Alba Mas Amoros on Time Management in Fashion Design

When asked about Central Saint Martins, she states, “The initial reaction is always like, ‘Oh my God, it is super fun.’ But then the more you think about it you’re like, ‘Wait a minute…’” On reflection, Amoros thinks it was an eye-opening experience, learning how to manage time, balance the workload of different projects, and build relationships within the fashion industry. However, the awareness that it’s a great privilege to study your passion every day led to stress and overworking. “You almost start feeling a bit guilty because you love what you are doing. So you feel like you should be doing it nonstop and pushing yourself to the very max, to try and get the best outcome, because you have the chance to do so.”

“It is quite exciting when you’re just researching in random areas, whether it’s literature, architecture, or art, and then you find something and you’re like, wait, this is perfect for my project.” – Alba Mas Amoros

In the final year, Amoros realised that fashion had become an all-consuming force in her life and was no longer sustainable. “It was quite challenging at first, but I set strict work boundaries, and it made me more focused in the hours that I was there.” She worked between 8:30am and 5pm and in downtime saw friends, read classic fiction literature, and visited museums. “It gave me time to step back and reflect on what I had been doing during the day and gave my mind a break from being focused on my project constantly. It was refreshing and made me appreciate the work I was doing more.”

The creative process involves research and experiences outside of fashion. “It is quite exciting when you’re just researching in random areas, whether it’s literature, architecture, or art, and then you find something and you’re like, wait, this is perfect for my project.” Amoros creates a fine art representation of her idea, which becomes 3D in her mind, and is then translated into the silhouettes and drapes of a design. Throughout the process, reflection is very important. “What is happening in my personal life? What is happening in my surroundings? What am I spending my time on? What am I looking at?” Despite being highly conceptual, Amoros’s designs are very connected to her personal life. Her graduate collection was inspired by the relationship between her room and herself. Looking at colours, materials, and objects surrounding her, she investigated the relationship between objects and people and thought about how she could reverse these roles, making objects more dynamic.

“My main focus was to see what the essence of my work would be and what the best way was to translate it. It didn’t cross my mind whether it would apply to the industry.” – Alba Mas Amoros

The design process was highly technical, focusing on the dichotomy between movement and stillness. One of the designs was scaled up a silver bead necklace, turning it into a moving part of the body. She also experimented with restricting the body with cutting techniques and discovered that merging the arms to the body of the sleeves meant the torso pattern would become one, and that if you narrow down the shoulders you’re unable to move the arms, without it being super visible and strapped down. “I like the sensibility of it and the subtleness of it. That was a very big word that I constantly kept in mind when working on my collection.” The clean and minimalist aesthetic meant it worked nicely when adding the collection to her portfolio. “My main focus was to see what the essence of my work would be and what the best way was to translate it. It didn’t cross my mind whether it would apply to the industry.”

Sustainability is important to the graduates’s ethos as a designer, and all the fabrics used were made from deadstock materials. One of the garments was covered completely in hair sourced from recycled wigs. Amoros created a bioplastic that could freeze the hair, giving it the appearance of stillness. The bioplastic was a great tool because it dissolved in water. “I wanted it to be a cycle where things get created and then dissolve again over time.”

“It was a big challenge to seek out a position that has a similar mindset to mine, where you still get time off to reflect and not just work 24/7.” – Alba Mas Amoros

Two weeks after graduating, the designer became a freelance design assistant for  Robert Wun’s London-based eponymous label, which joined the haute couture calendar this year. At Robert Wun, Amoros has been developing and applying skills in embroidery for Robert Wun’s upcoming couture collection, pattern-making, and garment-making. It is stressful being a designer with the cost of living in London, but she feels fortunate to be working every day with regular hours. “It was a big challenge to seek out a position that has a similar mindset to mine, where you still get time off to reflect and not just work 24/7.” In the future, Amoros would like to research further with the British Fashion Council and work long-term for a brand. “I’ve never wanted my own brand. So for me, finding a job and working for a house or for a designer has always been my goal.”

“The industry is not always the fairest with working hours and giving people the space to also take care of their mental and physical health. My final year at CSM was good practice at standing my ground because the industry standard is very different.” The graduate’s advice is that, “It can get hectic, but sometimes it’s just much more valuable to work intensely for a couple of hours and then give yourself a break to recharge for the next day.”