend of mine has the personality I tend to be drawn to in inspiration and friendship. She’s someone I admire so much , she’s brilliant, empathetic, understanding and helpful to those around her. You can be brilliant but your heart needs to be in the right place.
You say that you read a lot as a child. Who are your favorite authors?
I continue to read yet in this current moment, I haven’t been able to read much and focus. It’s quite weird, I feel as though my body is on alarm. But here are some of my favorites.
Authors:
Jorge Luis Borges- The Brand book for Gabriela Hearst actually has a quote taken from “2 English Poems”.
Bob Dylan -I know many people consider him a musician, but I think of him as a fantastic lyricist and poet. I have The Complete Works of Bob Dylan and I love to open and read a lyric during different times of the day and it completely changes my mood.
One book that has completely stunned and changed me recently was The Overstory from 2018 written by Richard Powers. It’s completely changed the way I see trees. It’s a fiction yet with a lot of data, and it really changes you. You don’t expect it to, but it does.
What’s on your playlist?
You’re going to laugh:
Bob Dylan- Everything is broken
The Rolling Stones- Emotional Rescue
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant- Raising Sand
Tennis – Please don’t ruin this for me
Who would you love to collaborate with? Outside and within the fashion world.
Well, I’m lucky that I have very disciplined friends, I am always inspired by them. I have one good friend who is a Michelin chef, Daniel Hume. There is a lot of correlation, by what we both do such as our sense of service and teamwork. It is not about being the chef or designer, it is about correlating an idea and manifesting it. It takes a lot of expertise and a lot of doing. I’d collaborate with him. He has a non pretentious yet sophisticated taste of art and food. I would love to work on a pop-up restaurant, an event, anything really that we could think of together. We share such a strong similarity in tastes.
What other sustainable designers do you admire?
There are a bunch of new young designers that are sustainable. For example, if we look at the LVMH prize nominees for this year, the majority were designing in a sustainable way. You cannot be a designer if you are not sustainable in our current day. Young designers have incorporated sustainability into their craft. It’s a new wave of designers and it’s incredible, they’re all thinking about it. Not one designer, yet all of them. Sustainability was not something that people were talking about at our first show, but now everyone does. I believe everyone is beginning to think that way. What can I create in a sustainable way?
How do you think other brands can incorporate a sense of sustainability into their ethos? What current changes do you see happening?
I see if more as it being basically a demand of how you want to function as a business, the old model is broken. People are talking about pushing deliveries, season buying, the winter garments will come when it gets cold not in the middle of summer. A change in a better direction is slowly happening. I think this moment will create change. Everyone is on hold, we can’t really buy spring right now. Items will not be going on sale as early as they usually do. There’s going to quite a few changes.
If you could have dinner with any 3 people (dead or alive) who would you invite and where would you go to eat?
I would invite Jorge Luis Borges, Nina Simone and Bob Dylan. Two Americans and two Latinos. We would have to go out, I don’t cook very well. I’d probably go to Sant Ambroeus in NYC for a delicious Italian meal. I’d definitely go with a plate of Cacio e pepe.
What’s next for Gabriela Hearst ?
We are looking to open our first shop in Asia, but with the current climate we have been met with a bit of a setback. We will renew these plans to move forward. Our aim next is to really have a presence in Asia physically and digitally for 2020. That’s our main goal.
A special thank you to Gabriela Hearst.
All images courtesy of Gabriela Hearst.
