Conférence inaugurale

All public
3h

Rendez-vous

Opening evening

The event is over

Le 21 September 2023

All public
3h

To mark the opening of the exhibition "Carla Fernández. The Future is Handmade", la Galerie du 19M invites you to a round-table discussion devoted to Carla Fernández Casa de Moda and the creative dialogue that this collective has initiated for nearly twenty years with a broad spectrum of Mexican savoir-faire.

Practical info

Free event

Last places

Place

la Galerie du 19M — Paris/Aubervilliers

Preparation

For more details, refer to the practical information.

In the same collaborative spirit, Carla Fernández has worked hand in hand with some of le19M’s resident Maisons d’art including Maison Michel, Massaro, and Goossens, in an approach she refers to as “mirror collaborations.” Beyond their creative potential, these exchanges provide an experience of otherness and reveal to each collaborator the singularity and particularity of their own gestures. She carries out this work of hybridisation and new encounters with over 180 artisans from different Mexican states, including Felipe Horta, a mask painter, who has been invited to Paris/Aubervilliers for the occasion.

This discussion will bring together :

- Carla Fernández, a fashion designer working at the forefront of ethical fashion, documenting and preserving the textile heritage of the indigenous communities of her country, Mexico;

- Felipe Horta, a mask-maker from Erongarícuaro (Michoacán) who works with Carla Fernández;

- Nathalie Abscheidt, workshop manager and model maker at Goossens;

- Priscilla Royer, artistic director of Maison Michel

The discussion will be moderated by Émilie Hammen, PhD Art History (Université Paris 1 Panthéon - Sorbonne) and Director of the CHANEL and le19M Chair in Fashion Savoir-Faire (IFM).

Carla Fernández

Carla Fernández is a fashion designer. Her fashion house is based in Mexico City with the objective of preserving and revitalising the textile heritage of Mexico’s indigenous communities. By calling on their savoir-faire—handicrafts, some of which are centuries old—in the service of creation and innovation, she creates a dialogue between two worlds and gives a new, profound and humanistic meaning to fashion. At the outset of each of her collections, Carla Fernández integrates artisanal practices whose specific characteristics guide her creative process. In keeping with her ethical approach to fashion and the positive impact of her business on the development of the communities she champions, her company now has B Corp status.

Carla Fernández’s work has been recognised by several fashion and design juries, including Design Miami’s Design Visionary Award in 2018 and the Prince Claus Award, of which she was one of 11 winners in 2013. She was also voted Young Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year by the British Council in 2008.

Priscilla Royer

Priscilla Royer is artistic director of Maison Michel since 2015. Across the collections she instills a reappraisal of headwear in a pragmatic and holistic way, from the hat through to the head. Maison Michel with its new aura sees a cast of strong characters – both male and female – enter the scene, sporting head accessories encapsulating the very things that make Priscilla tick: constant quest for innovations, alternative cultural and historical references, wearability, and freedom in attitudes, her obsession being to serve and promote pride in individuality. For the “Carla Fernández. Future Is Handmade” exhibition, Maison Michel created three hats, as a reinterpretation of main charros’ piece. In a version with oversized proportions, taco shaped or with horns, charisma of the charros are brought together with the techniques used in the workshops of the resident house of le19M. Also discover an installation of tzompantli, a recurring motif in Mexican iconography. This wall of skulls originated in the Aztec civilization of the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The installation created by Maison Michel refers to this through a composition of masked hats.

Nathalie Abscheidt

Nathalie Abscheidt is Head of Goossens’ modeler-workshop. She has been a jeweller for 40 years, and with the House for 31 of those years. Her expertise and passion allow her to share her savoir-faire, and train new generations. For the “Carla Fernández. Future Is Handmade” exhibition, Goossens created a monumental installation of milagritos, Mexican ex-voto that visitors will decorate during the exhibition. Goossens also created three pairs of glasses, set up in the exhibition.

Felipe Horta

The artisan Felipe de Jesús Horta Tera is a creator of wooden craft, heir to the technique from his father Eustacio Horta Castillo. He learned at the age of 12 and currently shares the work with his children Juan Carlos, Víctor Hugo, Felipe, and Lizbeth. His wife, Elia Saucedo, also helps in the family workshop in the community of Tócuaro, in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

The hand-carved masks meticulously decorated with paint are traditionally used in festivals, religious, events and dances. Horta’s most representative mask is the one that gives life to the devil. With great imagination and skill, he has managed to make his pieces stand out and have a unique signature.

Emilie Hammen

Émilie Hammen has a PhD in art history (University Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne). She teaches the history and theory of fashion at the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), where she is also director of the CHANEL and le19M Chair in Fashion Savoir-Faire. Her research focuses on the historiography of fashion as well as on its relationship with art, particularly the avant-garde.

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