Hello and welcome back! Today I have a special post for you guys!
You may remember back in September, when I posted about Charlotte Fashion Week (Part 1) I mentioned designer Juan Rivera being one of my favorite designers of the night. He closed out the final two nights as a matter of fact! His designs were breathtaking and unique, but he also had such a great energy about him! I was able to connect with Juan afterwards both nights and I got to learn about him! I am happy to be able to share his story with you today!
You may remember back in September, when I posted about Charlotte Fashion Week (Part 1) I mentioned designer Juan Rivera being one of my favorite designers of the night. He closed out the final two nights as a matter of fact! His designs were breathtaking and unique, but he also had such a great energy about him! I was able to connect with Juan afterwards both nights and I got to learn about him! I am happy to be able to share his story with you today!
Juan Rivera was born in Santa Tecla, El Salvador and lived there until the age of 14. From a young age, Juan was interested in design due to his mother making clothes at home. "I grew up watching my mother experiment with fabrics," he says, "and it was absolutely fantastic!" He recalled her even making him an entire outfit for his Kindergarten!
We want pictures of it, Juan! xD
All kidding aside, Juan's family and friends are close knit. In fact, he dedicated the Galeria Dalia line to his late mother and his Juan Jose Style line to his brother. He also met many close friends when he moved to Los Angelas at 14 to attend school, and he is still close with many of them to this day. "Behind the scenes I have a huge group of people supporting me," he told me. "Starting with my loving husband and my amazing siblings!"
We want pictures of it, Juan! xD
All kidding aside, Juan's family and friends are close knit. In fact, he dedicated the Galeria Dalia line to his late mother and his Juan Jose Style line to his brother. He also met many close friends when he moved to Los Angelas at 14 to attend school, and he is still close with many of them to this day. "Behind the scenes I have a huge group of people supporting me," he told me. "Starting with my loving husband and my amazing siblings!"
As a creator myself, I really enjoy hearing about their creative process. How they come up with ideas, what inspires them, how long it takes to bring visions to life, etc. Every creator's process is different, and hearing about it is like getting a glimpse into who they are! "Pageants influence a great deal of my work," Juan explained, "I have been watching Miss. Universe since as long as I can remember." After seeing his line of gowns that were shown at Fashion Week, I fully believe this! They were so elegant and stunning; it was very pageant-like!
Juan went on to say that another big influence comes from his brother. "My youngest sibling has a great vision in how he wants to be seen by the world, and I make it happen," Juan told me. Those maybe the two biggest influences for Juan but he finds inspiration in a plethora of other things like aromas, paintings, passed experiences, and textures.
Next Juan visualizes what he wants. "Ideas will pop into my head when I least expect it. Sometimes it is in a dream or a phrase I hear." What surprised me to hear is that Juan does not sketch! Well rarely anyway. "I hardly ever sketch; all the ideas are in my head." In my opinion that just makes his designs all that more impressive and personal. You're seeing/getting designs straight from Juan's own imagination. It hasn't been seen or altered by outside influences/opinions. It is a genuine, Jone-of-a-kind Juan Rivera piece!
So, how long did it take to bring his visions to life? "These last two lines; Galleria Dalia and Juan Jose Style took about three months," he explained, "we created about thirty-six looks." Unfortunately, due to things outside of his control, not all of designs made it to the runway.
That's okay Juan! I visualize us becoming good friends and one day having lunch and you'll show me all the never-before-seen looks! How's that sound? ;)
Juan went on to say that another big influence comes from his brother. "My youngest sibling has a great vision in how he wants to be seen by the world, and I make it happen," Juan told me. Those maybe the two biggest influences for Juan but he finds inspiration in a plethora of other things like aromas, paintings, passed experiences, and textures.
Next Juan visualizes what he wants. "Ideas will pop into my head when I least expect it. Sometimes it is in a dream or a phrase I hear." What surprised me to hear is that Juan does not sketch! Well rarely anyway. "I hardly ever sketch; all the ideas are in my head." In my opinion that just makes his designs all that more impressive and personal. You're seeing/getting designs straight from Juan's own imagination. It hasn't been seen or altered by outside influences/opinions. It is a genuine, Jone-of-a-kind Juan Rivera piece!
So, how long did it take to bring his visions to life? "These last two lines; Galleria Dalia and Juan Jose Style took about three months," he explained, "we created about thirty-six looks." Unfortunately, due to things outside of his control, not all of designs made it to the runway.
That's okay Juan! I visualize us becoming good friends and one day having lunch and you'll show me all the never-before-seen looks! How's that sound? ;)
So, after all of the hard work it is finally showtime! I distinctly remember the first night Juan's designs hit the runway. After dedicating it to his mother and then the graceful show that followed, and then his joyous walk down the runway, Juan looked like he had tears in his eyes! I know I had tears in mine! The second night, the show had me up on my feet dancing and cheering on Juan! His walk down the runway that night was triumphant!
I had to know how those moments felt for him! "It was very exciting to see the line on the runway," he smiled, "It was a dream come true! My family and my country were so proud of me, it made me smile big!"
At the end of the day, most would agree that the show was a rousing success for Juan. But that does not mean it was not without its' fair share of hiccups. Even those did not get Juan down though. Instead, he turned those hiccups into learning experiences. "I learned that I can only control what's under my control. I learned to trust my instincts and to not let people push their agenda on me," he told me. Wise words! Those are things I still struggle with from time to time, so hearing that really spoke to me.
I had to know how those moments felt for him! "It was very exciting to see the line on the runway," he smiled, "It was a dream come true! My family and my country were so proud of me, it made me smile big!"
At the end of the day, most would agree that the show was a rousing success for Juan. But that does not mean it was not without its' fair share of hiccups. Even those did not get Juan down though. Instead, he turned those hiccups into learning experiences. "I learned that I can only control what's under my control. I learned to trust my instincts and to not let people push their agenda on me," he told me. Wise words! Those are things I still struggle with from time to time, so hearing that really spoke to me.
Currently Juan has two collections that will be showing next year. "Galleria Dalia will present some cocktail dresses," he says, "and Juan Jose Style is still in the creative process." I am already ready to mark my calendar for it! But what is Juan's ultimate dream? "The ultimate goal is the have shops full of my designs," he says, "and to make people smile when they wear our garments."
I feel certain this is a goal you are going to meet, Juan! I really loved seeing your designs at Fashion Week and I am so glad to have gotten to know you better for this post! I cannot wait to see more from you! You've got a friend in me! =)
If you want to see more from Juan, you can follow him on Instagram at Juanjosestyle!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! =)
I feel certain this is a goal you are going to meet, Juan! I really loved seeing your designs at Fashion Week and I am so glad to have gotten to know you better for this post! I cannot wait to see more from you! You've got a friend in me! =)
If you want to see more from Juan, you can follow him on Instagram at Juanjosestyle!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! =)
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