PATRICIO CAMPILLO TARACENA CELEBRATES HIS MEXICAN ROOTS WITH CAMPILLO
Born and raised in Mexico City, Patricio Campillo cultivated a passion for horses amidst the vibrant Charro culture. From working in Paris under fashion editor Tiffany Godoy to having his own clothing brand deeply rooted in his love for his Mexican culture. We sat down with Patricio to discuss his start in fashion and what Campillo means to him.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
Can you tell us about your journey into fashion design? What initially drew you to this field?
My first job was in politics, and I hated it. I was always obsessed with magazines like Love Magazine, Purple, i-D, Self Service, Garage, etc. Additionally, I couldn’t get enough of Tim Blank’s show reviews for style.com; I read them as if they were poetry… they kind of are. One day, my boss got sick of paying me to read magazines and fashion show reviews and fired me.
He suggested that I find a job that paid me to do what I enjoyed during my free time. Realizing that I would be working for the next 40-50 years of my life, I knew I had to pursue something I loved; otherwise, I would be an unhappy person. I knew right away that I wanted to work in fashion.
I started with journalism and later moved to Paris, where I became an assistant to Tiffany Godoy, the Editor of The Reality Show Magazine. I attended shows, but more importantly, I started going to re-sees. That was the moment everything changed for me because I fell in love with clothes. I would spend hours at the showrooms closely inspecting every piece, and that became my education.
During my time in Paris, I started doing some styling and art direction, but I felt the need to delve deeper into the creative process. I was invited to collaborate on a men’s capsule collection with a Mexican designer, and I locked myself in my apartment for a couple of months until I completed it. That was the moment I discovered my true passion was designing. Since I did not have any technical education in fashion or making clothes, I knew no one would hire me as a designer. So, I decided to move back to Mexico and start my own brand.
How has your Mexican heritage influenced your design aesthetic and philosophy?
A significant part of creating the brand involved psychological therapy. By accepting and embracing the masculine figures in my life, I was able to turn back to the amazing cultural references that surrounded me when I was growing up.
I grew up surrounded by amazing cultural references closely linked with Charro Culture. My father was very close to his uncle when growing up. My grandfather was not a very present parent, as he was always working. When my father was a child, his uncle would pick him up on a horse, and they would spend a great deal of time together dressed in Charro suits, riding horses, and experiencing life through that upbringing.
As time passed and my dad became a young adult, his uncle grew old, and his drinking worsened. Eventually, my father took care of my uncle until he passed away. My father inherited a beautiful collection of Charro antiques – horse saddles, bridles, silver spurs, ropes, suits, shirts, etc. And these elements were around the house.
I was riding horses by the age of 3, and my father gave me my first Charro suit when I was 6. Somehow, I took this for granted and buried it in my past along with some trauma and memories of pain. As I became an adult, around the same time I was developing the brand, I started psychological therapy for the first time.
This initiated a cathartic process for me where I forgave things from my past and allowed me to revisit my upbringing and where I came from. My great uncle also became a very relevant figure in this process. He was presumably a handsome man, never married, and my father never met any of his girlfriends. These and other stories led me to think he might have been gay and made me consider how he must have had a hard time living in this very homophobic and conservative culture, such as the Charros.
I felt very nostalgic about all of this and questioned whether Charro culture had a place in the future. Perhaps many of the ideologies that come with this tradition are discriminatory and outdated, but there is so much beauty in the artisanal tradition and craftsmanship that is also part of this culture.
My father gave me a classic Charro Suit that my grandfather gave to him as a present when he turned 18. This became the base pattern for all the pants and jackets in the collections. I decided to take the elements I admired the most about this universe, such as the craftsmanship and artisanal elements, and bring them into a contemporary context that is inclusive, tolerant, and diverse.
Can you describe the collection that earned you this nomination? What was the inspiration behind it?
For spring, Patricio Campillo announced that his brand, formerly The Pack, would now be known as Campillo. The designer explained that the collection was guided by one word: tension. “Tension between our expectations and reality; tension between what we would like versus what we do, but also tension as the energy that exists in the universe, tension as a philosophical concept, and the personal experiences that can generate tension in a person.
He used draping as the language through which he explored this concept; using river stones as buttons that created different points of tension in his garments. It was an exercise that took Campillo one step closer to his goals, which include couture. Tension was also represented in humorous yet no less effective ways, as in the blazer and pants with buttons in the shape of a pair of fighting roosters. It was a metaphor for the tension that can be generated between bodies, but also the beauty of it.
How do you think your work stands out in the crowded fashion industry?
Campillo embodies a philosophy in constant evolution, blurring gender lines, and the objective of positively influencing the community. Drawing inspiration from childhood references closely tied to Mexican culture, the brand utilizes hand-dyed linen, local organic bamboo fiber, recycled cotton, silk, metal-free dyed leather, denim, and wool.
Collaborating with Mexican artisans, the incorporation of Charro culture, the fusion of traditional elements within a contemporary context establishes a unique universe that the brand aims to explore continually, emphasizing a deep dive into its own identity.
Sustainability is a major conversation in fashion today. How do you incorporate sustainable practices into your design process?
Sustainability, for me, means creating items with a positive impact on society and the environment, a term often misused for marketing. I believe in diverse sustainability approaches, such as creating meaningful jobs for fulfilling lives and fostering social sustainability through positive messages of inclusion and diversity.
Regarding environmental sustainability, a nuanced perspective is essential. The question arises: How can we minimize our impact on the environment? This involves exploring various strategies to mitigate adverse effects, emphasizing a comprehensive understanding that goes beyond rhetoric to incorporate tangible, positive actions.
“We approach sustainability by using similar materials every season; silk, linen, denim, leather, and wool. We use these materials because they are what have less impact on the ecosystem that is also within our reach. They are biodegradable and durable and work as parameters for the creative story. We have developed a few experimental techniques to treat these materials, allowing us to expand and give depth to our universe. By experimenting, we have found identity,”.
The LVMH Prize is known for propelling designers onto the global stage. How do you hope this nomination will impact your career?
I find myself at a juncture where the brand’s narrative and its journey have reached a point where moving to the next level in terms of commercial expansion, visibility, and product development is crucial. LVMH prize is something that would drastically change the course of development. This venture has been a journey where trusting my instincts and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to hard work have enabled me to navigate challenges with passion and resilience.
There are many steps to be taken in terms of bringing the craftsmanship that exists around the universe of Mexican Charro culture into the world of luxury, but the first one is to make top-quality artisanal production profitable for artisans. The process of bringing artisanal craftsmanship into the luxury industry is something that LVMH has done before, and that experience is key to achieve the vision of the brand.
Who have been your biggest influences and mentors in the fashion industry?
My journey in fashion began with journalism and later moved to Paris, where I became an assistant to Tiffany Godoy, the Editor of The Reality Show Magazine. I attended shows, but more importantly, I started going to re-sees. That was the moment everything changed for me because I fell in love with the clothes.
I would spend hours at the showrooms closely inspecting every piece, and that became my education. I was Tiffany Godoy’s assistant for almost two years and had endless conversations about everything I was experiencing: She was very patient and made me questions that I didn’t really know how to answer at the time but later became the most important questions I would ask myself every time I did something. “Why is this relevant?” Was the main one. Since I did not go to fashion school this was my education and Tiffany was the only teacher I had.
Another one of my biggest mentors has been stylist Nayeli de Alba. We worked together for a few years and it’s the person I have spent the most time having conversations about my work, my references and how to build an identity. She was exceedingly patient and posed questions to me that, at the time, I struggled to answer.
However, these questions later became the most crucial inquiries I would ask myself whenever I undertook any task. “Why is this relevant?” stood out as the primary one. Without attending fashion school, she became my mentor. I could say Tiffany was the sole teacher I ever had.
Another significant mentor in my life has been stylist Nayeli de Alba. Over several years, we collaborated closely, engaging in numerous conversations about my work, my inspirations, and the process of forging an aesthetic.
How do you stay innovative while respecting the traditions of fashion design?
I envision Campillo as the first Mexican luxury brand. I would like to create a way of working where the inclusion of artisanal work becomes a vehicle for these techniques to become luxury products.
Creating processes and production schemes that systematically allow artisanal work to be more than a souvenir. I would like to elevate the collections by including pieces that are more couture and develop accessories such as bags, wallets, shoes.
My creative process begins by understanding which materials, techniques and production schemes are viable to do in Mexico. And I wish to elevate this concept into the luxury market.
Diversity and inclusion are increasingly important in fashion. How do you address these topics through your work?
My work has been a process of re-signifying my past and history. Campillo recon textualizes traditions on a contemporary level, blurring gender lines, questioning ideological limitations, and elevating them to an inclusive, tolerant, and diverse contemporary context.
The beginning of the brand is defined by a suit that belonged to my grandfather and that he gave to my dad when he turned 18. That suit became the base pattern for all the pants and jackets in the collections to this day. For me, this symbolizes the questioning of the meaning that past generations attributed to wearing a Charro suit, thus questioning my own personal limitations.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor In Chief: Prince Chenoa (@princechenoastudio)
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
