This is Latin America

Hands & hearts joined to bring you art from the past.

Photo Courtesy: Sí Collective.

Latin America is synonym of colorful landscapes, playful music, warm people and magnificent food. This huge piece of land that extends more than 21,000,000 square kilometers, is home to the most culturally diverse communities in the world. With that in mind, imagine the enormous variety of inspiration, ancient crafts and traditions it has gifted us throughout the centuries.

Even though a big part of this treasure is still hidden, two Latin American creatives, Cloclo and Isabella, joined forces and co-founded Sí Collective, a community with more than 20 Latin American fashion and lifestyle brands. We spoke to them about the brands they host and their focus on preserving Latin roots while working on boosting South and Central American brands in the International market.

Photography: Sí Collective, Production: Daniela Feres

Tell us more about the team and your background. Where are you from, what made you create a collective that gathers Latin American designers and what can you do for them?

We have an incredible team and a collective of talent whose roots are from all over Latin America, including Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. However, some of us have spent more time outside of Latin America than in it, yet we still identify ourselves as Latin Americans because our heritage and our culture runs deep.

Cloclo: I myself am Colombian, my two parents are Colombian, but I have spent most of my life living abroad. I now have one foot in Latin America and another abroad, yet I have never not felt Latin American. Prior to launching Sí Collective, I co-founded a consulting firm for Latin American designers in 2014 called CREO Consulting. I believe what really catapulted this idea was an urge to share with the world the talent that I found in our region.

Isabella: I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela to Venezuelan and Cuban-American parents. Although I left home at 18 and have lived in many countries and experienced different cultures throughout the years, my Latin roots have always been an essential part of who I am as an individual and now a huge inspiration professionally. After working for almost 7 years in fashion editorial at Vanity Fair, I joined the CREO Consulting team, whose main focus was to nurture Latin American talent. From there, Cloclo Echavarria, my partner and I decided to continue this mission with the founding of Sí Collective in 2019.

Essentially, we become an extension of our clients’ teams, helping them on various aspects and navigating the different obstacles and challenges that arise. What began as sales and press service has now turned into so much more! Depending on the client, we work with them on branding, on helping them identify and define their voice, their identity and their positioning within the global market. We also work with them to identify and nurture relationships that are beneficial to them and their brand, whether it be with a retailer, a member of the press or a potential brand ambassador or V.I.P client. At times, we also help them in the development of their collections, ensuring that their product reflects their brand’s DNA and visual identity, but also remains relevant and attractive to their target customer. Lastly, we work closely with other kinds of Latin talent beyond designers (i.e. photographers, models, copywriters, make up artists etc) to help nurture their careers through professional networking and mentoring. 

Photo Courtesy: Sí Collective.

What means to you “going back to your roots” and how is that related to your project?

More than “going back to our roots”, we believe that our roots are something we always carry with us; they are inherent to who we are. We would not be who we are without our Latin American roots. This idea or concept of our roots is central to Sí Collective: we believe in highlighting everything that makes our region unique and special, particularly in terms of creativity, whether that means fashion design, art or literature. To do so, we look at our culture and history and try to learn from them and to discover ways in which we can continue to boost local talent.

What connects the brands form Sí Collective, besides their Latin origins?

Our Latin origins are central to understanding the different ways in which the brands from Sí Collective are connected. Our Latin origins are the base of our culture, our heritage and our values. The stories of the people we work with are the stories of Latin America, and viceversa. Our region’s culture and customs are present in each of our clients’ designs.

We believe that embedded within our origins there is the desire to support one another and spark change. Our brands and clients don’t simply want to create beautiful pieces, they want to have a lasting and positive impact on their communities. This can translate in several ways: many brands have important social responsibility programs, for example, and they all foster strong bonds with the artisans they partner with, who are regarded as creatives in their own right. Nurturing the talent of their artisan partners and giving them the tools to work in a safe environment is paramount to our brands.

The artisanal techniques that many of the Sí brands use today have been passed down for generations, often from pre-Columbian times, and therefore carry a huge cultural significance.

Moreover, these techniques are centered on the use of natural materials and a deep respect for the environment. Therefore, the commitment to creating in an ethical and sustainable way is also something our clients have in common.

Can you tell us more about the brands that form the collective? Where are they from, what are their specialties, techniques and products?

Our brands are as diverse as our region. Although there is a common thread which links them all, each has its own specialty and uniqueness, like the countries where they are from. Through different capacities, we currently work with designers from Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Cuba, Costa Rica, Argentina and Mexico. Some of the techniques include handwoven iraca palm designs from Colombia, locally sourced and hand-spun alpaca wool fabrics from Peru, as well as beautifully tailored garments crafted by the able hands of Venezuelan seamstresses and artisans... Craftsmanship has been central to Latin America for centuries, and it is even more valuable today.

Photos Courtesy: Sí Collective.

What strategies are you implementing to help communities evolve in this e-tailer and digital world, without losing their traditions and essence?

We provide our clients with a platform to further celebrate their traditions and their essence; changing or modifying their identity is never contemplated. We simply want to share their creativity with the world, to make their creations visible and available to a broader audience. A concrete and recent example of how we achieve this is our Sí Collective + Fashionkind initiative, which was hatched during the pandemic in response to the devastating effects it was having on many local labels. As leading retailers around the world were forced to cancel wholesale orders, small and emerging brands, especially those without their own e-commerce capabilities, were hit especially hard. Our partnership with Fashionkind offers Latin American designers and brands a new and much needed space to connect with consumers.

Speaking about commercializing ancient processes and cultures, how are you avoiding cultural appropriation and rather give a voice to those who follow the traditions of their ancestors?

The designers we work with are diving into the folklore and artisanal traditions of their own countries and developing locally produced collections that honor nature and reinterpret ancient crafts for the modern world. This interpretation has nothing to do with cultural appropriation: in fact, it is only possible because of the honest and often intimate relationship that the designers develop with the artisans, from whom they are eager to learn. In cases when designers or brands work with indigenous communities, they make sure to showcase and properly communicate the value of their work, understanding and sharing the fact that these men and women are the keepers of ancient knowledge that makes up a large part of the country’s cultural heritage. Finding ways to give new value to such methods of creation, and ensuring a stable source of income for the artisans, makes it possible for these communities to continue practicing and teaching their crafts. Many of these techniques could have otherwise been at risk of disappearing as younger generations search for ways of making a living in other industries.

How do you combine the quality and passion of craftsmanship with the accelerated pace of the fast fashion industry?

Since COVID-19, the focus on sustainability and ethical production has strengthened, accelerating some major changes in the industry that were already looming. But well before this, our brands were already great examples of slow, sustainable fashion. Like we mentioned previously, many Sí brands partner with artisans who handcraft their products, often using lengthy methods, which means that a single piece can take days and even weeks to complete. The artisans’ time and creative process is always honored by our clients, even if that slows the rate of production.

At Sí Collective, we are also committed to moving at a slower pace. We took the quarantine as a time to reflect, to look inwards and explore the best ways in which to move forward, setting our own rhythm rather than following a pace dictated by others. This has translated in several ways internally, but in relation to our clients it has meant that, supported by us, some of them have decided to start making two collections per year instead of three. These brands aren’t interested in making things in bulk; instead, they want to create unique pieces that will be cherished by their owners for decades, even passed down as family heirlooms. That’s why many of their pieces are one of a kind and/or made to order, which means they produce much less, and therefore generate less waste, than an average apparel brand.

Photo Courtesy: Sí Collective.

If you could have 3 superpowers to change the fashion industry, what would they be?

1.To praise and honor the people who make the pieces, by giving credit where credit is due, paying fair wages and guaranteeing fair working conditions.

2.To make it move at a slower pace across the board, therefore allowing the creations made by others to be respected and honored.

3.To end fast fashion and society’s consumerist habits so that fashion can be truly driven by the people, stories and craftsmanship behind each label and piece.

Follow Sí Collective at: https://www.instagram.com/si.collective/