Sexual awakening materialised: the fantastic world of Juan Camilo Rodriguez’ countryside boy

“I had a clearer idea of what I was trying to do after those two years. Somehow it helped my collection to mature within my imagination.”

Originally from the pacific area of Colombia but raised in Bogotá, Juan Camilo Rodriguez studied design and fine arts at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá before dropping out to pursue a career in fashion. Before his move to Barcelona to study fashion design at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), he did some styling for short films made by his friends and soon discovered his intense enjoyment. Therefore, he took a break for a full two years of his studies in Spain to fully concentrate on styling before returning to design his graduate collection. “I had a clearer idea of what I was trying to do after those two years. Somehow it helped my collection to mature within my imagination,” Juan shares.

For the designer, inspiration stems purely from feelings either evoked by a book, poem, phrase or by something as simple as an experience in his life that “moved something inside” of him. Describing himself as a sensitive person, the process of designing is very personal and intimate to him as he materialises the imaginative world he constructed in his mind. “I come up with a story, write it down and try to imagine the aesthetic of this world, the characters that inhabit it, and how their life within this world is. Sometimes those characters are me, sometimes they’re just moods, feelings or colours that represent that moment in life for me,” he explains.

Entitled ‘Fantasies and Erotic Dreams of the Countryside Boy’, Juan’s graduate collection is about the sexual flourishing of a boy who’s growing up within the boundaries of tradition and sexuality in the countryside. “He lives and discovers his sexuality through his surroundings – flora and fauna – and enters a world where all these elements create a sense of sexuality and mental awakening for him,” he says. His research was widespread, yet all within the realm of the arts and his home country’s culture. Indigenous tribes, homoerotic photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden, the art of Georgia O’Keeffe, botanic illustrations of the expedition of the Nuevo Reino de Granada (Colombia during the colonial era), and himself were all references he used. Alongside that, there were questions the designer posed to better understand his countryside boy. How does he explore himself and his sexuality? What do his wet dreams look like?

Combining silk and velvet with artisanal crochet and synthetic fabrics that would structurally bring Juan’s fantasies alive, wide-legged trousers tailored to fit perfectly around the waist are worn with a variety of tops. Skin tight, ripped long sleeves beneath voluminous tops resembling a blooming red flower, blouses with puffy sleeves finished with broad cuffs, and delicate fabric densely draped around the torso all effectively emphasising an adolescent boy’s body, still somehow showing traces of a feminine figure. The designer’s personal favourites are a corset and pair of trousers in floral velvet embroidered with Swarovski crystals, which unfortunately didn’t get to be shown due to the pandemic.

The making of Juan’s graduate collection was affected by the global health crisis as he struggled with the lack of resources and equipment. He also wasn’t able to travel to France or Germany for styling jobs, which were subsequently done remotely over Zoom. “It’s just not as fulfilling because touch and interactions with the team are one of the key aspects that both disciplines [design and styling] share,” he says.

“I think that the most important thing I’ve learned is that you can’t do everything by yourself. There’s always something you can learn by working as a team, and there’s so many ways that creative processes happen.”

His studies at Barcelona’s IED have been a time of personal growth where he was shaped by his classmates and teachers as well as their individual ways of working. “I think that the most important thing I’ve learned is that you can’t do everything by yourself. There’s always something you can learn by working as a team, and there’s so many ways that creative processes happen.” Juan continues, “In the end, it all depends on how open you are to people and experiences to make yourself grow and how you apply those lessons not only to your work, but also to your life.”

His advice to new students venturing into fashion? “Be true to yourself, but be open to new ways of working. Be disciplined but also fluid. Find yourself and what’s best for your creativity to grow and be expressed freely.” For Juan himself, it’s been a continuous learning process. He has been styling for seven years and yet, he doesn’t feel he’s halfway to the point where he wants to be. “Fashion is always changing. I think you have to keep doing things so that you never fall behind, to keep learning, keep researching and keep growing,” he says, adding how he constantly adds to his reading list to explore new techniques and find inspiration.

“The never-ending overproduction is disguising itself amongst campaigns of diversity or eco-friendliness.”

In his opinion, the fashion industry is consumed by fast fashion. “The never-ending overproduction is disguising itself amongst campaigns of diversity or eco-friendliness,” he says. “I think fashion should start looking at other parts of the world and learn from what they’re doing there. I know a lot of brands in Latin America that have not been able to project themselves outside of their country and grow, just because there’s still this stigma that everything is in Paris, London, Milan and New York. The few that manage to go to the fashion capitals are a very small percentage.”

Juan’s journey from art student to fully-fledged stylist and upcoming designer shows how interconnected and multidisciplinary the path of fashion can be. One discipline always informing the other, his success lies in his ability to approach his work from various angles. His vast research and feeling for matching yet effectively contrasting colours and cuts are reflected in his graduate collection that explores complex themes of adolescence and sexual awakening.