JCPAJARES, the designer of Georgina's green dress who dreams of dressing Letizia: "It's great that I trust a small brand"
The dress is the 12th look of the Annual 21.22 collection that she presented at Madrid fashion week under the umbrella of Madrid es Moda and that she later took to the Tranoi fair in Paris, held at the Palais of Tokyo from the French capital. The collection has 65% sustainable garments materialized in recycled, organic and untreated fabrics, made with green energies and natural fibers. The aesthetic is very reminiscent of the nineties, like the unique side neckline of Georgina's dress.
Pajares, who has his workshop on Calle Torija, near Madrid's Gran Vía, has always been attracted to fashion and the advertising campaigns of big brands. He began by sewing his own sports dance costumes, and those of his partners in competitions, with a machine that his aunt lent him “inventing the patterns”. Some time later, he graduated with honors from the ESD in Madrid and was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London. Sarah Jessica Parker made her dream of fashion in her childhood (“I would love to dress her,” she confesses) and she aspires to reach Queen Letizia: “Her most groundbreaking looks fascinate me,” she says.
With an industry undergoing transformation, this is a pivotal time for small brands. “The public is changing its concept of luxury and associates it with exclusivity and craftsmanship, not so much with a price. People begin to understand what products to order are and understand that there is a team behind working on their piece. Our values are very clear: I believe in conscious consumption and production fashion. Less and better, fair trade, sustainability, exclusivity and care for the environment”, he says.
“The Internet and the RRSS have opened gigantic doors to everything. In fact, today we send two packages outside of Spain; Egypt and Canada and I still do not understand how it is possible to reach those corners”, he assures. He tells us that he has always loved the work of Nicolas Ghesquière and Raf Simons, and his “teachers” were Antonio and Juan Carlos, from The 2nd Skin Co.: “I started with them before embarking on this hard and happy journey,” he recalls. Today he sells through his online store and in some multi-brand stores, and one of the keys to his success is in adapting garments from the collection to clients in his workshop. Pajares has a team of about eight people between the workshop, pattern making, management and communication: "Almost all the staff is subcontracted, fashion seasons are very unstable and you have to be very ant-like, but we are a complete team," he acknowledges. "Since 2016 I have been working on my brand and I live from it, for me it is a luxury and a dream with its ups and downs, this business is a roller coaster and it is very hard coming from a humble family without 'sponsors' or investors".
