Issue 4. Jacquemus is for lovers
When I was little I used to cry at strangers. I never understood why I have to say hello to old people that I don’t know. With the years, I learnt that my students shouldn’t be forced to look like they like every adult, and working with free methodologies taught me that the 3 year olds in my class had the chance to choose who they wanted close to them. That was Germany, but I have brought it with me everywhere I go. It is safe and I encourage everyone around me to let the kids be the ones that break the physical barrier.
It turns out I found it pretty limiting to never speak to strangers, and being an introvert with and extroverted job it gets hard to stay quiet. So I started forcing myself to be in front of people. I took it so seriously that I asked my teachers to forget about written exams even though I loved them, and offer debates instead. What’s more, I told them to give every student a position (it is better if you give people the position they would never support), because that makes you think harder. Some of my classmates were tired but I found it super entertaining to "fight” about historical topics, war declarations, land divisions, conquers, kingdoms, …
This led me to do the same in university, I didn’t really like how some teachers explained concepts, so I offered them my help for it. I used to spend weekends preparing summaries of educational politics in the European Union, and presented it by colors, pictures and most important facts. I promise I haven’t been diagnosed anything, lol. I used to make them last for 2 hours, but it really felt lighter than some teachers’ presentations. Before I entered the class to explain, I already knew the lesson and talking about it helped me put everything in order and add other points of view. I fully recommend even though it doesn’t make you the most loved, popular student. Competition is a constant, but I took university as a very important part of my life where I was studying something I really believed in and wanted to make the most of it. (I also had fun, moved abroad, went on an Erasmus, played voleyball, travelled… but that is a different story). I have a strong sense of discipline and need for knowledge, so I used to present final recaps of every subject at the end of the school year. I want to believe my teachers read them! At least I graduated from my 2 bachelor’s and master’s with accademic excellence scholarships, so it felt like a paid job!
So now, in this personal mission to start talking, I am in a point where I can send you a message telling you I like your project and want to work with you, and then you answer asking me for my CV, and I send it and you like it and ask for a 20 minute video in 2 languages answering questions about marketing, international expansion, creativity, social media, and I show you my sketchesm and my favorite pieces and my camera and a little balcony in my house, and you like it and invite me to an interview in your store…
The rules are to be skipped. Like Jacquemus refusing to present in Paris Fashion Week. I told the interviewer about this, because I really believe that everybody can build their own path and maybe our message can’t be caged in a structure and that makes it even more special. (Even though every time I fly to Paris to sneak into the Fashion Week I have to accept I am not going to see any Jacquemus show around, but I respect it and celebrate it).
My first ever interview for the fashion world happened just 2 days ago and it is something insane to me. I used to dream with this since I was probably 3 years old. Experiencing it in the real world is a memory I will cherish forever. That day Spain won the second World Cup, so it was insane to experience the whole country cheering together (for me too, since I was playing my own final!) Bringing a huge portfolio and 5 languages is not easy and takes a lot of time, discipline and hard work though the years, (always arrive to an interview feeling proud of what you bring to the table). I don’t know what will happen, maybe they like me, maybe they don’t but this path has been so fun to me and has taught me so much self confidence that, no matter what happens, it feels like the beggining of a life long dream coming true.
(You dream things and then, one day, you know the date and the location and you get dressed for it and you take a bus and you knock on the door and you are there living it, it is not just a dream anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!) I had the audacity to show them my fashion illustrations from when I was 3 years old, hehe
September 2001.
