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The Art of Girlhood: Fashioning Youth Culture with Lucila Safdie
NCO 050
2023-04-17
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by
0xB6734B4E01D1cD9A626efD6c86F031cBbF9B4936

N: Hi, Lucila! It's a pleasure to chat with you. Having recently graduated from Central Saint Martins and released your debut collection, "Lick the Star," you're at an exciting point in your career. We'd love to learn about your background. Where did you grow up, and how did your passion for fashion begin?

L: I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I lived there until I was 18, and then moved to London to do my foundation at Central Saint Martins. It's hard to pinpoint a specific time when I started to be interested in fashion, but my idea to study it, I think, began when I was a teenager and was reading about fashion universities in the Teen Vogue handbook. It sounded like a fun idea.


N: Nostalgia and the Y2K aesthetic have captured considerable attention in recent years. However, your work seems to draw more from the early 2010s, reminiscent of the late "Gossip Girl" era, the Tumblr years, and the beginnings of Instagram. Would you say this is accurate? Are there any specific fashion eras that you reference in your designs?

L: I don't think I specifically referenced an "era" when I was making the collection, but it's more about the feeling of "girlhood," if that makes sense, and being inspired by girl culture.

I was a teenager in the 2010s, and my work is mainly about those years in life, so inevitably I drew a lot of references from that decade. When I was younger, I would spend hours and hours on Tumblr (I still do), and have rewatched "Gossip Girl" maybe like a million times, so it does make sense that there is a big influence of that on the collection.

N: Your creations seem to delve into the concept of "girlhood." One of your shirts features a quote from Jeffrey Eugenides' novel, The Virgin Suicides, which was later adapted into a film by Sofia Coppola – an artist you've cited as an inspiration. What sparked your interest in exploring this theme?


L: “The Virgin Suicides" is one of my favorite books, as well as one of my favorite movies. It has always been influential in my life, so it made sense to use it as a starting point for my first collection.

Also, I think the story hugely defines what being a young girl is about. I don't necessarily think the collection matches the movie from an aesthetic point of view, but it's more about the general meaning behind it.

N: Apart from Coppola, could you share some other references or inspirations that have shaped your work?


L: Yes! I'd say the biggest references for me include Lucrecia Martel, Elaine Constantine, Lauren Greenfield, Hiromix, Harmony Korine, Corinne Day, Richard Kern, and of course, Miuccia Prada.

N: Lucila, it's been a pleasure conducting this interview with you. I believe you have a bright future ahead. Looking back on your journey so far, what is one accomplishment you're particularly proud of, and where do you envision taking your career in the future?

L: I’m not completely sure, but really, I just want to keep making clothes and see what happens from there.


All images courtesy of Lucila Safdie.
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