soul purpose
Uruguay-born, New York-based designer Gabriela Hearst’s eco-conscious pieces appeal to Hollywood and socially minded women in equal measure
Gabriela Hearst’s passion for the environment is resulting is some truly innovative designs.
Upon entering designer Gabriela Hearst’s studio in New York, her brand vision is immediately obvious: pairs of almond-shaped espadrilles line the stone floors, while aloe-infused linen from Hearst’s sustainably minded resort 2018 collection dangles from a rose-gold clothing rack in a corner. Her wildly in-demand Nina and Ella bags are rested on marble slabs, next to a book about US revolutionary group the Black Panther Party (the pages of which are filled with images of Hearst’s AW17-18 muse, activist and writer Angela Davis). The arrangement sends a message: this clothing line is full of purpose.
The 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize winner’s environmentally friendly wares have, in less than three years, attracted a global customer base of smart sybarites. From Lady Gaga wearing Hearst’s leopard-print coat and matching trousers to Emma Watson in head-to-toe red by the label and Lena Dunham opting for one of her off-theshoulder designs for a political convention, the designer creates pieces that move with game-changing women. “I’m thinking of the woman in action, who wants to look sharp, sexy and strong,” says Hearst, a former model. “I leave enough detail to make it interesting, but give her the element that she needs to do what she needs to do.”
Growing up on her family’s sheep farm in South America, Hearst developed an eye for quality. Still, it wasn’t until her late thirties, after studying acting and creating her first line, Candela, that she says her vision came into focus. She began her new label based on a passion for women, environmentalism and politics. Her interests are inseparable from her work – evidenced by the recycled Loro Piana knits she used in her AW17-18 collection, the “Ram-ovaries” jumper she designed for Planned Parenthood and the biodegradable shopping bags she’s working on as we speak. “There are so many big things happening in the world right now that I want to contribute to the positive,” she says. Ever the feminist, Hearst couldn’t find fault in First Lady Melania Trump wearing a dress of hers, despite the ideological differences between the designer and the US President.
It’s almost poetic, then, that an eco-conscious, pro-women immigrant, who received her US citizenship just a week after the presidential election last year, is an easy contender to take over the country’s lagging luxury fashion market. Hearst held her first formal fashion show earlier this year to much praise, and is working on opening a flagship store that is bound to be a success for her and her team of predominantly women. “You know it’s the right choice when it benefits more than you,” she says.