THANK ALL GODS FOR WOMEN DESIGNERS
words by NIA TOPALOVA
Seriously.
Against the backdrop of overwhelmingly male creative direction in the industry, there is a certain dimension of purpose and faith that goes almost entirely unarticulated. Speaking with Elena Velez and Dimitra Petsa, these qualities exist as a kind of mystical sensitivity – a way of being, rooted in the feminine understanding of life and its creation.
Many times has Velez turned to her creative process as “aggressively delicate”. The Midwestern daughter of a ship Capitan celebrates womanhood and femininity in their rawness and strength. In our conversation, she speaks of her work as a calling entrusted by the universe, demanding relentless consistency and dedication.
“I believe that I have a destiny to fulfill that has nothing to do with how I feel about how hard the days are. I’m working backwards to manifest something that I was entrusted with by the universe for reasons beyond my comprehension. It’s a constant endurance exercise of sitting with discomfort and moving forward in spite of it.”
Velez sees herself as a method actress and her work as performance art, one that is highly allegorical and reflective. “It’s reactive and unpolished — a response to the constant “vibe shifts”. An urgency to communicate a moment before the moment is lost: a need to communicate something that occasionally transcends the technical skill one has to do it with.”
image courtesy of ELENA VELEZ
Ever encountered a Wetness Full Moon ceremony? Dimitra Petsa has extensive experience with them, honouring Greek fertility rites through rituals of movement practice, erotic poetry, sound and breath. She has even made Mia Khalifa feel “surreal and mythological” – in her own words, adorned in Di Petsa’s pieces.
“Mythology is something that is very deeply rooted in my artistic practice. I was introduced to ancient Greek mythology during formative years of my life, so it has kept growing as I grew older. For the last two years I have been writing a book that deals with ideas of female sexuality and mythology. Even the everyday feels full of symbolism to me.”
When one decides to devote themselves to this industry, the clash with the insanely unrealistic beauty standards is inevitable.
“It is a very demanding industry, yet we have an amazing power to introduce and rewrite what beauty is with every new show. I try not to look so much at what’s happening around me and just promote the beauty that moves me personally.”
image courtesy of DI PETSA
“It’s very obvious that Dimitra is a designer that loves women and designs for them. She doesn’t want to change them but elevate them, and this is a big difference that we see compared to most male creative directors. Dimitra was the one who taught me about ecofeminism and she played a key part in me accepting certain aspects of being a woman that society has taught us to be ashamed of – like our periods. ”
image courtesy of DI PETSA
New York Fashion Week! Or, as Elena Velez turns to it – the “state fair”: “The life or death severity of any fashion show is hilarious and, with a modicum of self awareness, humiliating. What people don't understand is that aside from financial hardship, getting a small creative company off the ground is extremely "cringe". But at the end of the day it's a privilege to get to peddle my little wares and trot myself out every six months like a prize hog at the state fair that is New York Fashion Week.”
It is, indeed, almost painfully cringe to be constantly faced with the absurdity of the endless pressure of never catching a breath, and the fact that if you, God forbid, dare to do so, you are instantly considered as “not dedicated enough”. Yet it’s undeniably rewarding to be able to go after your own intuition, in your own way, hoping that one day we will be able to see an industry that moves differently, more slowly, and to finally “extend each other some damn grace” as Velez puts it.
“I feel an intense pressure to be hospitable, accommodating, and to never inconvenience: historically celebrated feminine virtues that are just incompatible with running a business. Aside from this I feel divinely favoured in the clarity of my creative mission.”
image courtesy of ELENA VELEZ
“It is an industry that combines something so deeply creative and intimate with strict business deadlines. People don’t realise how many hats the designer of a new brand has to wear. I have to be a designer, a manager, a business person, a movement director and a social media manager.
I got here by believing very strongly in the work that I did. It felt like it was important, I felt like I had something to contribute to the industry. Not everyone will see what you see in the beginning, especially when you started as a 19 years old knitting non-stop in your student dorm, reading philosophy books…”