As a mother, a wife, and a fashion designer, her intention is to dress the urban woman who juggles different roles in life while owning her individuality and looking extraordinary! Layana differentiates herself by blending her experiences from living in New York City with her native Brazilian culture.
She combines the traditional and innovative, sophistication and comfort, creating a label that exudes sensuality with a feminine attitude that is confidently understated and empowering. After appearing in season 11 of the fashion design competition show, Project Runway, Aguilar was later hooked up with Disney through one of the show's judges, Tim Gunn. Meet Layana Aguilar : the designer with multiple strings to her bow.
Prior to that, she cut her teeth in all areas of the business by appearing on Project Runway and working on a major commission from Disney.
Here, she tells us how she gets it all done. How did you got your start in fashion?. I believe I was born with the love for fashion! Ever since I could remember I loved expressing myself through my clothes. Growing up in a small town in Brazil I always felt like a fish out of water by the way I dressed. Everyone wore the same things, but I wanted to be different. Sometimes, instead of going out with my friends, I loved spending hours in my room planning new outfits and cutting up my clothes to transform them into something unique that no one else had!
As a fashion designer, working at Oscar de la Renta was a dream come true. At Oscar I learned how to work with the most amazing fabrics and how a couture house works. I loved being immersed for the first time in the behind the scenes of creating a collection and seeing all the planning that goes into a fashion show.
Most of the seamstress at Oscar were old school Italian ladies. They taught me how to make Panna Cotta and I even picked up a little Italian! We were just like a big family and they were very generous and open to teaching me and nourishing my dream of having my own label one day!
Tell us about how you ended up on season 11 of Project Runway? Wow, It feels like a lifetime ago! After almost two years at Oscar de la Renta, my desire to have my own company grew stronger every day. I felt ready but I knew I did not have the resources to take such a big risk. It was one of my best friends who suggested that I try out for Project Runway. We loved the show and it can be a great platform to have exposure. When I decided to apply, I found out that the casting was ending in a week.
My portfolio was not ready! And I could have not been able to make it happen without the help of my family and friends who helped me gather all assets to send my application.
I did not make it for season 9, but I was called back for season 11 and made it then to be part of the cast. Now I can look back and say it was so fun and so crazy at the same time! While I was on it, I remember it being very intense. They strip you of any communication with the outside world. The producers really know what they are doing! They put you in high pressure situations where they know you will let your craziest emotions take over to make it good TV!
And episodes are edited to make sure you are portrayed in a way that fits their story line. I designed all the hummingbird patterns. Another thing I thought about while creating this line was flowers. And so, a lot of the pieces look like blooming flowers upside-down, there are some hoop-like, big skirts.
The mesh, to me, kind of symbolizes a trap that a hummingbird might have to break out of. I chose white as the main color of the collection, because white is very pure and peaceful.
And I added splashes of teal and a little bit of lavender. And so, it came together…I wanted it to look like a fresh collection, like a breath of fresh air. Flying Solo opened in June.
But we all came together and accomplished something really great. When you talk with emerging designers, they are all going through the same problems. The biggest one is sales. Most of us just do made-to-order. On my website, we wait for about 5 orders, and then fulfill them all ourselves.
So with this store, we are able to eliminate the middleman, of having to go to a showroom or wholesaler. We sell directly to our consumers. Our next step is to grow more into a showroom. And we are thinking about getting a manager. The idea of the store is that all the designers work there at least twice a week. And so, each time you go to the store, you get to meet the actual designers. Each of us is wearing all the hats from designing to patterning to production. It gets really costly. But I feel that people are expecting me to go bigger, and I want to do something bigger.
I have a lot of friends who can help me pull this off with as little money as possible. Being nice to people goes a long way! Actually, I have some very good news. I am producing my own show. And so how can I actually help people? Everyone can do as much or little as they can to help others.
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