By Francesca Claybrook
Our latest designer spotlight is focused on Viviana Gabeiras, a Miami-based designer with seriously impressive credentials. She owned her own store in her native Venezuala before studying in Paris and in New York City at the Parsons School of Design, where her graduating class included Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, and Tracy Reese – wow! She’s since become something of a teacher herself, instructing at the Miami International University of Art and Design. Viviana’s line, Petit Pois, is airy and colorful and incorporates her signature mesh fabric throughout the collections. Read on to learn a little more about this talented designer.
BellaVitaStyle: How did you get started?
Viviana Gabeiras: I went to school for designing so this is something I’ve had in mind since I was a little girl. At 14 I learned to sew and cut and I had a store at 17, 18 years old but I decided I didn’t really know enough, so I sold everything I had and enrolled in Parsons. I started very young, living an adult life.
BVS: You’re a Venezuelan native and you’ve spent time in Paris and New York City before establishing the Miami headquarters you have now – how have these places influenced your work? Do they still influence you even now?
VG: Yes they do. Every 4 -6 weeks I’m in New York, and California, I go to Europe 2 – 3 times a year, so I mix all these influences in my designing. That’s what my designs are about, creating the necessities for traveling and the new women who could be entrepreneurs, or doing all kind of jobs and taking care of their own houses or kids, they might have their own businesses, and that’s how I do it too. So it is a big influence.
BVS: What inspires you?
VG: Well, the colors and prints, things I see around because we’re very into printing and I like to use an explosion of colors. The ocean, St. Tropez, how people mix things together, those are things I take notice of. I’m like a sponge, I take in everything. Because my life is all about fashion and my business, I cannot separate them from the rest of my life and I keep notes of everything I see. I live by the beach so those colors influence me a lot, but when I go somewhere like New York or Chicago the buildings are an influence, often for a fall collection. Movies also, they are a big influence in part of what I do, although not so much for developing a full collection because you have to tie everything in together.
BVS: Who are your five favorite designers?
VG: Jean Paul Gaultier works with mesh and knits like I do so he’s a big influence. I also have a funky side so Vivienne Westwood I keep track of – I’m not so much to that extreme, but I like to see the different ideas. Dries van Noten for prints, I like to see those collections. For American designers I like Donna Karan, I like the way she drapes because I use a lot of draping as well. But I respect everyone.
BVS: In your opinion, what are the six pieces every woman should have in her wardrobe?
VG: A little black dress of course, a good pair of black pants, a beautiful white shirt, a good suit (it could be brown or gray, and she can mix the pieces around), and something with color. She should pick up something in her favorite color, like a beautiful red dress or two different red pieces that she can mix around. And a bathing suit! You always have to have one with you.
BVS: Which designer or celebrity’s style do you admire the most?
VG: I like Angelina Jolie because she’s so simple, it looks like she just takes a dress and throws it on and that’s it, it doesn’t look like she works too hard to put herself together and I love that about her. I love Madonna as well, who’s been an influence throughout my life. I like the way she changes and evolves. I love Jessica Alba in the young crowd, I think she looks so nice and is another one who doesn’t seem to try too hard. She’s always in different styles, which is also what Petit Pois is all about. I’d love to dress her, in that sense.
BVS: What trends do you think will be big this spring/summer?
VG: Purple, yellow, colorblocking, one beautiful print that has all the colors paired with something bright. And then white, all white is so fresh so I think colorblocking and a lot of the whites and neutrals are the biggest trends.
BVS: What makes your pieces different from other designers?
VG: The fabric. Not many designers use mesh like I do. I take that fabric and dye it in different colors and use different prints, and they’re all very easy to take care of and really comfortable, they travel easily and you can layer them in the winter. In summer, just use fewer layers. They can last forever and mix easily with the rest of your wardrobe. Most people might use mesh as a top, but not as a full collection like I do – I do trenches, blazers, and dresses in mesh.
BVS: What has been the best or most surreal part of being a designer?
VG: The designing, the creating is absolutely very exciting, and just seeing the pieces gives you a lot of happiness and you want to see more and more, especially when it’s developing the way you wanted it too, you just want to see more of it. And of course if you see people wearing your pieces that’s exciting, especially when you see the way they’ve made them their own. That’s one of the best things you can feel as a designer. It’s hard work so you have to love it, but I don’t mind working so hard because I’m so passionate about it. I’m a workaholic! As soon as one collection ends, you’re working on three more. That makes it exciting, it’s very fast. You just have to control the stress!
BVS: What kind of woman do you picture in your clothes?
VG: She definitely likes fashion, I don’t mind if she’s conservative, classic, fun, or girly, it’s about how you put it together and make it your own. She probably likes to try things, she is into her lifestyle, she works, she could be a mom, maybe she’s an entrepreneur or lawyer, but she’s also a fashionista. She could be living in the city but she could also be living in a space like I am, laid back by the beach. You can mix it all around because Petit Pois is all about being a line that’s easy to work with and change up depending on your lifestyle. You can do many things with it.
BVS: And finally, where can we buy your clothes?
VG: Right now we’re in a lot of stores around the country, we’re listing the stores on our website, or email info@mypetitpois.com and we’ll guide you towards where to go. There’s also a new website for Latin American designers living in the states, www.flechada.com. They auction off clothes by different featured designers each day, and they give you news and bios of the designers.
Make sure you check out www.mypetitpois.com to get a look at the full collections and to learn more about the line, including where to find it in stores!
All photo credits: Fabrizio Cacciatore