1000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

Juan Vidal 155

046

TFD_libro.indb 155 26/11/09 15:50:37

Juan Vidal’s

grandfather, great-

grandfather, and great-

great-grandfather were

tailors, and his mother

was the manageress

of a boutique. So

much in uence from

fashion and image at

 rst intimidated the

Spaniard, who chose to

study  ne arts, seeking

his means of expressing

aesthetic taste in

painting. However, his

taste for fashion was

able to overcome his

fear of not living up to

his prestigious family

and he enrolled in the

Felicidad Duce Fashion

School in Barcelona.

In 2005, he won the

ModaFAD Award for

the Best Collection,

which opened the doors

of Bread & Butter

to him. Since then,

he has presented his

collections on different

Spanish runways each

season. He has no

speci c references when

he designs. He likes

to think of women as

something intangible

and femininity as

having a multitude of

forms, and would like to

dress all of them.

Juan Vidal

www.juanvidaldesign.com

TFD_libro.indb 155 26/11/09 11:39:01

TFD_libro.indb 156

26/11/09 15:50:41

452 INSPIRATION. When you start a

collection, the  rst thing is to look inside

yourself. You have to listen to yourself

and let your imagination go free. To

do this, sometimes external impulses

are necessary; and they can come from

anywhere: music, the street, movies, or

anything that strikes your attention and is

beautiful or interesting.

453 M

USES. I’m in uenced by the

female  gures that surround me. I also like

to imagine, like in the movies, different

female archetypes, and play with them;

mix them up. The past is also a great

reference. Fashion has a cultural side to it.

The more you see, the more you learn; and

the more you learn, the more you develop.

454 D

EVELOPING A COLLECTION. I prefer

that the concept behind the collection

imbue everything through the design of the

look and in a very subtle way. I believe that

when something is too faithful to the idea

it originates from, it loses its mystery and

becomes something obvious.

455 M

ATERIALS. It’s necessary to know

the raw materials and how to use them;

although sometimes you can use a cloth the

wrong way and come out with new results.

Before designing a single garment, I like

to have practically all of the fabrics on the

table. I’m not one of those people that say

“never” and I’m even less so in fashion.

The fabrics you detest today could be your

masterpiece tomorrow.

451

W

ORKPLACE. It’s important to have your own

space, a place where you can lose yourself, by

yourself, with your music, images, and movies.

My most important tool is a small notebook for

sketching that I always carry with me. My  rst

ideas come from there. I like to think  rst and

develop the idea later. The atelier is where you

 ght, and where you see yourself working.

156 1,000 Ideas by 100 Fashion Designers

TFD_libro.indb 156 26/11/09 11:39:01

Juan Vidal 157

TFD_libro.indb 157 26/11/09 15:50:49

456 COLORS. Sometimes you want to do

something new; at other times you want to

mix, while at others you want everything

to be in the same shade. Depending on how

you apply these three ideas about color,

you come up with one result or another.

457 T

RADITIONAL MANUFACTURING VS.

EXPERIMENTATION. I think the ideal thing

is to have enough knowledge of tradition

so as to be able to experiment. You need a

base; there’s no evolution without a prior

culture.

458 E

VOLUTION. Collection after

collection, I try to keep the sophistication

and sensuality, but with a different

wrapping. It’s like a wolf in sheep’s

clothing: it will always be a wolf, but it has

fun with what it’s wearing.

4 59 C

HALLENGE. I de nitely feel that

I have to exceed myself every six months;

each season is like a public examination.

It makes you want to grow and learn. You

want more each time, so you have to offer

more.

460 A

CKNOWLEDGEMENT. The best

applause is personal; you have to applaud

yourself by yourself. I still haven’t been

able to. It depends on how demanding you

are. I’m very grateful for the response I get

from the public; but often some things are

left unsaid. I always say that to be a young

designer is to do what you can and not

always what you want.

TFD_libro.indb 157 26/11/09 11:39:01