Interview by Mia Kingsley – Photography by Helio Reguera – Make-up by Itzel Sanclemente – Styling by Ahida Agirre – Modelled by Isobel
For this weeks ‘Mia Meets…’ I will be chatting to designer Ahida Agirre. Raised in the country side Ahida’s heart is close to home but at the age of 18 an adventure was much needed, since then she has conquered fashion school, created her very own brand and become one of the top creative girls on the scene today. We discuss everything from her upcoming waterproof collection to her love for Japanese style, pastel palettes and pyjama parties! Meet the wonderful Ahida Agirre…
Hey Ahida! Tell us a little bit about your self, how was it growing up in the Basque Country?
I was born in 1988 and grew up in a town called Mungia in Bizkaia, which is a valley surrounded by green mountains. These mountains are full of countryside style houses that we call ‘baserri’ in Euskera, our own language which we don’t know its origin but there is some theories about this, doesn’t come from Latin and it’s not even European. My grandparents and many friends live in ‘baserris’ and I remember spending the weekends playing around and having amazing food. When my friends and I were teenagers, we used to spend weekends sleeping over and wearing hilarious pyjamas. It was a very happy time.
What made you move to Barcelona when you were 18?
Living in a town is very comfortable but it wasn’t very stimulating for me, I wanted to have an adventurous time and meet new people. So I moved to Barcelona to study Fashion Design and then I stayed there for an extra three and half years half after I finished my studies and kept learning and establishing my brand.
You moved to London last October, nearly a whole year! How has your time been?
London is a very hard city, big and rainy, but it’s very open minded and creative. It also inspires me a lot. I have met amazing people like Maria Pizzeria, Arvida Byström or Miss Paola Vivas. There are so many things happening here, events, great artists, so many dreamy magazines and zines, cool brands… So I love it here, but it’s an expensive city to live in!
Your currently taking part in loads of creative projects, you keep popping up everywhere! Tell us a bit about your creative self..
As I said before, London is a very open minded city and it has opened my mind too. I’ve left my creative self to fly and have been doing exactly what I wanted. Since I got here I’ve also explored styling and collaborations in many creative projects that you can check on www.ahidaagirre.tumblr.com
Did you ever imagine you would start up your own clothing brand?
When I was in the last year of Fashion School I started to feel like I wanted to be a ‘young designer’, work on my own stuff and build up my own universe. When I finished my final project a friend of mine, Dani Melo, made the logo for the labels for my first collection and I have just kept doing what I like and making clothes since then.
Tell us about ‘Ahida Agirre’ what is the aesthetic your aiming for with the designs? What inspires you?
I have always been inspired by Japanese fashion and magic. Pastel colors, glitter and oversize are my thing. I also like screen printing and embroidering, I really love the hand made vibe. I also love playing with shapes, color and fabrics.
Working for Superhero mag must be really fun, what is your role there?
I’ve been contributing at Superhero Mag for some months now. What I do is post unpublished works from other creatives ( you can email me at [email protected] ) and my own pictures and experiences. Sometimes we are asked to create some images under a theme, and that’s so much fun, I love meeting new designers and shooting their collections.
From styling to designing, you do a bit of everything, what is your favourite so far?
My favourite is designing, of course, I’m a designer even if I spend much of my time creating images for other brands. I think it’s alright to share my imaginary through clothes or images.
If you could collaborate with any artist who would it be and why?
I want to collaborate with so many people!
How would you describe your style in 3 words?
Pastel, oversize & fairy
Who do you admire?
Krizia Robustella
What is next for you Ahida, any exciting projects we should be looking forward to??
I’m launching my new collection soon, which is waterproof and very practical. I’m also exhibiting in Doomed Gallery with my boyfriend Helio at the launch party of Polyester Zine on the 9th of september.RSPV and say hi!
Thanks so much Ahida!! Good luck with the new collection and see ya on the 9th 😉 If you want to check out more of Ahida’s work follow these links:
As for interviews, you can read all previous ‘Mia Meets…’ here and for more Mia check out the links below…
cargocollective.com/miamagnoliakingsley
miamagnoliakingsley.tumblr.com
Until next time have a wonderful week! xxx
