Meet ERIKA ALVAREZ

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful ERIKA ALVAREZ a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

ERIKA, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.

From the beginning of my path when I wanted to come to London to do Fashion I had important figures in family nay-sayers that I’m sure they love me and they were just trying to protect me saying things like “I think you shouldn’t do it”, “I think that’s very difficult”, “be realistic and stop dreaming that high” just to avoid seeing me fail. At the end I understood that were their limited thoughts talking.

However, I’ve always believed that we all have a life purpose to achieve and when you find out what is it no one can stop you. No even nay-sayers or haters and every time you want to quit you just remind yourself why you do why you are doing.

That was exactly my case, when I set my purpose and I knew I wanted to work in the fashion industry in London developing and sharing my creativity through products made with textiles and crafts from local towns in Mexico because part of my purpose is creating opportunities to those in my country that were born with lack of opportunities. I was completely sure that combine it with my skills, love for fashion and hard work will lead me to success.

But yeah, haters have been a big topic for me specially because in the era of social media where for the fashion industry Instagram play a crucial role, it has also been one of my biggest challenges. For most of the people Instagram is perceived as an egotistical world that serves to inflate people’s ego, the same as fashion that sometimes is perceived as an unnecessary industry built for materialistic people so imagine the struggle? For me those statements are definitely no true. Social media was created to tell stories, share moments, knowledge, connect with amazing people and much more positive contributions!

But being honest along the way I have had lot of haters, I don’t it take personally anymore now I know that are people with unresolved issues with themselves most of the time they’re mad at themselves for not following their purpose/dreams and for not trusting that is possible. If someone has told me before to remove from my life as soon as I could all those friends/family and people in my circle that are hidden haters, I think I could have had a faster progress but I guess is about learning the lesson, right?

I’m reconciled with the idea of being criticised, trolled or hated you can’t control people emotions neither perceptions.
What I really appreciate is constructive criticism coming from people that I know want to see me grow.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a fashion entrepreneur, born and raised in Mexico city, I arrived to London in 2012 after quitting my job in Mexico and change my stable financial life to chase my dream in Fashion. I did a Master’s degree in International Fashion Marketing at the British School of Fashion . After launching two collections and partnering with some brands to push Mexico’s arts and crafts in the UK and Europe, the unexpected happened and everything changed, the Pandemic. A challenging time for the fashion industry but a call to action for climate change. After I spent one year lockdown in London re-structuring my company business model I went back to Mexico and visited some indigenous communities to take the first samples of what will be her next project ‘Koua Studio’. I’m currently pushing initiatives which contribute to make fashion circular empowering at the same time local communities in Mexico. I believe in the power of collaboration I live up to my truest calling and aim to leave a footprint in the fashion industry but mostly in the artisan’s life. I have exciting plans for this 2024 but mainly for next season fashion week. I can’t wait to reveal all this but I will need to wait a bit more.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Define your purpose which is the “why” behind what you do because the journey will be tough sometimes and you need to be determined not to quit. How do you define it? simply respond to this questions: 1.What are you passionate about? · 2. What experiences in life have shaped me to do what I do? · 3. What values or morals are important to me? · 4. What legacy do you want to leave?

2. Collaborate. I believe in the power of collaboration as a way to grow specially in early stages when there is lack of resources, joining forces with other people who share the same values can lead you to success apart from expanding your networking which is very important.

3. Consistency. Most of the entrepreneur quit in early stages because they feel is not normal to be rejected many times or not to have those dreamy opportunities door opened straight away. You need to get used to rejection because our product/service is not for everyone and you need to get used to people saying No. It’s about timing and finding the right customers/partners. It’s about consistency.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, definitely! As I mentioned before I believe in the power of collaboration. I’m constantly looking for fashion designer who want to create unique collections with my handmade textiles brand Koua Studio and launch together creative campaigns. Please send us an email to pr@kouastudio.com or directly to me at erika@kouastudio.com.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
PIC 1 – photographer – @a.po.stile in collaboration with fashion label @anciela Pic 2 – Photographer – Miriam Danielsson / model : Kristina Grinkiewicz Pic 3- Example of Koua Studio textiles embroidered by artisans from San Andres Larrainzar, Chiapas. Pic 4 – I’m with two of the artisans Susana at the left and Catalina on the right. Pic 6 – Collaboration with Yo Misma / Photographer : Stevie ( @she.will.be.somethin) / model: Oshee Meriah Pic 7 – photographer – @a.po.stile in collaboration with fashion label @anciela Pic 8 – Photographer – Alex mayeye

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