A conversation with Sophia Martinez of Chavarri

To start off, I’d love to hear you describe what it is you do, and the main inspiration behind Chavarri and your most recent collection.

Chavarri is something that’s been in my head for years now, and that never fully developed until COVID happened and I had a pause in my life to accumulate some money, and I had some time to just dive into it. When I was younger, I’d be too scared to put myself out there. I cared too much about what people thought. At first I was into painting and fine art, that’s where I started. Then my uncle taught me graphic design.

My first love was always fashion. My first sewing machine was when I was 9 years old. The first thing I ever made was a plushie—I don’t know if you remember the plushie from Lilo and Stitch [laughs], that was the first doll I ever made. It’s funny that I’m making plushies now at 28 years old. Chavarri the name comes from my family; it’s my mom’s maiden name. She comes from an artistic family background. Like I said, my uncle taught me graphic design. My grandpa was a musician. He recently passed away, last year, due to diabetes and COVID. He was the glue of the family, so my family’s going through a lot right now. Although my family is large and artistic, they have some toxic traits. They’re also a Latino family. It’s a lot of emotions and drama and passion. I guess all those emotions are in Chavarri. I like soft, plushie things. Comfortable. But I also like brutalist architecture, and concrete, and stones, and vintage tech. I’ve always been fascinated by sci-fi. I love sci-fi movies. It gives me this butterfly feeling in my stomach, though. Like apocalyptic—all that stuff. When I first discovered Rick Owens, I was like, Oh my God, yes! And he’s Mexican as well. That’s my Chavarri birthing. 

In terms of my recent collection, It Feels Like Rain, I grew up in the South, where the summers are mostly rainy because of Hurricane Season. Those days I’d spend time in my room, being creative by myself. I just felt like that was the most honest state for me to start a collection. Because it’s soft. I love the rain, and being inside and cozy. It gives you time to think about life and be in the moment. I just felt like that was the right angle for my collection. I don’t really want to call it a collection officially, because it was only a few pieces. I would call it a capsule. I wanted to focus on being sustainable as well, because I go to fashion school at FIT, and I realized how important sustainability is. I never paid attention prior to starting school to how much waste there was in fashion. Once I realized and watched documentaries and read articles—it’s sad; it’s a nightmare. I don’t want to contribute to any of that. Fashion is already very elitist. I don’t want to add to what toxic energy is already in it. My goal is to add positive energy. My basis to start on that is being sustainable. That’s the least I can do as a designer. It’s not hard; it actually came out to be easier for me organically because I thrift a lot. I always see fabrics or pieces, and I’m like, You know what, I wish this looked like this. Or actually, I can make something out of this. You never know what you’re going to get at the thrift store. It’s so random. You go to the bed-sheet section, or the coat section, and it’ll always be something new. What’s even better, to me, is that a lot of it is older, so on top of it being sustainable, it’s vintage. I love that. 

As far as adding the military pieces into this capsule or collection—I don’t have a love for the military, at all. [laughs] I’m not giving my life to the government; I’m not signing my youth away for them. I don’t believe in war, stuff like that. I like the rugged-ish-ness of it; it’s very tactile. It’s simple. Military isn’t concerned about aesthetic look, it’s concerned about functionality. I’m obsessed with the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I’m obsessed with thrifting things and collecting. I wanted to make these shirts that were comfy, but also vintage. People like me that enjoy collecting things from the past could have something that was just completely altered and changed to be something for today. Modernized. 

You cite your use of self-sourced, sustainable fabrics as part of the foundation behind Chavarri. What do you hope to convey with this and future releases?

I answered some of this already, about the sustainable part of my fabrics—but for my future releases, I want to continue to use sustainable fabrics and encourage others to do the same, to add positivity into the fashion industry. I’m just going to continue doing it, and see how many things I make and where my imagination goes with it. I would love to be able to directly get vintage fabrics from Europe or Mexico in bulk. That would be amazing to me. For now, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, as far as sourcing my fabrics in the thrift store, and this place in Brooklyn called FabScrap, which is amazing. They take unused fabrics from large companies like Marc Jacobs and resell them at a reasonable price, for small designers. 

I really love the Femme Moth print. Such a strong image, but still really delicate. How did that come to be/what was the inspiration behind it?

The Femme Moth print; that’s a photograph I actually took of my friend, for the first capsule I did—when I just released the plushies. I took these photos of her in my studio, and I loved how they turned out. I was like, I need to make a graphic of this. So I made the graphic and put it on the military tees. I did her complete outfit, I took the photos and edited them. But like I said, my uncle taught me graphic design—which is what I wanted to do initially. But it was very boring to me, as far as a career path, so I went back to fashion. The inspiration behind [the print] is that I always had these dreams with butterflies flying, or that moths are on my skin. I’m covered in them. I just felt like it was only natural to add this insect into what Chavarri is. I like to say that it somewhat represents myself, because… you know how moths are not butterflies, but to people that look beyond, you can see their beauty? I feel I’m kind of like a moth, in a way. You have to get to know me, to see my beauty. I feel like with the people I’ve been surrounded by, it’s the same thing.

One of the things that immediately stood out to me was the quality workmanship of your pieces, especially for such a reasonable price point. What’s your approach to quality standards and control, especially when making multiples of the same design?

Thank you. I try to make things to the best of my ability. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist. I’m not going to make things that I would not wear. I expect the best quality out of the things that I buy, so I would not want that for the people that buy my stuff. I want them to treasure it. I want it to last long. As far as price point, I think that because I’m starting out, I’m trying to be as reasonable as I can with the amount of time and the cost of materials that it takes to make everything. I understand that we’re in a recession, all of that. But I also do not want to sell myself short, because the price point can affect how customers see you, you know? 

Although I make graphic prints and stuff, I don’t want people to confuse me with a hype- or streetwear brand, at all. That’s not my ethos, that’s not my thing. I enjoy streetwear for what it is; functionality and branding, stuff like that. But me creating my own brand with Chavarri, I’m inspired by designers like Rick Owens, Issey Miyake, who don’t usually use graphics—other than Rick Owens’ DRKSHDW line, but usually he doesn’t use graphics, and pays more attention to the silhouettes, fabrics, and colors of his designs. I want to focus on that, but add graphics in a very tasteful way. I used to be a graphic designer, and I used to be an artist. [laughs] Not used to be an artist, but I used to just focus on fine art, and draw things all the time, before I started sewing more. Imagery and iconography is very important to me. I know that’s not everybody’s taste. 

Before I send the pieces out, of course I have to inspect them, make sure everything’s perfect. For the Femme Moth t-shirts that I made, because they were vintage, I had to make sure they were washed, and I prepped them before printing. Because they’re a thermal material, I had to take all the pilling off the shirts because they were aged and already worn and used. After washing, I took the pilling off, and that took about 40 minutes per shirt, because I had to do the front, the back… those are the little things that I pay attention to, that I know the customers probably don’t see, but all of that is put into the pricing. I’m not just going to give them a worn shirt with a print on it like, Here you go.

I wanted to make sure that it was high quality. With the necklaces, with silver-smithing, the way I make them, if they don’t come out the way I like it—I’m not going to sell that one. It’s going to stay in my studio, unless I’m able to fix it. I’m not just going to make something that’s flawed and send it to a customer. I’m going to make sure it’s the best they can have. I do want the prices to go higher, because I want to use better materials in the future. It’s just going to get better from here, to be honest. [laughs] If people want my stuff, they should probably get it now, when I’m starting out, because I do want to raise the prices eventually.

I think releasing a line of accessories also broadens your appeal. Younger people, especially, seem to be really gravitating toward the accessories and merch side of fashion—as seen with designers like Mowalola. I love the Anxiety Keychains, and would totally use one. Also, the Hold Me Tight Plushies I could see being a major seller. What are your plans in terms of these facets of your project?

Since I was little, I always collected keychains. I loved having keychains on my bags, and pins and stuff. I used to be a little emo girl [laughs], so I would always go to Hot Topic and get all those little trinket things. I’d have a little collection on my table in my room. I just always loved little cute things, and I love making them for other people. I loved collecting plushies. I loved Hello Kitty and Kirby plushies—any cute plushie that I could find. I was always obsessed as a kid. I had such a big collection that my mom had to give a lot of them away. As an adult, I still like plushies, and I still buy them. They’re still in my room. I don’t plan on being like, Oh now I’m too old for them. To me, you don’t have to be a certain age to collect or want certain things. You do what you want. It’s also like, Why do I have to grow up and get rid of these things that I love? I think you should stay as a child as long as you can, because growing up sucks.

There’s something about having a plushie, or sleeping with one, or being surrounded by them. It’s like connecting with your inner child. I come from a lot of trauma, and I know there’s so many other people out there that have as well. One way to heal your inner child is to have a plushie, or something you can connect with that can bring back your innocence, or remember your innocence. That’s who I make them for: those people that suffer from anxiety or trauma. I hope they help people. The people that have purchased them, I hope it helps them in some way like that. 

I love Mowalola, they’ve really been hitting it with the culture… they ignited something in the culture that I love. The Anxiety Keychain, I actually use mine often. Starting school again, and being back in the New York Subway… I love messing with my fingers and touching stuff. I wanted to make an anxiety keychain, but chic. I added the horse hair and the little tech pieces that I hope really show it’s Chavarri.

I really want these tech pieces to be a part of my brand’s foundation. They definitely help to rub on it when I feel like punching something [laughs]. God, get me off this train. The plushies, I hope they become a seller. They’re very frustrating to make, I’m not going to lie. They have a lot of detail to them. I do expect to raise the prices on those, too. They take me three days to make. I don’t feel like the price point matches the amount of work that goes into a plushie. I know people expect plushies to be a little cheaper, but I don’t even think they should be cheap in general. Plushies are usually made in China, so they’re underpaid, but it takes a lot to make one. I want to keep making them for people, and I hope they help. I keep trying to make different things; different kinds of plushies or different kinds of keychains. There’s more to come. I’m not going to stop making those little accessories.

Who is someone you’d love to see in your clothes? 

Bella Hadid, of course. Doja Cat. Eartheater. Pink Pantheress. People in general that love fashion and clothes, and pay attention to the little things. Collectors. Those are the kind of people I want. People that understand my brand. There’s always going to be trend followers, but I want people that are going to buy my stuff and treasure it. I appreciate it.

How do you define sustainable fashion?

What I learned in fashion school is that sustainable fashion doesn’t really exist yet, because there’s not really a way to be 100% sustainable. Because either the factories are not being sustainable in their practices, or the way the cotton is made is not sustainable, or the linen. The transport of the fabrics is not sustainable, with gasoline or air travel. There are so many things that need to be fixed for anything to be 100% sustainable. We just have to do the best we can until those kinks are worked out. I think brands need to be more conscious of how much product they make. There’s usually a lot of overhead, where they make too many and they don’t sell, and they go to a landfill. Luxury brands throwing away their bags or destroying them because they didn’t sell—all of those things need to be stopped. There needs to be a fashion police [laughs]. There needs to be someone saying No, you can’t do that, you have to think about the planet. Somebody needs to hold these people responsible for their actions and their role in the Earth’s atmosphere and what’s happening all around—to the oceans…

What role do your surroundings play in your process? How does NYC influence your work?

I’ve lived around the East Coast a lot. I was born in Miami. I only lived there until I was two years old, but most of my family still lives there. My parents moved to Virginia, and from Virginia I moved to Maryland. Then I lived in West Virginia, then I lived in Virginia again. Then I moved to South Carolina. I lived there for 12 years. From there, I moved to Washington, DC/Maryland. From there, that’s where I decided to move to New York. I’ve lived around the East Coast. I thought New York was going to be better [laughs]. I thought it was going to be different. I didn’t know what to expect, besides what’s in the movies. In the movies they make it seem like all of New York looks like Manhattan. They don’t show Brooklyn, they don’t show the hood. They don’t show the Bronx. They don’t show how hard it is to live here. They just show the rich white people and their comfortable apartments, and the clean streets. I came here not knowing what to expect. 

Compared to the other places, I grew up with nature, and grass, and no traffic—well, not much traffic. Breathing room and space. Clean buildings. But then I come to New York, and it’s dirty, there’s homeless people. You see poverty. You see rats and garbage everywhere. Dirtiness. The trains… it was a cultural shift for me. I’m very spiritual and conscious of other people’s energies, so I get overstimulated sometimes. It hasn’t really gotten better since COVID. I’m hoping to overcome it, so I can finish school, but it has been hard. As far as New York’s aesthetics, and finding inspiration—it is here. But the inspiration is so small compared to the annoyance you have to struggle through and suffer through. 

I try to take the inspiration while I can, and treasure it, because there is so much I don’t like about New York [laughs]. If I was rich, and I lived in a penthouse, and I didn’t have to go anywhere that was gross, or deal with anything, or I could get Ubers everywhere, I’d probably have a different opinion. I find inspiration in the graffiti. My boyfriend did graffiti when we first met, and he told me about a lot of the artists he looks up to. Graffiti is amazing. Some of the architecture is inspirational. I guess some of the people that walk around can inspire me at times, and the fact that everybody is doing their own thing, even in cluttered spaces. 

I think I’ve been feeling lonely a lot recently, and I think that also inspired my first capsule collection. There’s a feeling of loneliness here, and numbness. There’s just so many people. It’s crazy that you’re always in a room full of people in New York, but you won’t talk to anyone the whole day. No one will talk to you, or approach you. I could go through the whole day without talking at all, but I’ll be surrounded by hundreds of people throughout the whole day, which is pretty crazy to me. A sense of loneliness. I guess I’m taking these negative aspects of New York and trying to turn them into something positive by being artistic and creative with it.

Is there anything you can tease to us about upcoming releases, opportunities, or collabs? I saw you post some knitwear on Instagram, which I have to say really excites me!

I’ve always loved knitwear. I’m plus-sized. My whole life I’ve had to rely on knit clothes— jersey knit, stretch clothes—or I wouldn’t be comfortable. Non-stretch clothes were my enemy. I was a chunky little girl growing up, and grew up into a plus-sized woman. Knitwear has always been there for me. There are so many different ways you can create it. I think when people hear “knitwear,” they just think of grandma sweaters, but literally everything is knitted. From tiny t-shirts… even though t-shirts are cut-and-sew, the fabric is still knitted. Leggings, stockings, socks—I can think of a million other things. There are so many designers that include knitwear into their clothing. It’s just an amazing way to wear clothes. I’m learning how to knit this semester at my school. I’m so excited for it. I have a million ideas for things that I can make. I want to make clothes for plus-sized women, in a tasteful, aesthetically pleasing way. The amount of awful clothing I have seen and had to wear. [laughs]

I remember back in the day, when skinny jeans first came out, I was in eighth grade. They did not make plus-size skinny jeans. I remember cutting the ankle part of my jeans and sewing them up to be skinny jeans. I literally had to make my own because they did not make them for women my size. That is literally my goal. My sister, actually, is studying interior design. I want to make a whole world of Chavarri: furniture, lamps, accessories… everything. One day, right. [laughs] But a little tease, I will be making knitwear. Probably not in the near future, because I want to be good at it and know what I’m doing before I sell them. Maybe in photoshoots, but like I said before, I want to give the best products to my customers. There is a little project I’m working on recently: I’m going to incorporate the tech pieces, the scrap pieces, into a little thong. I’m really excited for it. I have so many ideas on the photoshoot that I’m going to do with the thong.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

People doubt themselves too much—myself included. I think there’s just a big birthing, right now, of creative energy. It’s amazing, because others can inspire you, and you inspire others. Energy doesn’t die; it just passes on to another person. I think it’s important for other people that are creatives, when they feel that creative energy, that they make something and don’t allow it to fade away. It’s going to move into a different person. I think people should keep an eye out for these avant-garde designers, because they’re on to something. They’re not trying to follow the norms at all. They’re doing their own thing. As far as runway shows, too, they’re making it more of an experience, rather than just a robotic runway show where it’s all about content creators and influencers and buyers. It’s very artistic, and fluid.

For smaller designers, I just want to say, I don’t have help from anybody. I saved my own money to move to New York; I saved my own money to start my brand. You find a way, you know? The sustainable fabric helped a lot. If I just said I can only buy new fabrics, I probably would not have been able to make anything, because it’s so expensive. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I also take and edit all of my own pictures. All my models have been friends, or people that enjoy my work. For those people that are hesitant to start, go ahead and start, and do it the best way that you can. Don’t do it to the standards that you think other people expect from you. You can do anything that you put your mind to.