“Day to day I can’t believe anything that happens to me” says Helena Dakak (30) excitedly, between racks full of her own creations.
From designing and making the first garments of his brand in his department in Buenos Aires, to hold two shows at BAFWeek and opening her own store on Avenida Córdoba, in less than two years the life of the designer from Salta changed completely.
When asked about the origin of his love for fashion and his decision to dedicate himself to design, he cannot remember an exact moment.
“I always loved clothing. and everything that is related to the world of art,” he remembers and highlights the influence of his mother. “She let me put together my own looks, my own clothes. “She always accompanies me.”
With that support from his family, when he finished high school, he moved to Buenos Aires to study. fashion production at the University of Palermo, although his desire to dedicate himself to design grew every day. However, taking the step of entrepreneurship was not a simple process.
“I wasn’t encouraged. She was afraid. Internally she told me: ‘What do I do if I dedicate myself to what I like and it doesn’t go well?’” Despite her doubts, she made the decision to move to Barcelona to do a master’s degree in Fashion Design at the European Institute of Design.
Once back in Argentina, the idea of creating his own brand had already become a goal to achieve.
“I started looking for passionate people to join the project. I always say: ‘This works as a team. Nothing is achieved alone“, he says from the premises that he opened in November of last year where, in addition to sales to the public, his offices and warehouse also operate.
“It was a necessity beyond having it in mind. People told me ‘I need to go see’. “They were referring to the clothes, but they also wanted to know the brand.”
Between shelves sculpted in Córdoba clay with shades of pink that simulate the hills of northern Argentinahandmade rugs brought from Tandil and even a mural on the ceiling of his dressing room that imitates a sky with butterfly-shaped clouds, the space is a small window to the aesthetics of his firm.
In your clothes color abounds, some geometric prints and others with elements such as plants or toads, the latter created in honor of the nickname that her grandfather gave her as a girl: little toad.
Leather, fabrics and fabric also appear. patchwork, his favorite technique. However, the common denominator that inspires his creations is his childhood in Salta capital.
“It’s cathartic for me. Maybe in a few years I won’t do it anymore, but I like to bring a little bit of where I’m from wherever I go. Since I finished school I have been living in different places and For me Salta is coming home. Being able to wear it on my clothes is also making it accompany me,” she says, proud of her roots and affirms that she likes to be associated with them. “I love it. “It’s my story, it’s part of who I am, I have nothing to hide.”
In addition to aesthetics, for Helena the identity of her brand includes create garments that last over time.
“The idea is to make something that accompanies you all your life. That’s why we don’t want to bombard you with products either. The concept is not to make a sale every six months saying ‘that’s it, this is no longer useful, use it next year,’” he explains.
It is for this reason that he decides to reuse some elements from past collections. “There are garments in which I repeat. For example, maybe I use new molds with previous stamps, to say ‘This is good. ‘Why wouldn’t I wear it again just because I wore it last season?’ It’s great to have new things, but don’t see clothes as something disposable”he says about his brand philosophy. The same one that leads her to try to keep almost all of her clothes within a “half season”.
Helena maintains that it is important to understand the responsibility of take care of the quality of your garmentsyour service and consistency in your communications as your firm grows.
It is something that it is learning to manage since it began in July 2022, but particularly during the last six months, after win the ninth edition of the BA Fashion Authors contestin spring-summer 2023 at BAFWeek.
“When I was selected I couldn’t believe it.” After registering to participate in the competition and passing a first round of interviews, after a week without a response assumed that he had been left out of the preselection.
“They had sent an email with the times we were going to have to wait, but the truth is that I did not read the fine print. I thought ‘that’s it, it happened. That’s it’“, series. “When I saw that another email arrived with my name among those chosen, I couldn’t believe it. But I said ‘well, let’s go with everything’.”
The parade took place at the Planetarium along with the other two participating brands, where he had the opportunity to present his “Calendario” collection.
At the end, Helena was declared the winner of the contest and received a scholarship to attend a program three weeks at the Istituto Marangoni in Milan, to begin in June of this year. “Participating was a unique experience and I am super grateful. The truth is that it opened the doors to a lot of places for me.”
In fact, just a few months later, Helena was invited to participate in the autumn-winter 2024 edition of BAFWeekbut this time as an already established brand.
“Participating this year was a totally different experience. Between the two parades not even a year has passed“It was just six months from September to March,” she remembers gratefully. “I take it as if it were the first.”
Run to create
When you have to describe the three months that he had from the moment he said yes until the date of the parade, his entire account of the process is adrenaline-filled.
“We were going back and forth, running after workshops and deadlines. Sometimes we wanted something, it was sold out and we had to give it a twist. She went through everything, they even burned fabrics making me a print,” she says and recognizes that her self-demand sometimes harms her, but also drives her to continue growing.
To set it up, he contacted a production company he knew, with an idea already in his head. “We wanted to do something that shows more than clothes“, Explain.
“We decided to create a universe of Helena in a place where there was absolutely nothing. I set up the parade in a space that was a bit destroyed, unpainted, with broken walls. I painted the benches and floor green, lit centrally, to create the atmosphere and create the walkway. It was an invitation to distract yourself. Have a good time and enjoy.”
The parade took place on Tuesday, March 5 at the Buenos Aires Arts Laboratory, where presented his collection “Dichotomy”.
The designs with volumes in sleeves and skirts, striped textiles and the combination of several colors in the same garment, such as red, light blue, blue, lilac and green. Also, the overlays, leather and light fabrics, with transparencies.
The repercussions were what impacted him the most. “I feel like everything is a lot. Every person who talks about the event or shares that they came means a lot to me. I am super grateful”, she expresses excitedly.
“Even when people started asking to go. Going from being afraid to do something that you really wanted to do, but didn’t dare, to having two years later ask you for a place to see what you do, is very strong.”
And for Helena this is just the beginning. A few months away from traveling to Milan, she is focused on growing. “Now everything that happens I want to take advantage of. I already have my project, now I want to get the most out of it. Am going to study Fashion Business? Perfect. What can I improve? I want to go that way,” she says about his future plans.
“We want to continue expanding. Have a bigger place to be more. And well, also export. Now the new collection is coming out, but we are always craning. Always.”
