Knowing Anicy’s story is knowing that time teaches and dedication leads you to increasingly better things. Each step leads you to something bigger, and she is proof of that.

Camaleónicas: How was your start in this world?

Anicy: am Chilean, a costume designer and Product Manager, master as Product Manager, master’s as Fashion Design and as Fashion Coordinator. I studied here in Chile. I have two degrees, as an industrial modeler and as a costume designer. And after having worked for a couple of companies, I went to Milan, to the Istituto Marangoni.

C: How great your career sounds!

A: Yes. I lived in Milan for ten years, and in London for a year and a half. I studied the three master’s degrees that I have. And later, I dedicated myself to working with different brands, such as Paola Frani, Max Mara in a studio in Turin, Valentino, Calvin Klein first line First Line, and then I went to London to work with Vivienne Westwood for a year and a half.

C: For me, she is my top.

A: Yes, it was incredible. Afterwards, I returned to Milan. I also took classes at the Istituto Marangoni and during all those years that I was in Milan, more or less the years 97, 98, an international competition was presented called “Largo i Giovanni”, which was a competition that I was looking for new talents, organized by Vogue Italia and Collezioni Donna magazine, a friend of mine signed me up for that contest.

“I developed a line made with alpaca, hand-woven and with Mapuche jewelry. “All very conceptual but taken in a very modern way.” Anicy Manuguian

A: I was thinking about what I am going to bring to the Italians. At that time, when there was no talk of sustainability, and it was different from what they had. So, I thought that in Chile there is the island of Chiloé where they make wool from sheep, they spin it by hand and dye it with onion, beetroot and natural dyes. I arrive in Malpensa and my friend sees my billboards. She told me to give them to me. I gave them to her, and she didn’t understand why she had asked me for them. She didn’t say anything to me either. Two weeks after I was in Milan, my father died, and I had to return to Chile. With a tragic sadness, I returned to my country and my friend, without telling me anything, had put me in this contest called “Largo I Giovanni” (let’s give space to young people).

C: You had to give yourself that opportunity.

A: It was a global design competition where you applied online. And this was the first time that a world contest was held in that format. About 4,000 designers applied and there were four finalists. She called me about twenty days after my father had died, and she told me,” You were a finalist in the contest,” You have to go back to Italy”. And I didn’t understand anything, because I had never imagined something like that. And he told me, yes, there was going to be a parade at the Ratti Foundation in the city of Como, which is a wonderful town where the most beautiful silk prints in the world are made, and I told my mother, after 30 days that my dad was died. I had to return to Italy. So, my mom tells me, but how? Your dad just died, and I told him no, I have to go.

“And I said: I have a gift from my dad. And I went back to Italy and stayed there, I went to the show, and that was the first time I launched a collection by hand.” Anicy Manuguian

C: That marked the beginning and how great that it was global. Did it open doors for you in other markets?

A: When I returned to Chile, I went to Italy in 93 and returned in 2003. In 2010, I opened my own company. I began to participate with the Government of Chile on different trade missions and went to Colombia Moda three times. They liked my things very much, they asked me for quantities, and I was not able to produce them. So, I said how am I going to do it? I began to see and investigate where I could produce quantities. In China, the volumes are extremely large; Europe, the topic was difficult, and I went to Peru.

C: Yes, because I have taken basic import courses from China, they ask you for certain quantities, but for Peru there is no market for that level of sales.

A: In Peru, I had already experimented with a very small company that had done very nice things for me and through the Peruvian Chamber of Commerce. Finally, a producer arrived who developed a very beautiful pima cotton collection and I gave him the designs, which were hand-finished to maintain the essence of my brand. And in 2013 I’m going to Miami Fashion Week supported by ProChile. We had a booth and participated in the parade, which was wonderful and spectacular. I also participated in the Best Emerging Designer contest organized by Miami Fashion Week and was among the finalists. I was also a finalist in a European design contest. It was like my third contest win.

C: Tell me a little about your style, where you get inspiration for your designs. It’s a bit, as you say, Chilean culture, also your travels, the Italian, Milanese style, of doing everything very by hand.

A: I think I have a mix of styles. I have a lot of Italian style; clean, chic and everything. I like silhouettes that are cleaner and as a Latina, as you well know, we have a more sensual and feminine touch. I really like that the woman is feminine and that she is elegant at the same time.

“I have been perfecting my seal, the brand stands out for all the details that go to hand. “People see the versatility of the product.” Anicy Manuguian

C: And you create a history of the product, in addition to connecting the idea of ​​the techniques of each culture that also makes them last over time.

A: That’s the idea. Do not invest in Fast Fashion but in conscious consumption. And that is one of our values as a brand. Project this philosophy that our garments, being so unique and unrepeatable, will remain in the closet for many years and for a long time. Only with natural fibers, with Baby Alpaca, with Peruvian Pima cotton from your country, with Viscose Rayon, which comes from cellulose. So, it is a fairly eco-friendly and sustainable product. That’s why we say we are a sustainable luxury brand.

C: What would you say to the younger generation? Why do you choose those fibers?

A: Well, because on a physiological level, so that the body breathes, it is much healthier to use natural fibers. Because when in contact with the skin they have a different feeling, they allow the skin to breathe better and they are biodegradable. So, we are doing double duty. We are helping our own bodies, and we are also helping the planet, which is very important, because with the temperatures we have, climate change, which is a product of all the waste left over from clothes, this and that. Something has to be done.

“I come from a very different world, but being a designer and a more modern woman connected to what is happening now, I realize that we have to think about how each person contributes their grain of sand to make this world better. ” Anicy Manuguian

C: And what do you feel is coming for you? What new projects come to mind?

A: We are on a very interesting project which I can’t talk much about yet, but it has to do with natural resources in my country.

C: I love it when people say that, because that means they are important things.

A: They are important things. We are working on a project that is very good and “very powerful”. We hope to release it later and, definitely, we want to conquer more cities in the United States. We are very happy to be at The Canvas. There are always opportunities.

This article is originally published on THE CANVAS, on its blog.

Picture credits: Website Anicy Manuguian.