Fantasia
Photographer: Pepe Molina
1. What significant life experiences or events have influenced and shaped your artistic vision?
In 2015, a life-changing moment happened when I met Gilles Ste-Croix and Monique Voyer. Gilles, along with Guy Laliberté, co-founded Cirque du Soleil—one of the most influential creative movements in the performance world—and Monique was one of its costume designers. After many years working with Cirque, they moved to Mexico and founded El Circo de los Niños de San Pancho, a social circus project focused on teaching circus arts to children in the community. I had been a Cirque du Soleil fan since childhood, so realizing I was working with two of its foundational creators felt surreal.
One night, Monique shared stories about Dominique Lemieux, the visionary costume designer who shaped Cirque du Soleil's aesthetic. She told me that Dominique didn’t just design costumes—she created characters. That idea was revolutionary for me. I realized costume design wasn't only about clothing; it was about storytelling, identity, and transformation.
Later, I met Dominique in person at San Pancho. I nervously showed her my work and told her how her designs had inspired me since I was a child. She was warm and generous, and that conversation stayed with me. When she passed away last year, I felt a deep loss, but also gratitude for how profoundly her work shaped my artistic path.
2. Collaboration often sparks fresh creativity. Can you share an example of a collaboration that led to an unexpected and exciting artistic outcome?
I've had a long and inspiring collaboration with illustrator Juan Batta—we’ve been creating together since we were teenagers. His surreal, expressive style always brings a unique perspective to our projects. Recently, we’ve also worked with textile designer Itzel Gutiérrez, combining watercolor illustrations with fabric sublimation techniques.
For one of our latest pieces, we played with scale and texture by designing oversized floral elements that exploded across garments—almost like wearable gardens. It was an exciting creative experiment that blurred the lines between costume, sculpture, and fashion. This technique inspired a new direction I’m exploring now for a full fashion collection, integrating storytelling into textile development itself.
3. Walk us through a specific project that challenged your creative boundaries. How did you approach it, and what did you learn from the experience?
One of the most intense and fulfilling projects I’ve worked on was designing over 500 costumes for Mexico City’s Day of the Dead Parade in 2021. It’s one of the most iconic cultural celebrations in the country, and I felt a huge responsibility to honor the tradition while also offering something new and meaningful.
We had less than two months to complete the entire production, in the middle of the pandemic. My team and I developed original fabrics through sublimation, created hundreds of masks—including calaveras and alebrijes— and designed elaborate headpieces and props for every float and performer.
The process was both exhausting and beautiful. I reconnected deeply with my childhood memories of Día de Muertos—of altars, stories, and symbolism. I imagined all the children who would be watching the parade and hoped to give them the same magic I felt when I was their age. It reminded me of the power of costume to build community and evoke memory.
4. In the ever-evolving art world, what do you believe sets your work apart and makes it unique or groundbreaking?
I think what sets my work apart is my ability to blend fantasy with emotional depth and personal transformation. I don’t just design garments—I build characters and entire worlds around them. My pieces often explore themes of trauma, healing, mythology, and nature. I see my characters as extensions of my own journey and psyche. Stylistically, my work is known for vibrant color, complex textures, and hybrid forms—merging animal, plant, and human elements. I’ve spent over 13 years refining techniques that allow me to manifest dreams, memories, and internal landscapes into physical designs. I meditate a lot as part of my process, and many of my designs begin as images that emerge from those meditations.
I’m constantly trying to push beyond the limits of the human body—creating post-human silhouettes and experimental garments that feel both ancient and futuristic.
5. As you reflect on your journey, are there any specific goals or milestones you've set for your artistic career in the coming years?
I’m currently working on creating a new performance space—something intimate and immersive—where I can direct and present my own shows. After years of designing for other productions, I’ve realized how much I love building an entire creative universe: from the characters and costumes to the story, set, and movement. This new space will be a creative lab where I can blend all my passions: circus, fashion, makeup, writing, performance, and costume design. I want it to feel like stepping into a dream. I’m also developing my first illustrated book with Juan Batta, which will feature characters from my previous works, each with their own fairy tale, legend, or myth. It’s a personal, multidimensional project that reflects my evolution as both an artist and a woman.
6. How did you discover Mob and what made you choose us?
Mob has been such a rich source of inspiration for me. I love how the platform curates artists who work on the edge of fashion, performance, and storytelling. What really stands out is how Mob fosters community—not just between designers and models, but between visions and possibilities.
It’s refreshing to see a platform that supports alternative voices and dares to explore the poetic, the strange, and the beautifully wild. I chose Mob because it feels like home—like a place where costume, fashion, and art can fully collide and flourish.
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An imagined ecology—bodies adorned in blooms and fungi, where nature reclaims the silhouette in a surreal tale called 'Fantasy.
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Model: Sofia Lozoya Spinoso
Photographer: Pepe Molina
Makeup Artist: Feerguerra
Model: Elpy amsler
Costume Designer/Creative Director/Accessory Designer: Sol Kellan