Maria Magdalena Spring Summer 2016
Maria Magdalena is Alejandra Jaime. She gave up law for fashion design. We Are Cattle, her début collection, can be summed up like this: “We are cattle to the powerful, pigs born to be fattened up and then devoured.” We interview her.
María Magdalena: “In the Bible it is identified by the adulterous woman from whom Jesus casts seven demons. To me she represents the sexism and inequality that women have always experienced. I wanted to praise her value, freedom and independence. What’s more, my maternal grandma, who I grew up with, was called María. It is also an homage to her.”
We Are Cattle: “My collection is a critique of power and the system, not of the individual. The human being is good by nature but, upon being born, a series of useless rituals await us that anaesthetise our essence. This vicious circle of learned behaviours makes us live our lives as if we were asleep the entire time. However, there is also a beautiful and inexhaustible energy that is released through education.”
Process: “I metaphorically related this idea to the figure of the pig, experimenting with it in my clothing. I also chose colours related to livestock (white, pink, yellow, black) and fabrics: mouflon, satin, synthetic leather, water repellent polyester, etc.”
Kitsch: “It is closely linked to my view of the world when I made the collection, all with a superficial and forced appearance. The straight and simple lines come naturally to me. When I was little I loved Sybilla and Moschino, I really have them in my DNA.”
Fashion: “Fashion demands that you are always on the ball with what’s new, but I try to do things my way. I don’t think there will be an aesthetic connection between my collections. I’ll try not to be boring and instead try to say something.”
Entering the industry: “My experience in the industry has been positive. I have had a lot of luck since I finished my studies. We Are Cattle is my first collection and with it I managed to get to South Cádiz, to Samsung EGO. I don’t have any sponsors and yet I won the DESENCAJA Andalucía de Moda competition. I’ve met wonderful people in the fashion industry and people who are less friendly, but I think that all sectors are like that. Even though it is still very much a hierarchical industry, there are platforms that are accessible to everybody.”
Influences: “I am greatly inspired by music and the cinema. We Are Cattle takes a lot of inspiration from Sevillian rap, Woody Allen, and even flamenco. I admire a lot of people, but a top three would have to be Pepe Mújica, Tote King and Manuel Molina”.
Style: “Lola Flores, Chavela Vargas, Lole Montoya. My mum.”
Hit 2016: “They say it’s going to be ‘chaos magic’ right? And boho chic is already everywhere. In the long term I see a return to timeless and slow fashion.”
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http://www.maria-magdalena.es
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Text: Carmen Cocina
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