Someone Somewhere, from Mexico to the world
Until recently the name of the brand was Flor de Mayo and they became known for their shirts with embroidered lapels. They are a group of friends who started a project at the university knowing the lack of opportunities available to the country's artisans. Recently, they changed their name to Someone Somewhere with the aim of bringing Mexican artisan products to the international market. The brand pays tribute to Mexican artisanal tradition without leaving behind modern design. In this interview, Fátima Álvarez tells us the details of the project.
180º: Who makes up the Someone Somewhere project?
Fátima: The founders are Fátima Álvarez, Enrique Rodríguez, José Antonio Nuño and José Miguel Cruz y Celis; The team is also made up of Uriel Serrano, Gloria Ortega, Lucas Elizondo (from the design team) and Jimena Reyeros in the marketing part. On the artisanal work side, we work with around 100 artisans in communities in Puebla, Chiapas and Oaxaca.
180º: What are your goals?
F: Our mission is to become the most recognized Mexican clothing brand worldwide, which would give us the opportunity to open more opportunities for artisans around the country.
180º: What inspires you and what is the brand concept?
F: We are aimed at a market of young people who like adventure, who want to leave a positive mark on the world and who are beginning to question the origin of the products they use.
180º: Tell me a little about the process of creating your products.
F: The impact team looks for different techniques in communities across the country, and these are adapted to different products depending on their finishes and materials. The artisans work on the crafts and send them for production in Mexico City. At the same time, the design team also creates the concept of the collection.
180º: What materials do you use?
F: The t-shirts are combed cotton, the shirts are mostly cotton and only an alloy of cotton and spandex; For the caps, gabardine and mesh are used, and for the backpacks, Cordura 1000. All the craftsmanship of all the products is made with 100% cotton national fabrics and threads.
180º: What is your relationship with the artisans you work with?
F: We have very constant communication, mainly with the leaders of each community. Naupan, in Puebla, is the community where we have been working the longest, and that is why we have a very close relationship with the artisans. In the case of Cuetzalan, Tlaxpanalolla, Oaxaca, Nachig, and San Andrés we are beginning to create this same relationship.
180º: Where do you place yourself in the discussion between modernity and tradition? How do they integrate them?
F: The main idea of the brand is precisely to integrate these two things in order to offer more value to the artisans for their work; The work they do is of the highest quality and has a very high cultural value, and we seek to reach more people in a way that has a different appeal for a specific consumer.