FASHION
A MOMENT WITH
FERNANDO GARCIA OF MONSE AND OSCAR DE LA RENTA
MAY 18, 2020
WORDS
by KRISTOPHER FRASER
PHOTOGRAPHY
COURTESY of FERNANDO GARCIA
It was my first year living in New York City when legendary fashion designer Oscar de la Renta passed away. The news had devastated me, as I had been admiring his designs since I was just waist-high to my petite grandmother of 5’0’’. The legacy of eveningwear he left behind and what he did for catapulting American fashion into the stratosphere of legacy luxury brands was a golden page in fashion history.
In 2017, the torch was passed to the new co-creative directors of his label Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. The two had originally honed their skills at Oscar de la Renta, where Fernando eventually rose to role of senior designer director. During this time he met Laura Kim and the two launched Monse in 2016. Two years later they were lured back to Oscar de la Renta in their current roles, and it’s been magic ever since.
With the pace of the fashion industry much slower than usual, Fernando has been in talks with his team regularly on how to keep both brands moving, and still makes trips with Laura to the grocery store. In between, he recently found time to speak with us at AS IF Magazine on the current state of the fashion industry, what he’s been up to during quarantine, and what he thinks the fashion industry will be like in a post COVID-19 world.
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Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim
AS IF: What have you been up to during quarantine?
Fernando Garcia: I’ve been running more than I used to, and when I had originally moved to New York I stopped running as much. I’ve also been cooking a lot more, which is a change since people in New York are used to ordering in or going to a restaurant. I’m happy to have broken those eating out habits, because I have been enjoying cooking. Of course, I’ve been staying in touch with my team and communicating new ideas for designs and themes for collections.
Has quarantining changed your workflow?
It’s a little slower. We go day by day, and we are aware of what is going on with all of our retail partners and understand what kind of collection they are expecting from us. It’s something new every day.
What role do you think fashion can play in this pandemic?
Fashion needs to be one of the uplifting factors of this pandemic. I saw the virtual runway show Carine Roitfeld did the other day to raise money for amfAR. We could use more events like that in the world. Even if you do a runway show where clothes aren’t revolutionary, models are still auctioning clothes for a good cause. Fashion will still have to play the role of creating beautiful things, because eventually people will get tired of sweatpants.
What do you think the state of the fashion industry will be when this is all over?
Unfortunately, the fashion industry will be whittled down to those who could survive this pandemic.
“Fashion will still have to play the role of creating beautiful things, because eventually people will get tired of sweatpants.”
–Fernando Garcia–
