SANTA CALATA is the Canadian-based, Peruvian brand with nudity and up-cycling at its core. Let me repeat that; nudity and up-cycling. The best combination ever, right?
Founder and Creative Director, Pamela Calderòn took the Quechua word for ‘naked,’ Calata, as the title for this re-imagination of nudity and design.
The brand is focused on up-cycling and takes vintage items, turning them upside-down. The TROUSERS TOP is made from cashmere trousers from the 70s and, look out, you may find someone’s gran’s coat is an ingredient in your new jacket.
Source: Latex Magazine
Actually, the first vintage treasures Pamela incorporated into her designs were donations of her grandparents’ clothes. She took the fibres, imbued with memory, and turned them into transgressive pieces. And then she never looked back…
Much like structural design rules, gender norms and codes of sexuality are thrown out the window with this label. A refreshing “up cycling for the body” emphasises the potential of our nakedness and not strict norms. Her deconstructed pieces and cut-out silhouettes invite the wearer (and watcher) to go beyond the typical imaginings for the human body.
Source: Latex Magazine
The brand’s imagery seems to shout, ‘Get naked and celebrate your body! Whoever you are, whatever your sexuality and gender.’ The idea being, taboos around nudity must be done away with. But, at the birth of SANTA CALATA, Pamela found herself in personal crisis (she told Latex Magazine). She had come to realise that her nudity had been considered taboo and too transgressive to be seen.
So she took the concept of nudity (simultaneously stripped-back and immensely complex) as the source of inspiration for her brand. Bringing a source of private shame for many into the public eye and calling for freedom of the body and soul.
Their online store is coming soon to the perfect 90s-themed website.
