Christian Olarte

@christianolar

Christian Olarte is a 20-year-old aspiring fashion designer currently studying in New York. His love for fashion began around the age of 15 when he began an internship with a designer here in Panama. He always knew he was into art and design from around the age of 12 or 13, but he did not get into the fashion industry until a few years later. He then got a connection to attend Fashion Week Panama where he met other amazing designers and people that opened more doors and opportunities for him. He explains that being a fashion designer has never “been like a job that [he] ha[s] been trying to search for. It's just opportunities and internships that were sort of like the starting point for something bigger to grow”. As an amateur fashion designer, he never thought he would get this far; however, he is very grateful for all the opportunities and connections he has acquired to this day.

Christian explains how at first he was unsure of what path to pursue in college as “no one in school ever tells you you can pursue design and art as a career path and have success”. A lot of college recruiters and teachers tend to push students into STEM or business fields. This is fine if it's what one enjoys, but it is important to expose teenagers to other types of career paths. Success can be found in any place and they shouldn’t limit themselves to what other instruct is what gives ‘money’. At first, Christian explained how he wanted to study graphic design but when he came across a Balman fashion show on television, he realized it was something that interested him more. He loves that his passion for graphic design incorporated itself into fashion as they complement each other and go hand in hand.

For Christian, fashion is something that he lives around every day and that he has a passion for. He likes to define it as “garments just like the way that fabric comes together and creates something that covers the body”. He also believes style and fashion are 2 completely different things. Style is how you decide to use fashion or other forms of expression to show your true and real essence. It is something you have to find for yourself, and you can't use other people to capture what your style is.

Like any designer or artist, Christian has a few inspirations that have influenced him into the amazing designer he is today. Virgin Abloh is an African American designer that doesn't particularly come from a rich background which is contrary to a lot of famous designers. Although Christian is not very fond of him, he explains that Virgil Abloh gives him hope as a designer. Abloh shows that “a person like [him] can also make it big in the world of fashion, and that it can be done if you set your mind to it”. Since fashion is more viewed as European, someone like Abloh who is a person of color from America proves that it is possible when you put in the hard work. He enjoys looking at other designers and seeing what they can accomplish with their work. The main thing about designers that he values and likes to incorporate in his work is their “plans of action that they take and like evaluating how they were able to get to their place and the things that they did and how hard they were working at a point in their life”. One person that he looks up to would be Rosalia, the singer. Although she is not a designer, he looks up to the fact that the album that rose her to fame was something as simple as her college thesis. She never really needed a professional record label to push her into fame as she solely relied on her talent and managed to humbly rise to fame.

In high school, he used to take a lot of inspiration from other designers. This is a good thing until you slowly subconsciously “start copying whatever you want to be like inspired by”. He always tries to take inspiration from things that arent fashion, but complement it. There are a lot of things that go into the process of creating a good collection. This is because “it's not just the clothing it's the accessories, it's the hair, it's the makeup, it's her surroundings, it the music, it the color of the film, it's all of that stuff”. Fashion is more than just the clothing, it's a whole experience you're delivering to the public. All of his creations begin with a concept that then develops into something more. He explains that “[he] start[s] off with a concept and then from there [he] just start[s] writing down a bunch of things, a bunch of ideas that come to mind”. He also enjoys using Pinterest to create vision boards for what he wants to accomplish.

As any designer and creator, he has had to overcome obstacles in different areas of his craft. When Christian lived here in Panama, he had limited resources in terms of fabrics and materials. He had to “order stuff from amazon or from like the internet because you just can't find them in Panama”. Because of this, he has had to adapt to his surroundings and learn to work with what was available to him. Fashion a lot of the time also comes down to what you can make with your creativity and the resources you are given. He hopes in the future to be a “creative director of a fashion house or have [his] own brand”. He would also like to be able to create some sort of scholarship for Panamanians to afford to study internationally. Christian explains that this is because there is untapped creativity that cannot be developed. After all, finance tends to limit many people and he wants to be able to see all of these kids develop their creativity and make the most out of it just like himself when he was younger.

He explains that as a beginner, there are many things you still don't know and you go learning little by little. For Christian, one thing we would have liked to know is that “it's okay to like to ask people questions and like to not know everything”. Facing challenges is part of the process and part of what allows you to become a better designer and artist. He would also like to tell people that are just starting to “keep on being persistent and just be consistent with your work and how you portray yourself in what you do”. Consistency is key in maintaining any project alive, and what will help you in the long run. People will know when you are a hardworking person that is dedicated to their craft and they will be more willing to work with you.

Lastly, Christian mentions how he owes his accomplishments and success in this industry to the “people around [him] as well as the opportunities that [he] ha[s] been able to achieve”. Sometimes people think just by going to parties and socializing, you are all set. However, a lot of the opportunities come from offering yourself to help, whether it's behind the scenes or just helping around. Many bigger designers will appreciate this and recognize you at the moment where you need help. The key is to put yourself in that environment that will allow you to make these meaningful connections. Christian hopes to continue to develop his love for fashion and continue the road to success.