Constança Entrudo

Jo Rosenthal: Talk to us a little bit about how the brand got started and your background.
Constança Entrudo: It happened in a very spontaneous way. I would say that the brand started a couple of months after I graduated from Central Saint Martins and got an invite to showcase my graduate collection at Lisbon Fashion Week. This was something that was not in my plans at that time and even though the presentation went really well I felt I still wanted to have more experience in the industry and work for a bigger brand. So I decided to move to Paris and started working for Balmain. After some time, I moved back to Lisbon to be fully dedicated to the brand.

JR: What’s the design process like for you?
CE: It usually starts with a non-visual reference (a book, word, poem). For weeks I do research in archives, libraries and spaces like that. After that, I start translating those concepts into different textile techniques and materials. That is usually the longest part of the process (and the most enjoyable). The last step is finding solutions and figuring out how to adapt the materials I have generated onto the body.

JR: When does a collection feel ready to show?
CE: I guess it was Da Vinci who said an artwork is never finished, just abandoned. I honestly believe in this and I think that the feeling that I am never done with a collection when I present it is what keeps me going . That is why in a way I enjoy being part of the fashion system. It forces me to accept my designs at some point in order to respect deadlines and calendars.

JR: If you weren’t designing clothes, what would you be doing?  
CE: I’d be a teacher? My parents and most of my family works in education and I find it so meaningful and they’re lives are so inspiring.

JR: What are some of your favourite and least favourite things about the industry?
CE: The connection with other fields of work, the fact that it is an industry that gives you a lot of space to experiment and be yourself. I’d say that its  pace is what I am less happy about. It is good to a certain extent, I feel sometimes it is just a toxic system that consumes all your creativity.

JR: Who are some brands / artists / designers that inspire you?
CE: Sooo many. Miuccia Prada, Georgia O’Keeffe, Isa Genzken, Maria Callas, Hélio Oiticica, Michelangelo Antonioni, Fellini, Issey Miyake, Laurie Anderson, …

JR: Any advice for someone who wants to start their own brand?
CE: Have a purpose, be curious and never stop learning. Don’t take no for an answer and always look for incentives. Being a designer is about making mistakes, learning from them; it’s about opening possibilities.

JR: What are some hopes and dreams you have for the brand?
CE: To grow sustainably and to always stay true to my craft. I hope that my work can always inspire people to take themselves less seriously, to be free and fun.

JR: What are you working on right now?
CE: Right now we are working on different projects: on our ss21 collection that will be presented in Paris Fashion Week, on some custom made projects as well as designing costumes for a Theatre play directed by the choreographer Vera Mantero and performed by Dançando com a Diferença, and inclusive dance company.