Georgina Santiago is a creative visionary like no other - to describe her as purely a fashion designer would completely be an understatement. Instead Santiago bears the label of a visual artist and color and trend forecaster. Santiago's work is truly unique. Her two collections,
Vitrine and
Minutiae, are two which deal with pure, raw beauty of the human body and foreign intervention by alteration and manipulation. She is daring, challenging and inspiring.
Here she talks about colour, aesthetic, beauty as well as the two genres of fashion and art.
Q: A lot of your work encompasses the aesthetic of the beautifully disturbing, why is it that you find this particular aesthetic fascinating and explore it in the creative medium of fashion – a medium that by definition is associated with variations of beauty. How do you define beauty as an aesthetic and perhaps, a platform for discussion?
A: Beauty which disturbs is much more interesting than the “plain” beauty. It holds a special power – the ability of excogitation, to really challenge others to think.
I believe beauty has much more to say than to just propose a universal standard of beauty. It has the ability to carry much more depth and extend further. A certain form of ugliness has the ability to give beauty more depth and an element which brings it to the next level. In my opinion this particular aesthetic is truly satisfying once you have passed its first impact, which is kind of sour, however, it gets addictive, and eventually you are consumed, leaving you wanting more. At least it sticks to your memory much more than a simply “nice” image – which you probably will forget.
I have always been curious about people’s subjective tastes. Why is it that someone would love something and others would hate it? We all have some opinions without reason, but we are completely sure about them; we justify them as a part of our subjectivity. That is why it is always going to be a platform of discussion, because beauty is a social statement.
Although you’ve been formally educated as a fashion designer, you never refer to yourself exclusively as a designer, rather as a visual artist. Does the label of a designer perhaps provide somewhat creative boundaries or limitations to you as an artist?
Yes, I do think so. I am more interested in analysing, forecasting and collaborating in the aesthetics that society creates apart of its own identity, rather than solving problems, which I believe design must do. Design contributes to the aesthetics of an era. At first glance, design provides the solutions to a problem, and then communicates the appropriate aesthetic. This is why I don’t see myself as a designer, because I am more focused in the latter.
The two genres of art and fashion have never co-existed in a peaceful state. Some believe that fashion is not art and that art is not fashion on the basis that the wearability and pragmatism of each genre differs from the other. Do you believe there is a definitive answer as to whether fashion and art are able to co-exist as each-other? What is your opinion on the coexistence of fashion and art? Do you believe fashion is art or that art can be fashion?
I do believe that fashion can be art. However, that does not mean it necessarily is. Personally, I believe that there are three kinds of fashion.
The first is the type which exists on runways. This can definitely be art however not all runway fashion is art. Some of them are extremely luxury orientated. The second is the art that creates forms around the human body, in a sculptural sense, which is placed in museums (or more art-y runaways). This one is much closer to art. And the last one is fashion in the streets. It is the one which defines the parameters of fashion of a particular era. Personally, I believe that this is the one which is much closer to design, but at the same time the one that is much closer to art, because of its social aspect. These three kinds of fashion conjoined are cyclical; the last one is the starting and ending point. In my opinion fashion and art will definitely always feed each other.
Some would associate your work with minimalism because of the simplistic nature of your garments, however, would you rather label your work as challenging surrealism?
I am not sure if I would label it as a definitive definition, but it some ways it could be challenging surrealism. While I am working on it, I of course, think about pure forms, as minimalism encourages. A clear message, given by visual shapes that capture the attention for its simplicity, as an easy reading message, is a must to explain abstract and difficult concepts.
Personally I believe that sometimes trends in fashion can be a waste of money, that they are only beneficial towards marketing products and creating a sense of hysteria among consumers for the sole reason of generate a profit. It is why I much prefer to use the term aesthetic, as it holds a much liberal philosophy – it encourages people to become subjective about the trend or aesthetic. What do you think about my opinion? Do you believe that there is a distinction between trends and aesthetics in art, design or fashion?
I agree to an extent, however at the same time I don’t think trends are created for consumerism. I think trends would exist regardless of consumerism. Trends are an intrinsic aspect of society, as there are synergies between humans. At the same time, the fashion industry does take advantage of this, and accelerates the process and life of a trend. Aesthetics are much more general, and trends are not always aesthetic trends.
Minutiae and Vitrine both address the human body as a canvas or medium of creative expression. Although Minutiae portrays the body in a ‘sinister’ light, and Vitrine contends the mutation of the human body. Both of these carry negative connotations, however in both collections, your work not only accentuates the beauty of the human body but discredits the negative implications of cynicism and alteration. In the grand scheme of things, do you believe that perhaps sometimes the human body is taken for granted and we are not appreciative of its beauty?
I think I am so focused on the body because it is the material that we are made of, our shape, our physical aspect. The creation of an entity. How nature has decided us to be.
Furthermore, it has been on my mind, the way in which society perceives the female body to be beautiful. I have always hated this sort of “alteration”. For instance, the more sensual the female body is portrayed, the more beauty conveyed. For me, these are stupid equalisations which society has built, and I criticise them in my work. I would never present a woman in a sensual or glamorous way.
Through your projects Minutiae, Vitrine and the C&A design challenge; it becomes apparent that colours are extremely important to you. The palette of your work is very much focused on soft, pastel colours. Although in your design for the C.A. design challenge, you encompassed a rather vivid pink colour, you hid that away under the pleats of the garments so that its existence was dependent on the presence of light. The colours that you choose are always soft and aesthetically pleasing, never harsh when juxtaposed with your works Minutiae and Vitrine, do they perhaps provide a sense of balance between the unpleasant and the pleasant? Why do you believe colours are so important and powerful?
You are right, and I actually don’t choose those colours for this reason, but because they tell me something and in some cases are related directly to the concept, like in Minutiae.
I am a completely passionate about colour, and my language is colour. The fact that it is an aspect which every single thing in life bears makes it so powerful, and also the abstract side of it is so intriguing. It's communicative power is awesome; a colour has the ability to convey as much as an image does sometimes, and what it conveys is all socially constructed. The fact that colours are symbols is so amazing, given that humans have a really bad colour memory. I just love it!
As an artist, who is a person/(s) that you have the most admiration for and why?
I admire all the creative people that had done something meaningful. From Yves Klein, through Martin Margiela, to Lady Gaga. I could say so many...
Are you perhaps interested in branching out into transdisciplinary design, as trend analyses embraces a range of different artistic and design disciplines and your collections both involve the biological aspect of the human body?
Yes, definitely! I love all kinds of design, art, and creative forms, all manifestations of aesthetics. My aim is to work with something in between all of them.
Can you tell us about your next project? What does it involve and what are you intentions for it?
My next project is born from the Tumblr I have been curating for more than 3 years already,
magneticum.tumblr.com. It is a selection of creative things which I have found interesting and aesthetically innovative.
I once said that my aim in life was to be inspired and inspire others – so I decided to make it happen. I am expanding my Tumblr to a website by adding more categories as well as more content to become a real source of inspiration for creative minds. Now
magneticum will be an insight into my next project,
theinspirationprovider.com. It’s exactly what I want to be, an inspirer.
