Java.Mar.2016

Photos by Christian Arevalo
themselves,” she says. Though there may have been
some small hurdles, she’s building the new business
from the ground up and seems to be gaining momentum
and positive feedback.
Aispuro did a live sewing event alongside Lawless
Denim and GROWop for “Fashioned in America” at
Phoenix Art Museum in 2014. “I like the idea of creating
something that is for no specific body type, no
specific age group—just something you could throw
in a suitcase and then take it out and style it any way
you want,” she says.
In her design process, she does a lot of draping.
She also tries to utilize as much of the fabric as she
has. She recently designed a black silk kimono-like
wedding dress for a client. It was a unique order,
she says, and she doesn’t always do formalwear. Aispuro’s
last collection was based around a lot of lace
appliqués, some sewn on top of others. But for next
collection she is working on designs based around
embroidery. She likes to embrace handiwork and create
pieces with more of an artisan feel.
With Arte Puro, she and her cousin travelled to Oaxaca
and studied hand-embroidery, natural dying and
other more organic processes. In the garment district
in New York she picked out smaller businesses and
got familiar with the workers. “I tried to find little
shops like G & R Fabric Inc. on 39th Street in New
York. When I worked at Marquesa, they would send
me to this place called Spandex World,” she says.
“That is where I source a lot of the fabrics I am currently
working with.”
According to a recent article in the Atlantic titled
“Is This the End for Fashion Week?” many fashion
houses are abandoning the concept of planning the
release of designs around seasons. Many are also
turning away from the authoritative dictates such as
the season color and choosing to go with smallerscale,
limited runs and exclusives.
“At first living in New York during Fashion Week was
fun and exciting, but after a couple years, it was
like, ‘Get me out of here!’” Aispuro says. “I guess I
consider myself a bit of a rebel. When I see what is
going on, I’m like: ‘What can I do different?’ I always
try to do my own thing.”
“I have a lot of repeat customers,” she says. She
talks about working on a specific wedding dress and
how the same customer then wanted something
for her anniversary. “When I think about it, word of
mouth is what has kept me relevant,” she says.
Aispuro doesn’t like to put out duplicates of garments
cut from the same design or of the same color. She
likes to change the cut or embroidery each time, so
that each piece is truly bespoke. Finally, she says
that true fulfillment for her comes from hearing that
she has inspired other people. Circling back to the
aunt who originally inspired her, she says she loves
working with her young niece Sofia Taglienti, who is
16 and a student at Metro Arts. Taglienti sometimes
works as Aispuro’s assistant while learning the ropes
of the artisan fashion trade.
Lately Aispuro has been getting recognized for her
hard work. Last year she was a finalist for a Phoenix
New Times’ Big Brain award for local creatives. Her
work was also included in Italian Vogue online, and
she was recently profiled in Vogue UK.
Aispuro says that her plan for Phoenix includes a
fashion presentation (not the same as a show) at the
Fourtoul Brothers’ space later this year.
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@leonoraispuro
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