On April 11th, the 3rd "The Value of Design" Forum, convened by IBERO, was held in the Franz Mayer Museum auditorium. The presentation featured design experts and alumni of the Universidad Iberoamericana, including Héctor Esrawe, Tanya Moss, Pep Palau, María Marín, Carmen Rion, Emiliano Molina, Maribel Martínez, Marcela Quintana, Mervin Cruz, and fashion designer Montserrat Messeguer.
Beginning with an introduction and profile of each of the speakers, the keynote address was the values and ways in which designers approach design in their practice.
Montserrat Messeguer explained the difficulties and possibilities of being an independent fashion designer in today's fashion industry, which is inclined toward accelerated consumption and production of clothing, better known as fast fashion .
IBERO: How have you dealt with competition from fast fashion?
MM: There's a new awareness among younger generations of consuming completely differently, of questioning and questioning. I think that through young people and connecting with celebrities who connect with them, we've spread the message that consuming local makes a difference.
We put our effort into talking about the responsibility of materials, where the leather comes from, why we use leather, talking about how it's a durable product that you can maintain, and how you'll use it many times.
For example, we also know that the resale value of a pair of cowboy boots is only 30% below what you bought it for, so it's a product that is valuable over time, and, brand or not, cowboy boots themselves are valuable because of their intrinsic craftsmanship.
Obviously, it's a plus to showcase the brand and the publications we've been fortunate enough to be in, but I think young people are questioning all these things, and at the same time, it's a bit contradictory because you find a Temu and a Shein among young people, but they're also realizing that a lot of their consumption is going towards secondhand, upcycling, and so on, and that's something we have very much in our DNA, and through that, we've connected with increasingly larger audiences.
Personally, I always try to show my values through the brand: I connect with having that special piece that you saved for, that you take care of, that maybe you had it repaired and that cost money but that you value enough, and I think that's what gives me a lot of purpose, people making memories with boots, that they are the boots you use in your experiences like festivals, backpacking, your summer...
