When I was doing my research on you I became curious about your journey overall. You’re a bit of a Renaissance man in the way you approach the creative field. How did you first get started in fashion?
I was just one of those kids that I now interview every year. I always thought I belonged in fashion so I decided to pursue it. But I was afraid to leave my city, Puebla, which is about two hours away from Mexico City. I decided to stay there and study textile design but while doing it, I found that I was in love with fashion illustration. I’ve drawn since I was a kid – I represented my school in an art tournament. In the beginning, it was hard because, in Mexico, we don’t have a fashion illustration pathway. You just have to fend for yourself and discover how it works while you’re doing it.
It’s interesting to hear you speak on how being from a place that is othered in the fashion industry. When you were carving out your career, did you ever feel you were trailing a path of sorts?
Not really. I never had that thought. It’s funny because, as I was building my career in fashion I was simultaneously teaching fashion drawing and illustration. I started teaching when I was 24 or 25. I finished school at 22, took a year off and went to the United States to live with an uncle. After that, I returned to Puebla and already had some clients doing fashion illustration, or let’s say, illustrations oriented towards fashion. At that point, I never thought I was going to be teaching. But when I started it also meant that money would be coming in.
Your academic career has always been parallel to your professional career. Do you think it’s important to have industry experience to teach?
Yes, of course. I mean, it depends on the area. If you’re a historian, you just need the knowledge. But when it comes to other subjects, you need to keep working in the field to make sure that what you’re teaching matches what the world is doing outside. Otherwise, you’re obsolete.
“In Mexico, we see fashion through that Western lens and we attempt to copy that system. That has been very problematic for the industry because we haven’t developed our point of view. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other systems.” – Guillermo Huerta
You don’t just keep tabs on the industry, you seem to have your hands in many different pots…
I think it’s a good thing, especially in fashion. Otherwise, you get biased, you get stuck on one point of view. It’s so easy to just see the aesthetic side of it or even the concept. And yes, with that you might create something experimental but it probably won’t be interesting. That’s the joy of working with different people across different projects, you add points of view.
I want to touch on something you said earlier about the challenges you’ve faced by not being in a fashion capital. How do you find that being outside of these magnetic centres affects the national fashion industry?
Mexico is a bit different than the rest of Latin America; we’re so close to the US. We are culturally closer to Europe… Some people here even consider themselves Spaniards, even if they’re not. But we see fashion through that Western lens and we attempt to copy that system. That has been very problematic for the industry because we haven’t developed our point of view. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other systems. “Why are we not as important as New York Fashion Week?” or “Why do we not have brands like Paris?” kind of arguments. We try to build around a system that we believe to be the “right” system, extremely Eurocentric.
Is there any effort to deconstruct that projection of the industry?
I think the effort to do just that has happened in Mexico for the past 15 years. We are trying to build brands that are going to be consumed by Mexicans and people around the world. We have had interesting brands that have died along the way because they haven’t been able to find a customer base. It’s hard for a Mexican brand to be sustainable because you need to find people willing to buy. The challenge is not to produce or create fashion; it’s about finding customers to trust designers. In the past, people who could afford would often go to the US or Europe to spend their money, and now, with online shopping, it’s somehow worse.
“Our system should be based on patience.” – Guillermo Huerta
How does this phenomenon affect fashion education?
Students are, of course, aware of the reality. They are trying to deconstruct it, too, but it’s hard. You know, I’ve had something circulate in my mind for ages now. We sometimes invite designers to speak at the university about their brand or journey. They are always telling us that they want to talk to students because they are the ones who know what fashion is now; they know what’s cool, and they have the answers. And yes, they have different eyes, but I’m not sure they have the correct eyes. Our system should be based on patience and what will be sustainable for them. That might be quite controversial.
I think it makes perfect sense. The industry is built around the search for novelty…
Exactly. Right now, we’re stuck in the middle of an environmental crisis. And while designers might be doing sustainable projects, it doesn’t matter if we’re using different materials – we have a system that encourages us to buy whatever is newest. In the fashion industry, it’s always about what’s new, what’s hot, what’s young. I think that’s such a big part of the problem. We’re looking at young people for answers, and they don’t have a clue. I think we need to build a system around patience that involves different strategies, instead of just repeating the same formula and looking for different answers.
How do we go about starting to enact that change?
Honestly, I don’t know anymore. That’s something that usually consumes my conversation with my staff. I don’t know where I stand right now, it’s something I’m still trying to figure out from the research that I do, and the knowledge gathered over teaching for over 16 years. But, at the base of it, I think everything starts with education, everything starts with us. We are the first step towards building something new. That’s what we try to do at Centro, that’s all we can do.
How does Centro’s approach differ from other fashion schools?
Well, first, here in Mexico, we don’t have specific programs from different aspects of the fashion industry. Every student does fashion design and then, afterwards, will go into different internships and specialities. We are not forcing them down one single path, we encourage them to open their eyes. I don’t know if that’s the right way to do it, but it’s the way we do it. It seems natural here because it would be hard to convince parents to justify spending money on a course specifically designated to fashion journalism, for example.
Do you feel like the system works?
I think restructuring would be necessary. We are trying to play with the idea of doing a shorter undergrad program and then some kind of specialisation after that would be around one or two extra years. We’re currently researching to see what would be best for students.
How have you impacted the direction of the course you currently lead?
Well, I know most of the fashion directors before me. I know their context and I find that they evolved depending on the time. We’ve always moved forward by taking what’s happening in the industry into consideration. I am doing the same. Right now, it’s not just about sustainability. Yes, we need to be sustainable for the environment, but it goes way beyond that. We need to think of the economics of sustainability. If we are truly dedicated to it, we need to consider it when it comes to producing. That’s what I’m trying to do. I am making my students think about the context and not just their points of view but from a collective lens. But I’m also trying to look at it more humanely. I think we’ve been very rigid with students in the past because we thought that we were the guiding light. We had the right opinion, and the students just needed to listen to us. Just because we’re older, we assume we know more, but I find that can be dictator-like. That’s part of what I’ve been trying to do. I’m listening to make sure they understand that they’re not at the university to do what we want them to do. That might seem contradictory to what I said before.
“There’s been a feeling settling in that the world is ending. And I think it’s actually quite exciting. I’m a pessimist, but I’m also a romantic. We are not just trying to make beautiful clothes; we are trying to change the world.” – Guillermo Huerta
I don’t see it that way. Not burdening them with the responsibility of being the future fashion seems to be an important aspect of respecting them.
Exactly, and I hope this doesn’t come out wrong, but I don’t believe the students are the future. We are all the future. I find it to be so problematic that we just say, “Oh, you’re the ones that need to fix the mess we all made.” It’s being too hard on them. It also lets us all out of the hook. It can’t be, “I am not the future, so it’s not up to me.” The younger generation has a fresh point of view, and that’s valuable in its own right. But that’s superficial; we all need to chime in. We are the ones with the experience, we know what’s out there in ways they still have to find out. To be the future, you have to mature.
“We are in a tornado moment: AI, technology, new tools. We don’t know if what we’re teaching will be irrelevant in two years. We are trying to adapt fast, to experiment so we don’t become irrelevant.” – Guillermo Huerta
Speaking of, your path has allowed you to have insight into the industry for over a decade. What are the biggest shifts you’ve seen?
I think there’s been a feeling settling in that the world is ending. And I think it’s actually quite exciting. I’m a pessimist, but I’m also a romantic. We are not just trying to make beautiful clothes; we are trying to change the world.
How do you adapt to such a fast-changing landscape as a professor?
We are making the changes as we go. We don’t know what we’re doing either. Everything is so fast right now. We are in a tornado moment: AI, technology, new tools. We don’t know if what we’re teaching will be irrelevant in two years. We are trying to adapt fast, to experiment so we don’t become irrelevant. But it’s hard, it’s harder than 10 years ago… tougher than five years ago. Students are different, the world makes them feel desperate. We are trying hard to make sure we’re listening to them.
It has to be hard to lead a ship when you’re also not privy to its trajectory.
Exactly. We’re just trying to not fuck it up for them. It’s hard to separate what is their emotional well-being and their actual academic path. We maybe should be focusing on preparing them for the industry but it’s tough because we get emotional with them. We see them suffering with the current state of the world.
“When I start getting angry, I have to stop because I’ll be doing it for the wrong reasons. I need to make sure I’m doing it for the sake of moving the system to a better place.” – Guillermo Huerta
That sounds exhausting, but I’m glad to hear you’re committed to figuring it out with them.
That’s all we can do, all we know how to do is try. But I don’t know for how long. It’s emotionally taxing. I remember in The September Issue, Anna Wintour saying something to the effect of: she’ll stop doing this when she feels angry. I always have that on my mind. When I start getting angry, I have to stop because I’ll be doing it for the wrong reasons. I need to make sure I’m doing it for the sake of moving the system to a better place.
You know I haven’t had the opportunity to speak to someone that understands the Mexican fashion industry in the way you do and so I can’t stop myself from asking. Do you find that European brands making Mexican-inspired collections bring anything to the scene in the long term?
To be honest, I don’t think so. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. What isn’t? If a big brand is coming to collaborate with a group of artisans in Mexico, the two parties have different concerns. The brand has sales goals and marks to hit, while the artisans collaborate with different objectives. They are not trying to become famous. And, even if we consider the brand does everything right, they don’t want to do any cultural appropriation, they don’t want to steal, and they’ll pay. But even then, there’s something wrong. That group of artisans doesn’t have the same context. They don’t understand what they’re capable of. I have talked to people who are part of the Ministry of Culture about this. And, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but if a brand wants to collaborate with Mexican artisans, they have to go through the government. If a brand comes here and doesn’t follow the guidelines they will be sent letters straight from our government. They assure that people get paid and that symbols aren’t used in disrespectful ways.
That’s amazing! Usually people have to rely on social media to stand up for themselves in that way.
Yes, but even if a brand does everything right and goes through the Ministry of Culture, they’re going to be called out regardless. It comes down to the fact that a huge brand is coming to get inspiration because they don’t know where else to get inspired. Then they come and do Frida Kahlo for the 100th time.
“Even if I’m not teaching, I always remain a coach for all of my students.” – Guillermo Huerta
What would be your advice to a young graduate?
Nothing is promised; it’s up to you.
We’re about to wrap up here, but I can’t not mention your tattoos; they’re so cool.
This one is actually a drawing from a former student. It’s a character she drew for me. It’s a fox with a Peruvian hat. You asked me about what I can do for the industry and I think, even if I’m not teaching, I always remain a coach for all of my students. I feel like an older person now, but I’ve become someone people come for advice. I feel good about that because it reminds me I’m doing my job right. I’m connecting with them and I’m building a community that is not just about school. That keeps me attached to the industry. You build these friendships, these relationships. I think that’s the way forward. Community is what we need more of.
