Today we’d like to introduce you to Montserrat Varela.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Montserrat. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always been interested in fashion, for as long as I can remember, I loved standing out from the rest.
When young, my favorite thing to do was playing dress up with all of my grandma’s fancy clothes. She had such a great sense of fashion.
Whenever we used to go see her, I would run to her closet and wear her high heels, which were a little too big for a 6-year-old, cover myself in her jewelry and wear this big hats she always used to wear.
Also, I was obsessed with moving around, trying to find something, in the beginning, I want sure what I was looking for, probably myself and also, I just needed to figure out where I wanted to be in my life.
I did have one thing clear though, fashion, I wanted to be somewhere where fashion was all around me, so I moved to Paris, I never hesitated. I just figured, where better place than Paris for fashion right?
After school in Paris yours truly found herself moving again, Switzerland it was, I went to French school, then moved again, to Barcelona where half of my family lives. Took some time off while in Spain and found myself on the move again, San Diego California… my favorite place in the world.
I attended FIDM and got a degree in fashion marketing, the best years of my life.
And of course, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t decide to move again, and now, here I am, in Madrid Spain, getting a Masters in fashion design and finally, I’ve created my own fashion line.
I know shortly, I’ll be moving again and odds are, I’ll be back in my favorite place in the world, San Diego.
But for now, I can’t wait to see where fashion takes me.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth run, I’ve struggled a lot with figuring out basically everything since I moved around so much, it was a little hard to get used to so many different cultures, different languages, and different ideas. But honestly, I’ve also learned so much, I’ve been able to learn so much from life and the world we live in by just moving, and even though, leaving people ¨behind¨ sucked, I’ve learned to see it now in a different way, I took the best out of them and kept it with me everywhere I went and also, I have people everywhere in the world, so I don’t feel alone.
There were times where I wished I had just stayed somewhere because sometimes leaving everything behind was too risky, there were times where I felt like I lost it all, but I didn’t, I learn so much from mistakes, from detours, from bumps along the way which have now shaped me into the woman I am today.
Today, I can say I’m not scared of losing, of not getting it right, because I’ll eventually will, we all do. In one way or the other, we do.
It’s just a matter of how you see things. The glass is always half full remember?
Anyways, I think taking chances is just a beautiful thing, to follow your dreams and see where they take you but always remaining true to yourself.
Always knowing there’s a way through and just to truly enjoy and embrace the journey because sometimes, it’s not about the destination but the way to it.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’ve done a lot of modeling, Ive always been obsessed with art, beauty, fashion, style, you name it.
Instagram has been a key to many of my projects back in San Diego, and now, Madrid.
I’ve been the face of a handbag company, worked with one of the best Loreal Hairstylist in America and attended to many events, fashion, and beauty related which just confirm how much I love being part of this industry.
And have worked with amazing photographers which have now become really good friends of mine.
Now, I’m a proud owner of my own fashion line, finallyyyy! And working now on my fall/winter collection. It’s been amazing, it’s just so rewarding seeing your hard work paying off.
I’ve been working closely with Mexican artisans to create this line, I’ve always had a huge admiration for them and it’s just something so beautiful to now be able to work with them, bringing their art and embroidery to different countries around the world.
And I think the key which really makes one stand from the rest, is, everything should be made with love, sounds corny but I swear it should, when you love what you do then people will love it as well, when you put such a hard effort on your designs, when you believe in your project and do it with all the passion you have, everything just speaks for itself and I love how much people like my jackets, they’re so different than what everyone is used to see.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Of course, I think there’s always room for everyone, and if you feel like there’s none, then make your own!
We are now in a different era, where women are trying to be seen as equals., everyone is tired of being compared to men or being paid less or thoughtless off just because you’re a girl.
I think women should empower each other and make room for more women wanting to have the same opportunities. Because nothing is stronger than people fighting for what they believe in, and together, everyone is stronger.
Women make beautiful things, we have great taste! haha But really, Im so proud of the women I work with, they are all so so talented and I think that’s so important if you can help, then do it, there’s always room at the top, I promise.
We are multitaskers we can do 10 million things at the same time, but the most important, we know how to do it right, so we should take all these advantages we have and create our own opportunities.
We have so so many good qualities, men and women both, have their own abilities which doesn’t mean you’re less off or more than the other, its just a matter of seeing what you’re good at, regardless of your gender and just open room for yourself, create your own opportunities and don’t give up until you get where you want to be, where you always wanted to be.
Pricing:
- jackets start at 200 dollars
Contact Info:
- Website: www.montserratvarela.com.mx
- Phone: 527775317270
- Email: montsevarela_19@hotmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montserratvaarela/?hl=es-la
Image Credit:
Jaime-Lynn @dearstjaime, Eric Brown Jr @imericbrownjr, Michelle Laura @ohmichellelaura
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