Abiding. Thesis collection

ARGENTINIAN FASHION DESIGNER

Mailén Sanchez Alleno Graduated from ABM Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Born 1993.

Buenos Aires - Malmö based.

Specialized in sustainability, zero waste garments, upcycling materials, repurposing elements.

After graduating with honors, Mailén became Assistant for Visual Artist and Fashion Designer Delia Cancela. They worked together in her atelier and also in ABM, teaching and coaching last year students along the process of their projects.

Her work began as an experimental process to explore self-expression, but soon she developed her commitment to creating long lasting fashion.

She took part for different internships in two Argentinian fashion brands. Here, for the first time, she gained insights of the creative & productive process from an industrial perspective. This experience reinforced her will to work consciously and slower, aiming for quality.

Up to this day, she is still focused on developing crafting techniques to apply to her work and also raising awareness about the need for a more conscious, constructive and smarter fashion.

THESIS COLLECTION

Abiding.

A carefully crafted collection with a total of 34 hand made pieces, using mainly up-cycled materials gathered from donations, waste fabric from a local chair factory, second-hand stores and Salvation Army.

In this process, she perfected her previous hand draping, embroidery and loom knitting skills to use them as powerful, embellishing & transforming tools.

This research and experimental period led her to build these history-resembling garments, based on the longlasting quality of the chosen materials.

"Abiding" is inspired by daring to link the legacy of fashion and textile history, with this present we are currently writing.

Hand made and hand stiched mono piece with knitted straps.

Re-cycled cotton fabric. Rescued waste from a local chair factory. .

Shoes: @bananafishzapatos

Coat-shirt. Cotton + rescued Rib. Cotton mono piece with ruffles and knitted staps. Zero waste garment.

Right: Zero waste tunic made from two types of cotton.

Before starting the constructive process, there was a conscious choice to work with tapestry fabric, due to its quality and intrinsic intention to last through time.

The collection consists of 34 individual combinable pieces, most of them based on a unique maxi size that fits each body uniquely.

The pieces welcome the user to comfortably inhabit them.

The pattern selection sets the mind free from gender structures. Tunics, over-shirts, coats and leggings were chosen for its unisex features, and made from zero waste patterns.

The Gardens

These pieces were the result of the most experimental part of the constructive process.

Built with the purpose of training zero waste patterns on the making, the pieces were created and shaped on real bodies, optimising versatility and adaptation. An innovative and timeless mix between geometrical-organic silhouettes, embellished with hand draping and embroidery techniques.

male head/ female body/ male body/ female head/ body. head. / /

Celebrating our present, this looks aim to go beyond the labels built through history on what is masculine or feminine. Colours and silhouettes combined to break down old patterns and mandates.

The pictures exposed here show a selection of the main pieces illustrating a few of the wide possibilities this collection has to offer.

The "autonomous"

These giant, multiple use-wool pieces were the result of an extended upcycling process.

23 damaged sweaters were selected to be re-purposed. The intervention turned them into new yarn that was re-knitted into new shapes, giving new opportunities.

A giant Maya-loom was built to serve this process and fit the requirements of the material.

Contact / sanchezalleno@gmail.com https://www.notjustalabel.com/sanchez-alleno. https://www.instagram.com/mailensanchezalleno/.

+46 0768838616 Malmö, Sweden. +54 91123982982 Buenos Aires, Argentina

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In 2019, Abiding was shown in Biblioteca de Mujeres within the "Camino a la sustentabilidad" exhibition from Delia Cancela.

Printed tunic over a cotton shirt.

Hand imprinted & knitted whool jumper.

Hand drapped ribb dress

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THANKS TO:

Delia Cancela (art directior).

Paula Baiguera (on camera).

Santiago Craus (model).

Jasmin (model).

Wenceslao Maza (editorial collab). / /