
Buenos Aires is a Colombian born in Barranquilla, Claudia Gontovnik is a
sociologist, designer and multidisciplinary artist dedicated to fair and
sustainable fashion. Based in Miami, USA, she creates unique garments that
undoubtedly have a lot to say. technologyify
These are true works of art, in which issues of religious differences,
racism and sexual preference, among other things, coexist harmoniously thanks
to the "seams" of Gontovnik. Prices range from $ 395 to $ 1200. worldbeautytips
FashionUnited had the opening to speak with the designer about her
history as one of the pioneers of fashion in her country, her interest in
sustainability and the work she does with female heads of household in each of
her designs. technologyford
This is due to the long history of Colombian fashion ... How was the
landing in the United States?
I worked in Colombia for many years in fashion, sewed many costumes for
the theater, for television series, etc. And when my family and I came to live
in the USA, I decided to close everything and start all over again. So I opened
several stores with traditional clothing lines, but realized that this was not
what I wanted to do. I started making an online fashion magazine and at the age
of five made the decision to close it because I was doing it myself, and that
was too much. I wanted to stop for a year and think about what to do, so I took
a year off. techiesin
How did the interest in creating a responsible and sustainable fashion
brand arise?
That year I decided that I was going to continue working on my case
because I felt that I had a voice to show, but I saw that everything had
already been invented. I am a feminist, for me it is very important to work
with women, to empower them, there is also the problem of the problems of the
ecosystem, the world ... so I said to myself: I am going to use what has
already been invented, made and from this I will work without leaving much
trace. And so in 2014, I started experimenting with what a brand is today. blog4techies
There are attention-grabbing messages in the garments, where did this
idea come from?
At some point, I started thinking about issues such as racism, social
differences, differences between religions, the violence that surrounds it all,
and how to sew it up ... as if it were a hospital stitch when you have an
operation. I started experimenting and this idea came to my mind.
In each of my works, different religions, different races, different
sexual preferences coexist, everything coexists happily in one place. This is
the idea behind every garment. Each one is unique.
How to sew clothes?
These are time-consuming products, the first thing I did took me about a
week. I started looking for embroiderers in Colombia and found a group of
mothers who are heads of families from Medellin who do this kind of work. I met
with them, I showed them what I needed, and since then we have been working together.
It takes me up to three calendar month to create a product, it is important for
me to find the ideal point, to find meaning for myself.
Where do the clothes you recycle come from?
What I use as raw material I buy from second-hand or vintage stores,
everything is used and washed for reuse. All the details are cut out, I also
cut out the words because I like being able to say something. Nothing is
randomly placed.