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About
ELENA VELEZ INCORPORATES AN APPRECIATION FOR THE ARTISANAL HERITAGE OF THE AMERICAN MIDWEST, EPITOMIZED BY THE METALSMITH INDUSTRY, A HISTORICALLY QUINTESSENTIAL TRADEMARK OF OUR HOMETOWN, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.
MISSION
THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE DESIGN PROCESS IS PARAMOUNT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE WORK AND BUILDS ON COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL ARTISANS TO REVISIT AND RECONTEXTUALIZE REGIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP.
PROPONENTS OF AUTHENTIC PROCESS AND CREATIVITY UNDER CONSTRAINT, OUR COLLECTIONS OFTEN INCORPORATE FOUND, SALVAGED, AND SITE-SPECIFIC MATERIALITY.
THROUGH AN AGGRESSIVELY DELICATE AESTHETIC SIGNATURE, THE ELENA VELEZ BRAND DESIGNS WITH THE TACTILE SENSIBILITY OF A MAKER WHO PRIORITIZES FUNCTIONALITY AND UTILITY OVER PERFECTION OR BEAUTY, WORKING BEYOND CONTEMPORARY REFERENCES TO INVESTIGATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEMININITY AND FORCE.
Press
“VELEZ’S DESIGNS PLAY ON THE IDEAS OF FEMININITY, CHALLENGING WITH THE IDEAS OF WHAT CAN BE BEAUTIFUL BY USING MATERIALS THAT ARE DEEMED FOR GRUNT WORK AND TRANSFORMING THEM INTO ETHEREAL GARMENTS.”
"...her collections communicate a sense of grounding married to a sense of hope, and the idea of crude practicality, elevated to reach higher potential, which is art, luxury and fashion in the truest sense".
"One of five under-the-radar designers to discover at New York Fashion Week"
"A unique take on deconstruction"