ReadysetDC A CREATIVE URBAN ENTERPRISE

Interview: De*Nada

A few days ago I had the privilege of meeting Virginia Arrisueño , fashion designer and proprietor of De*Nada Design. I visited her Bloomingdale studio, and got to check out the Autumn/Winter collection, which will be on store shelves (here in DC at Redeem) soon. (Note: Lookbook shots styled by Morgan Hungerford!)

J. Young: Where did you get the name De*Nada?

V. Arrisueño: “De nada” commonly means “your welcome” in Spanish. Because I wanted there to be a connection between my brand and my Peruvian background, I decided to choose a Spanish word … however, a word that most people know what it means and can pronounce easily. I liked the sound and meaning of “de nada,” and so I chose it as the name of my brand.

J. Young: What has been your “journey” as a designer?

V. Arrisueño: When I was in college, I focused almost exclusively on fiber art. I graduated with the intention of being an artist. However, one day my focus changed. I wanted to try something new. I began designing handbags and t-shirts, which later led to designing knit accessories. Since I studied fiber art in college, the design process came to me a lot more organically than designing handbags for example. This year, I’m focusing entirely on knit accessories and just launched my new collection for autumn/winter 2009.

J. Young: What brought you to DC?

V. Arrisueño: I love Washington, DC and the many things it has to offer. The layout and size is a perfect balance for me. I’m walking distance away from downtown DC, yet I live in a quiet residential area, have a backyard for my dog, and trees I can see. It’s perfect.

On a personal level, I decided to live and work in Washington, DC (and not for example, NYC or LA) because of its location. It’s close to my family. My sisters and their families live locally, and my parents live only a couple of hours away.  I’m very close to my family (… I’m Hispanic) and I don’t think I could handle living several hours away from them. I would get lonely. To be honest, I feel that as I get older, I value the time I spend with my family even more.

J. Young: Where do you find your inspiration for your collections?

V. Arrisueño: I get a lot of my inspiration from my Peruvian heritage. My parents are from Peru, and immigrated to the US during the 1970’s. I’m first generation. Since we have family in Lima, we travel to Peru almost once a year. I’ve always been fascinated by Peru’s traditions, and am inspired by its art and culture. As a designer, my goal is to somehow translate what I see and feel through my collection, however maintaining my own aesthetic.

J. Young: What do you think is special about this latest collection?

V. Arrisueño: To me personally, I feel like de*nada’s a/w 09 collection is special because it speaks more of who I am as a designer and what I want de*nada to become. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with knits. And so for this collection, I decided to focus solely on knit accessories designing more than a dozen new designs for scarves, gloves and hats.

For this collection, I wanted to play with textures and layering, while trying to figure out new and interesting ways to wear a scarf. For example, this collection includes cowls, which can be draped around the neck or worn as a hood; eternal scarves, which are loose and lightweight, like a necklace, and can be worn with or as jewelry; and spiral scarves; which can be worn long or else shortened, when wrapped once or twice around the neck and pulled though a loop.

The collection’s color palette includes darker shades of black, grey, white, olive, beige, and violet, which I feel are gorgeous and classic tones.

J. Young: What DC designers/crafters/stylists/etc. do you admire right now?

V. Arrisueño: Lori Parkersn (owner of Redeem), Morgan Hungerford (stylist/editor of Panda Head), and Davinia Roberts (designer of Plastic Heaven).

J. Young: What designers (nationally and internationally) do you love right now?

V. Arrisueño: Rick Owens, Complexgeometries, and Secta.

J. Young: Where do you see De*Nada in 2 years? 5 years?

V. Arrisueño: “Expand” and “grow” are two words I keep in mind when I think about de*nada’s future. I want to expand my current collection to include a larger selection of women’s and men’s accessories for both spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons.  Plus, I want to return to designing handbags and venture into cut and sew the following year.

J. Young: What are your thoughts on the community of DC designers? Is it growing/progressing?

V. Arrisueño: Washington, DC is progressing in every aspect especially DC’s community of artists and designers. People here are very supportive of the arts, and I am very excited to be living and working here in Washington, DC.