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The transcript for this episode can be found at the end of the show notes on this page.

Carlos’ Sewing Journey:

• Fashion Institute of Technology
• Harve Benard
• Tahari
• Geoffrey Beene
• Vogue Patterns

Vogue Patterns ‘Make The Look’ Social Posts:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sewing Patterns (@mccallpatterncompany) on Oct 10, 2019 at 10:57am PDT

Vogue Winter Holiday Collection

Carlos’ favourite pattern: V9253

Carlos’ handmade wardrobe includes many versions and hacks of V9220:

Carlos’ mentioned black shirt. Classic – with a twist!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Today’s look! An original design of mine for self-drafted button down shirt with an integrated scarf! Made from a fine wool cashmere blend flannel from @truemartfabrics. #voguepatterns #menwhosew #mensstyle #menshirt

A post shared by Carlos Correa (@carlosvoguepatterns) on Oct 11, 2019 at 11:00am PDT

Support us on Patreon! Love to Sew Podcast

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Transcript:

Note: This transcript was made from the Favourites re-release version of this episode, released on June 29, 2021. You can listen to this version on the player below:

Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, ncluding Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations. Hello, Love to Sew listener. We’re currently in our podcast off season. So we’re taking a little break from recording right now.

Helen: This summer, we’re excited to revisit some of our favorite episodes from years past. We hope you will love these reruns as much as we do. Remember, you can still access the show notes by going to lovetosewpodcast.com and searching for the episode. If you want more Love to Sew, head over to our Patreon. We have a lot of fun over there, and we appreciate our Patreon fam so, so much.

Caroline: For $5 U.S. per month, you’ll get access to our monthly bonus episode. Our Patreon episodes really feel like a catch-up with friends. This is where we share what we’ve been up to in our personal lives, our businesses, what we’re sewing, and things we’re loving like recipes, podcasts, TV shows, board games, and more. Throughout the month, we also share behind the scenes photos.

I recently gave our patrons a sneak peek of some of our upcoming exclusive Blackbird releases, and Helen you’ve given sneak peaks of patterns too, right? 

Helen: Yes, it is top secret stuff just for our Patreon supporters. And if you join at $10 U.S. Per month, you will get 15% off discount codes for Blackbird Fabrics, Helen’s Closet, and our Love to Sew swag shop. And this code can be reused again and again, so it’s a great deal, especially if you shop with us frequently. Plus, you’ll get a bonus mini-sode where we answer a patron question or cover a specific sewing topic. So you can learn more and sign up to support us at patreon.com/lovetosew.

Caroline: And don’t worry folks, we’ll be back in September 2021 with a fabulous new season of Love to Sew. Now let’s get to this Love to Sew favorite.

Helen: Hello and welcome. I’m Helen. 

Caroline: And I’m Caroline. 

Helen: And we love to sew. This is a podcast for makers where we talk about sewing a handmade wardrobe and bring you interviews with inspiring creatives and small business owners in our community. 

Caroline: Today, we are chatting with Carlos Correa who designs for Vogue Patterns. Carlos shares his amazing career path, his passion for high fashion, and creating special details in home sewing patterns. We also get a peek behind the curtain and hear how Vogue sewing patterns get made. Everybody vogue!

Helen: Hello, Carlos! Thank you so much for coming on the show today. 

Carlos: Hello, ladies. It’s nice to be here with you. 

Helen: We are so excited to get a chance to speak with you today. And we were hoping that you could start us off by introducing yourself to our listeners. 

Carlos: Absolutely. So my name is Carlos Correa. I’m the, uh, Vogue Patterns designer. I’m a long time  designer. I’ve been with the company for over 20 years. Um, I grew up in Puerto Rico. Uh, I learned sewing very young. My mother and my four sisters, they were all, uh, dressmakers, uh, made all their clothes, and I grew up with it. So, uh, going to pattern stores, going fabric shopping, all of that in my childhood for as long as I can remember. Um, now, initially my thinking wasn’t to become a pattern designer, or a designer, at all. Uh, but at some point, when I became a teenager, I got interested in clothing and fashion. The clothes that I liked didn’t exist in the stores, uh, or they were too expensive. You know, I was really attracted to the high-end, high-fashion sort of sort of things.

And so, uh, I realized that I could make my own. I asked my mother, you know, would you let me, you know, play with the sewing machine. Uh, initially she said, absolutely not. You’re not breaking my machine. You’re not going anywhere near it. In fact, she forbid it, but I, kind of, snuck around in her sewing room, and I started pulling boxes of patterns and looking at the guy’s sheets and looking at the various pattern pieces.

And you know, when my mother wasn’t looking, I would look to her scraps of fabric. And I would cut things out and make things. And, uh, the next thing, you know, I was really into it. I enjoyed, um, just the process, the sewing, the patterns, everything. And, uh, I, no, my mother finally acquiesced. She saw that I liked it, and she would take me to the fabric store and buy me, uh, patterns and fabrics.

And at that time I didn’t know Vogue Patterns existed. So I actually learned to sew with, uh, McCall’s and Simplicity Patterns. I made pants or shorts and shirts and just loved it. Um, and eventually, I became aware of fashion designing as a profession and, uh, I applied to F.I.T., you know, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. And I was lucky enough that I got accepted. 

I will say my sewing training, kind of, really came in handy because when I had to submit a portfolio and examples of my clothes that I had made, you know, I had already been making clothes for some time. I was able to come up with really well accomplished sewing samples. I think that may have been a factor in getting me accepted. 

Also, I was a really gifted, um, uh, sketcher. I was really, really into this, drawing and drawing clothes specifically. So that’s how I got into F.I.T.. And I graduated from F.I.T. and started to work almost immediately after graduation. And the rest is history. Here I am, all these years later, you know. 

Helen: It sounds like you were a dream candidate for F.I.T.. I’m sure they were just drooling over all of your sketches and your work so far, having had so much experience with sewing. It’s amazing.

Carlos:  Thank you very much. I mean, I like to think, you know, it was very lucky that I got in because, as a matter of fact, I was so naive I didn’t even think of applying to any other schools. 

Helen: You were like, this is it. 

Carlos: Yeah. I think it was, sort of, like, fate, uh, that, sort of, like, was guiding me at that time because I was doing all these things without really thinking. It was just a lucky sequence of events, but everything luckily worked out really well. And I loved F.I.T.. It was great. 

Helen: So was your move to New York and to go to F.I.T., was that from Puerto Rico? 

Carlos: Correct. I was 18 years old. I finished high school. Um, I told my mother, um, that I was moving, uh, that I was going to school here. She had to have no idea that I was doing any of it. Um, I don’t know what I was thinking by not telling her.

I was just, sort of, like, I don’t know maybe in my head, I was just thinking it wasn’t going to be happening after all. And I would have to have some plan B, but, but no, when I finally got the acceptance letter, that’s when I told my mom. And she was like, well, okay, we need to get money for your plane ticket and so on, but she was really cool.

She was very supportive. She, um, called a relative of hers, uh, so that I could stay with this, uh, relative for a couple of months before I moved into the school. Um, so it was a nice transition from home to New York. And to be honest, at that time, at 18, um, I was, again naive and fearless, so I thought nothing of moving here and, you know, doing all of that. Uh, it didn’t really hit me until a couple of weeks after I arrived in school that it was going to be a little bit different than what I had expected, in good ways and bad ways. 

Caroline: Yeah. I mean, that is so incredible. Tell us more about that time, at the beginning, when you first moved to New York, you’re in a new city, you’re going to F.I.T., you’re, kind of, following your dreams. It sounds like it really was fate for you to get in there. But that time when you were in school, were you, was that, kind of, a period of discovering your design style as well? Do you feel like you evolved at all while you were in school? 

Carlos: That time when I was in school was incredibly, uh, exciting, a little scary, but I was surrounded by like-minded people. You know, there were many designers, obviously men’s wear, women’s wear, children’s wear. So it was a very creative, um, community of people. I found it incredibly, um, inspiring to be there. Uh, the, the things that intimidated me initially were the people, not in school but outside of the school because I didn’t realize how rude New Yorkers can be.

Uh, you get used to it, but it was culture shock for sure. Uh, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was culture shock to be in a, in a city that is so fast and so driven by, um, success. And, you know, you have to have a lot of, like, a tough skin because people often won’t give you a chance or a break. And some people will try to actually break you. That was a bit shocking and a little bit, um, discouraging initially.

But again, because I was in an environment that was creative and I had friends that were like me, you know, creative and looking for inspiration and trying to express themselves, um, all the negative stuff, kind of, like, receded into the background. And I made a decision to just focus on getting ahead and, you know, focusing on my studies and just enjoying the moment, because it was a very privileged place to be, to have that opportunity to come to New York, to go to one of the best schools for fashion, to work with incredibly gifted, talented professors and surrounded by so much talent in class. Everything that was negative, kind of, receded.

And I just focused on the good ones, the good things but yeah, I learned a lot. And, of course, in New York, you have access to the best of everything, fashion-wise. So going to the stores, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, you know, seeing the beautiful clothes that I had seen in magazines or on television, but seeing them in real life was incredibly exciting and incredibly inspiring.

The people in my school dressed really, really interesting ways. Um, you know, Puerto Rico can be a bit provincial when it comes to fashion. Like, you know, people don’t want you to be too, uh, high fashion or too, too stylish. I mean, there’s, there’s a certain, um, a boundary that you can’t cross, but in New York, there were no boundaries.

You know, guys wore skirts. Girls shaved their heads. You know, people wore black every day, and it wasn’t a funeral. Uh, people took chances, you know, people who go through the fashion magazines and look at the latest everything, and they will want to wear that immediately because they know how to make their own clothes, they could.

So all of that, um, creativity and self-expression, uh, helped me on my journey to become a designer because, um, once you realize the only limits there are to your creativity are the ones you put in front of yourself. When you remove the limits, you know, anything is possible. So, yeah, it helped me, helped me tremendously to be in that environment, um, for two years.

Helen: And I’m curious if you had a vision during this time of exploration about what you wanted to do after you went to school or what your compatriots at the school were planning to do? Was everyone wanting to have their own fashion line, or did you always have the idea in the back of your mind that, you know, sewing patterns were interesting to you or had you kind of moved past that? 

Carlos: I moved past that. I, the sewing patterns thing, um, went in a file in my head somewhere, and I just, don’t know, uh, focused on school studies. At the time everybody wanted to be their own designer. Everyone wanted to have their own label.

That was the dream for most of the people that were with me. I was not so sure about that for myself. Um, I wanted to work for a big designer. I wanted to, like, learn from somebody else initially. I don’t know if it was the lack of ego or just being smart, but I reckoned that if you went on out on your own, so young and with no experience, the chances were, you know, pretty high that you would end up making tons of mistakes and maybe not even survive.

So I, I thought it was smarter to, like, learn from somebody else. So my immediate focus, um, after graduation was to find a job on Seventh Avenue with a big designer. And so sort of build on what I learned from the designer then, you know, take it from there. So that was the plan all along, uh, patterns I wasn’t even thinking about. Um, but Vogue Patterns in a very, um, curious way came into my life at college. For this particular tailoring class, we had to buy a pattern, and I went to one of the fabric stores in New York. And that’s where I had discovered Vogue Patterns which I didn’t know existed. And I was amazed because I opened that book, and I see every top designer was in it. Calvin, Donna, Geoffrey Beene, all the European designers, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, and YSL.

I was, I was looking at that book. I’m thinking, what is this? And why, how did I not know about this? You can buy designer patterns. Uh, and once I discovered that I was super excited about Vogue, but again, um, going to work for them, at that time, didn’t occur to me. I was still thinking that I was going to just finish my school studies and then go to a Seventh Avenue when I get my bonafides from there which is in fact what happened.

Caroline: Yeah. So that was going to be my next question. After you graduated, what did end up happening? Tell us about that time and, kind of, where you ended up working after school. 

Carlos: Well, right before, I finished, uh, school I had to, um, take one last special ed, one last class course. Um, they called it your specialization and that’s what you chose to be.

Whether you were going to study evening wear or children’s wear or whatever. And I was a bit of a contrarian at that time. Everybody wanted it to be in either evening wear or, um, like there was a class called Current Scene which was really trendy clothing. And the one class that nobody wanted to take was tailor design which was coats and suits.

And I was intrigued by that because I’ve always loved tailoring. I’ve always loved men’s tailoring, specifically. So I ended up applying for that course, which again, very few people wanted to even be in it. And so, um, I got in. My class was very small. The teacher was a French professor. It was really tough. But taught us how to make handmade, tailored clothing and, you know, all of that good stuff.

Um, but anyways, as part of the finishing, as far as your, uh, graduation pro, project, you have to make, um, one outfit, design one outfit and make it, and you got to have a critic. My critic was Harve Benard, and he was so impressed with my work that he offered me a job before I even finished school.

Caroline: Wow. 

Carlos: Yeah. So that was a really lucky break because while people around me were stressing a lot whether, whether they’re going to find a job, I was so blessed that this, um, great man who had a very successful company, um, designing coats and suits, he saw some potential in me, offered me a job. So, immediately after graduation, I mean, I went to work for him, uh, on Seventh Avenue, and it was an amazing break. 

Helen: Yeah. That’s incredible. Especially after showing something that you worked really hard on and having somebody critique it and then offer you a job is really a true stamp of approval. I’m sure that must’ve felt amazing. 

Carlos: It felt amazing. And it was unexpected because the thing is, there was another student in my class who was designing a really beautiful, uh, coat. Um, and, we all thought she was able to get the Critics’ Award which was the prize you got if you are the best in the class. We all were sure that she was going to get a job with him.

I designed, her coat was this beautiful grand purple wool coat. And I chose to go with a gray double faced, um, sort of maxi coat shape, uh, very modern, super minimal in styling, but really, um, I felt represented what I liked, and I’ll never forget when he told me that he wanted me to come to work for him. I remember asking him, you know, I could have sworn you were going to give that award to, you know, the other student because her coat was so beautiful and so spectacular, and I’ll never forget what he said.

He said, well, the thing is Carlos, that coat took seven yards of fabric. There’s no way you can make a coat like that, there’s no way you can produce it. So that was his, that was the deciding factor for her not getting the award because part of the assignment was that you have to design something that he, as a manufacturer felt, have potential, um, for commercial success.

And I guess that’s what put me over the edge. My coat had that. But yeah, I was, I was over the moon happy, and this man was such a nice man, such a decent man. Uh, it was, it was a very good opportunity, and I knew that I had to say yes and, uh, see how it went. 

And was your work with him 

Helen: primarily focused on the design side of things? Or were you also working in the production and sewing side of things as well?

Carlos:  Well, it was most production, mostly production. Basically as an assistant designer, what I got to do primarily was draw flats. So I had to do a lot of flats at that time. Uh, I was pretty good. Um, I had some good graphic arts skills, so I was designing brochures.

I was designing, um, uh, putting together presentation boards, which is, um, if you don’t know, when you have a new collection, but you have no samples, you put a board together, you put sketches on it, then you tell the buyers, okay, so this are the clothes. We don’t have clothes yet, but these sketches are to show you what those clothes will look like.

Uh, so we did, I did a lot of those. And, um, I also worked with, um, fabrics. Sometimes we would get boxes and boxes of fabric samples, and we all got together and went through them to pick the ones that we liked the best. Um, learned a lot about putting, uh, color stories together, uh, fabric stories together, you know, designing groups of merchandise, um, by color, by pattern. It was an interesting education.

It wasn’t, it wasn’t the most creative or high fashion, but it was, it was, it was good stuff to know, a good foundation to have. You know, if you’ve never worked in a corporate setting, that in itself is an adjustment, you know? 

Helen: Yeah. I’m sure. And it sounds like a lot of these skills would transfer over really well to sewing pattern design. And we really want to chat with you a bit about your design process and working for Vogue Patterns, but can you bridge that gap for us? How did you get from your first job after school to designing for Vogue Patterns? 

Carlos: So after I worked for Benard Holtzman, at Harve Benard for about a year, um, I got a little bit, I don’t know, anxious, or just wanting to move on because, you know, eventually I wanted to be in high fashion.

So I never forgot about that, and things happen very quickly when you’re that young. I remember, um, there was an opening at a company called Tahari which at the time was doing very, very high end looking women’s dresses and sportswear. And I applied and I got that job. So I told Bernie, um, Mr. Holtzman that I was leaving, that I was gonna get this, take this other job.

And he was like, okay. He wasn’t very happy, but he understood. So I went from Harve Benard to Tahari. And then while at Tahari, a model that I knew from, from Harve Benard called me and said, Carlos, there’s an opening for an assistant designer at Geoffrey Beene. Would you like me to put a word in for you? I know so and so. I can get you an interview, and even though I had just started working at Tahari, um, when she said that to me and the way she said it to me was almost like, it wasn’t a suggestion. It was like, you should do this. So I said, okay. Geoffrey Beene, at the time, was a very important American designer on Seventh Avenue. His clothes were almost close to couture level in terms of quality.

Um, he was like a designer’s designer, they used to call him. And so I, I said, yes. Um, so she gave me the name of the person to call. I contacted this person. I got the, um, appointment, and it just happened very quickly. You know, Harve Benard, went to Tahari, then getting the interview with Geoffrey Beene and then getting the job at Geoffrey Beene.

It all happened within ,like, less than a year, but that interview with Mr. Beene was really good. Uh, he loved my sketches. Uh, he was a very kind man, very, very sweet person. He said, when can you start? And basically, yeah, I got a job. I went to work for Geoffrey Beene for a number of years. Um, that experience with couture clothing was extremely helpful because it did help me get the job at Vogue Patterns.

You know, once I got all that couture training from Geoffrey Beene uh, learning about best fabrics in the world, the best, uh, techniques, um, working on fashion shows, seeing how it, fashion shows got put together, all of that, uh, sort of broadened my horizons. It was just an amazing time. I will say this: once, um, I went to a job with Geoffrey Beene, I did learn something about Seventh Avenue that I didn’t like, that it was, that the pace is insane, first of all. But the thing about high fashion specifically that I didn’t, I found a little disenchanting is that when you’re working at that level, um, the clientele is very small. You spend six months designing these extremely creative, uh, extraordinary clothes, but because the audience is so small, um, you really are, kind of, designing in a bubble.

You know, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s an interesting thing. You think that that will be the best thing you could do, but after three years of designing basically, you know, very elaborate clothes that very few people got to wear, I got to thinking that that’s what they don’t want it to do because in my view, clothes don’t get worn or clothes or fashion that doesn’t make sense for people’s real lives, it’s really not what I wanted to do. So I as much as I enjoyed all that, all those beautiful designs, those beautiful clothes, I realized that I wanted to do something that was a little bit more, um, universal.

So I reckon that high fashion wasn’t for me necessarily. So after three years there, I, you know, took a break to reassess and that’s when the opening at Vogue Patterns came up. Interestingly enough, I remember thinking to myself, you know, I had forgotten about this whole industry. And I had forgotten that I have, in fact, when I was younger, I did for awhile thought, wouldn’t it be cool to work for a pattern company? You know, wouldn’t it be cool to design for patterns? So that opportunity comes up at Vogue Patterns, and I contacted the design director, and I had the interview. And he was really impressed, he was really impressed with the fact that I had worked for Geoffrey Beene. So I think, in a roundabout way, it all worked out because I think the fact that I had Geoffrey Beene experience is the reason he wanted to give me the job. But I think the fact that I also had the experience with the product and then the other side of it, it also helped me, um, get that job.

And I will say that once I started working for Vogue, the head designer who gave me the job, who wanted me for the job, told me later that, um, he really wanted to hire me, but his boss didn’t want him to hire me because she felt that I wasn’t going to stick around for longer than a year. And this was many years ago.

But, but, yeah, I almost did. I got the job because she didn’t want to do, um, his, his boss didn’t want him to hire me, but he insisted, and I came through for him. So here I am. 

Helen: Yeah. So how long has it been now that you’ve been working with Vogue? 

Carlos: It’s been over 20 years. 

Caroline: Wow. You showed her.

Carlos: But I gotta say it was a really great, great opportunity. Yeah. Um, and I, I loved it from day one. I mean, I knew the language they were speaking. Uh, I knew the product really well. And what I enjoyed the most was that, um, these, these nifty little patterns that we put together were going out and, you know, it was just the idea that you can make fashion accessible to as many people as possible. You know, it really made me very happy. 

Helen: Yeah, it’s a nice contrast to what you were saying before about making fashion for, you know, a small group of people versus making fashion for such a large group of people, even, like, a global community. And before the show, you mentioned as well, that in the last 20 years, it’s shifted so much to online, and now there’s just endless opportunities for us all to connect which is amazing. It’s one of the best things about working in the sewing industry, we think. 

Carlos: Uh, I agree, uh, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, what’s given me, I mean, I think given my career like an extra boost at some point. I would say, at some point, maybe it seemed like there was a disconnect. You know, I wasn’t seeing, uh, or wasn’t hearing how things were doing or, or, or it felt like, um, I wasn’t connected to the consumer very much.

Um, but that all changed with the internet. Now you’re connected whether you want to or not, but I, but I definitely am more of the, I want to be connected. I want to know what people are doing because, um, a) it gives me a reason to stay here and then do what I do, but also, uh, motivates, motivates me to, to just keep doing better and better, you know, not to disappoint the consumer out there.

Caroline: Yeah. And I mean, it’s, it’s so interesting what you do for Vogue Patterns now, and we’re so excited to talk to you because we’ve never had the chance to kind of get a peek behind the curtain of Vogue Patterns and, kind of, hear about the process of what it’s like to be a designer working for them. So we, kind of, want to talk about that a little bit. Can you tell us what being a pattern designer for Vogue entails? What kind of things do you do on a daily basis? 

Carlos: Uh, it’s, it’s a very, it’s a very good question. What we do here is, is, is, is complex, and it’s multifaceted, uh, it crosses over very many different areas of the company. It’s not just, um, sitting in front of a computer or sitting on your desk and making sketches all day long.

I mean, that’s part of it. But, but, but not the main part of it. Um, basically, um, what I do is, I’m responsible for making sure that there are things to put in those envelopes. Um, and, and what I’m, what that means is that, you know, when you get together with the team, that’s another solution. I said, team of, there are business people that you work with, um, and you come up with, with plans of what you want to put out.

And then, uh, as a designer, you are there to give them a creative vision of what the consumer would want to get excited about. So I need to do a lot of research, um, like online, I go to stores. I am constantly looking at what’s happening in fashion. And you start gathering ideas, but not in a random way, in a random fashion.

You, sort of, like, make lists. You know, I want these ideas for spring. I want these ideas for fall. I want this ideas for summer, and you come up with these plans for each catalog. And, um, the plan is, you know, how many designs and, and you come up with a very large list of possibilities, of options, if you will, which then get edited down and down and down till you got something that looks like, you know, a good number of propositions for the consumer.

And the editing process involves listening to the business people, listening to the consumer is crucial. I cannot tell you how many times I’m on the blog or on the internet and somebody will say, I wish there was a pattern for this and this and this. And you know, you take note of it, and you work on it, and you, you develop that idea, and it becomes a great success.

So I think the consumer feedback is really important. For Vogue, it’s, it’s a little bit different, I guess, in the sense that the consumer expects a very high level of design and quality. So that makes the challenge a little bit different because, um, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a very specific product. It’s, it’s not supposed to be the easiest, and it’s not supposed to be the fastest to make.

So, you know, you don’t want to err on the side of too difficult. You also don’t want to make it so basic that she’s not gonna feel motivated to spend the extra money on a Vogue pattern but basically, the, the whole idea of, of a Vogue pattern is that it will give you the ability or give you the opportunity to have access to the best fashion, the best designs, are at home. I feel like there’s a lot of people who look at fashion magazines and look at the collections and see very exciting new clothes coming down the runways, and they appreciate the design. They could certainly find ways to make those clothes fit in their lives. But because of the issue of oh, it’s so expensive, or it’s not even accessible to them because the clothes would get made in such small quantities that even if they could afford them, they couldn’t buy them.

So, so having, giving the opportunity to the consumer to have access to those designs, those looks, in the form of a Vogue pattern, it’s it’s it’s what’s um, what makes Vogue special. There is, I know, I say, some people say, oh, it’s so difficult. Uh, and it is, but I feel like if you are a person who has a certain level of experience, and if you want to challenge yourself to make something a little bit more advanced, a little bit more specialized then Vogue gives you that opportunity. And I think that’s what makes the brand stand out. 

Caroline: It really does. I mean, we, we love Vogue Patterns, and we love that they have a little bit more of a high fashion edge. And I wanted to ask you a little bit about, kind of, inspiration and how you choose those runway looks to, kind of, interpret into a Vogue pattern.

Cause we even noticed on your Instagram that you sometimes share those side-by-side images of a Vogue pattern and then a designer, and you do refer to them as sort of straight from the runway. So I’m curious what that process looks like. Like how do you decide what runway looks to, to pick out. 

Carlos: Yeah, well, I, I love fashion. I love designer clothes. I love, I love shows and, and, basically, what I like to think is that, um, first I listened to all the consumer feedback we get online. And people will often be very, very kind and generous with their input. So you keep an ear open and, and try to, like, figure out which designers are trending, which looks are coveted.

You know, like if celebrity X shows up on the red carpet, you know, a striking new design, and there’s a lot of buzz about it and, and in our community, there’s a lot of people talking about it and sharing the image. You know for sure that something like that would appeal to the consumer as a pattern.

So things like that, you know, you have to have to be, um, you know, paying attention to. A lot of what, what drives fashion these days is celebrity, you know. So I spend a lot of time looking at, you know, red carpet photos, magazine spreads, paparazzi shots of, you know, celebrity X, what they wore and what’s, what’s, what’s, what’s trending, you know, things like that.

Um, give you a lot of inspiration and a lot of ideas, what the consumers will find interesting, you know, because that’s basically what makes fashion happen these days is, is the celebrities and what they wear, you know. What, what do you think? 

Helen: Yeah, we’ve said on the show before that more celebrities need to get into sewing because I think if there were more sewing celebrities, then the sewing industry would also have a big boom, and people would be interested in making their own clothes.

Carlos: Yeah. I, I feel like the thing, I mean, why I sew today; there’s so many reasons for wanting to sew, but I feel like, um, the best things, the reason I can give you is that is something that you craft. I mean, it gives you a joy, it entertains you. And then at the end, you end up with someone who can actually put on your back.

I show people that it enhances your life. It enhances the pleasure you take in life. When you have something on that fits you, that’s made meticulously and tailored to your specific likes, I mean, there’s no other feeling in the world. And I mean, yeah, sure, you can maybe go to a store and buy something made that looks great and fits you really well, but what you won’t get from that is the satisfaction of knowing that you did it. You know, and also the, the, the, the, the time, the enjoying, enjoyment of putting it together and all that time spent working on it, is, is something  that you can’t get off the rack. 

Helen: And are you thinking about that a lot in your design process, thinking about the home sewer and interacting with your design and with the pattern, and I’m sure with fashion design versus sewing pattern design, there’s probably some differences there because you have to think about how it’s going to be constructed on home sewing equipment by a home sewer.

Absolutely. 

Carlos: You know, that’s, that’s that support that initially was a bit of the challenge because you know, in ready to wear, you never think about those things. But being a sewer myself, I know what the challenges are, and I know what can make or break a successful project. So I think about that a lot.

I mean, it could be something as simple as, you know, the cutting layout. You know, is that cutting layout unreasonable? Is it gonna drive you crazy? You know, I knew I didn’t really need, like ,10 feet of space to cut that skirt. You know, it starts with things like that. And you also have to think about, are these notions going to be readily available?

Um, am I choosing a fabric that is so specific that if the person sees it and does something like it, they immediately discard the design because of it. So, yeah, uh, that, that’s a huge factor how the consumer, consumer is going to work with it. Is she gonna enjoy the process? That’s very important because I think if you enjoy the process of putting the item together, it makes for a more, uh, successful project, and it gives you more enjoyment.

You know, I would prefer that the person had a good time putting it together. 

Caroline: Yeah, and I’m also curious when in the design process you start thinking about the fabric element of it because also home sewers have, kind of, limited access to different types of fabrics. So what does that look like for you? Do you, kind of, design a pattern with a specific fabric in mind or does that, kind of, come later? 

Carlos: Always, always, always think with the fabric in mind because, um, you know, fabric can be, um, a very important factor in the success of a pattern. So if I design a dress that could only work in knits, but I, you know, tell the pattern maker, it’s going to be woven, that’s a problem. So you have to, you have to know, you know, you have to know what the dress is. This is going to be for wovens, you have to know. If it’s going to be for soft wovens, you have to know these things. Uh, as you’re designing, um, because, you know, when you hand a pattern maker a sketch or a drawing of something, you want that to be as well thought out, nicely edited package.

So the pattern making can get to, through it, without any issues. In couture, you can give a pattern maker a sketch, and you could, she could spend, you know, four weeks on one sketch, and we don’t have that luxury here. So, so the, so that the more, you know, and the more you, um, you think about those technical aspects of the design, the better it is for you in the long run because it makes things run more efficiently and yeah, it, it, it’s, it’s a huge part of what we do here the, the technical part of it. It’s it’s, you know, it’s why this job isn’t for everybody. 

Caroline: Yeah. So, so what does that process look like from, you know, you’re designing the pattern and you’re sort of paring down and deciding what’s going to go ahead into actually, you know, turning that into a sewing pattern, but how many people are involved in that process and what are the steps from design, you know, conceptualization to actually finishing the pattern and putting it out for sale?

Carlos: It’s actually a very tight group of people here. Um, most people think that this must be, oh, a huge, you know, corporation with like loads and loads of, of layers of people, but it’s actually a very tight group. So that helps in some ways, because it helps you get from point A to point B quicker, but it is crucial that, you know, you communicate very efficiently.

So when I’m presenting my new designs, I want to give them a very thorough and complete vision of what the new design is, you know. Is it going to have buttons? How many? All of those things, you know, have to be worked out. Is it going to be a woven? Is it going to be a knit? So you start with that and then when you move on to the next stage, which is patternmakers making patterns, again, you give them a very complete and edited package with all the technical information.

If you have any references, to give the references. Um, and then so on, you checked your, your muslins, you know, you have samples, dress made, and it’s all, like, a big team effort. Um, but again, because it’s a small team, it’s really crucial that communication is, is, is, is honest, is accurate. That’s what makes it work. I don’t know if that makes any sense. 

Helen: Yeah. Yeah, it does. And one thing that comes to mind for me, um, as a pattern designer myself, I have, you know, my own little mini process. Um, but there is a lot of back and forth, you know, after you make a sample, you might tweak something, go back and sew it again and continue to tweak it until it’s perfect.

And I’m wondering if there’s ever time in that process where they come back to the design phase and you change elements in the design, or is it pretty much set from the time that you have decided, you know, like you said, are there buttons and how many. Does that ever change later on in the process? 

Carlos: Um, it does from time to time, you know, we know it can happen sometimes. What happens is sometimes maybe an error was made. Somebody would make a mistake, maybe the patternmaker read the sketch the wrong way or wasn’t paying too much attention to what it, what she was doing. And something happens anyways that was unexpected and sometimes I don’t expect to the thing is exactly what you fall, fall in love with, so that happens from time to time. I try not to be too rigid, and I try not to be too, uh, too tight.

You know, sometimes it is possible that you will go on the floor, and you will see exactly what you wanted, and you’re thrilled. But very often you go there and you find a close approximation and then you have to start tweaking and tweaking and tweaking until you get it where you want it to be. And then again, sometimes you go out there and you find something that’s not even close, but it happens to work even better than what you have in mind. So yeah, there’s, there’s there’s opportunities for tweaking and for changing along the way within reason. 

Helen: Yeah, of course. Well, I imagine you guys are on pretty tight deadlines, putting out so many catalogs and patterns every year. So tell us a bit about what that’s like to work under a deadline, doing all of the things that you’re talking about.

Carlos: It can be exhausting and can be stressful. Um, but, uh, if you have good organizational skills and again, if you communicate and if you, if you handle things sufficiently with, with the teams, um, you get through it. It’s a matter of getting used to, like, looking at your calendar, you know, keeping up with the deadlines, various deadlines, you know, just keeping track of, you know, did I get this? Did I not get it? You know, why is this missing?

Um, but yeah, it’s crucial that you stay on schedule. That’s just a non-negotiable. Um, but, but you do get it done. I mean, again, it’s, it’s the teamwork that makes it happen. And, and only with honest communication, do you get it done. 

Helen: And after 20 years of doing it, does it feel like old hat for you? Are you completely comfortable in that process? Or are there still moments where you’re, like, oh dear, like, we need to get this done, and it’s going off the rails? 

Carlos: Uh, you can get too comfortable. You can get too, uh, complacent. Um, so to me, that’s, that’s what makes it exciting. And then I, to this day, I still feel like, you know, I’m constantly learning and constantly pushing myself, you know, to keep going, you know, again, uh, I think it’s a mistake to get too complacent or too comfortable.

And luckily for me, that’s, that’s never been the case. Um, it’s, it’s, it’s an ever changing job. You know, fashion changes, and you have to change too. 

Caroline: And what’s your favorite, kind of, phase in the process of getting a pattern released? 

Carlos: To me, definitely the research. It’s what I like the most. I like going through all the ideas that I put together, reading the blogs, reading online and seeing the reviews, seeing what’s sold. Instead of, like, trying to create a story based on all that data that makes sense. But that also feels like it’s a story you haven’t told yet because I feel like in fashion, uh, what you’re doing is you’re telling stories, you know, at the end of the day. You know, so what story do you want to tell this season?

Uh, so that, that, that research is what’s, what’s interesting to me. Um, the pattern making part of it is really interesting as well. Um, you know, seeing people’s interpretation of your ideas is always interesting, but yeah, the research part of it is, is, is what’s exciting to me. I mean, once the clothes are made, unless the clothes are being photographed, you have been, you’re so far removed from it that it feels like it’s old news. And it’s ironic because you spent six months working on something, and then when the stuff finally comes out, you’re like, oh, I’m so tired of that thing. Meanwhile, you people haven’t even seen them because they haven’t gone on sale yet, but yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s the early stages of the process that get me excited. 

Helen: Well, that makes sense. I mean, that is your wheelhouse, right? You’re the one coming up with the, the ideas and the design which I’m sure is really exciting. And I can imagine seeing all your designs come to fruition and the final samples and photo shoots and everything is probably also very exciting. 

Carlos: It is. But again, by the time that happens, I’m already, like, two collections later. So it’s, it feels like it’s old news. Yeah, exactly. It’s an old story. It’s a book that I’ve read several times, and I know from memory, so I’m ready to let it go though. But I will say this, um, once the designs hit the market and people start talking about them, then that’s exciting. It’s, it’s, my second favorite thing is seeing people’s reactions, good and bad. That’s all you want, you want to get a reaction. You want people to talk about it. And then when I see that happen, I get very happy. Like, we just put out at a new, uh, collection, Winter/Holiday, uh, has been up for, like, 10 days. And that’s exciting because that’s people, real people in real time, you know, interacting with the product and it’s, it’s just great.

Helen: Yeah. And what is the story behind the Winter/Holiday collection this year? 

Carlos: So, I was thinking that even though we all love casual wear and we all like to dress really casual, I keep thinking about, you know, if I had a party to go to in the holidays, if I had a little event to attend. If there’s women out there who want to, you know, look special then and make something, you know, that will wow the people at whatever event or whatever location they have to, um, they have to go to that time of the year, what would they want to wear? So a lot of what we did for that issue was, you know, festive and pretty, and, sort of, like, just dress up looks, uh, I think we cover a variety of, of body types and shapes.

So it isn’t everything is super this or super that, but the main goal was to give a more dressed up, look, you know, to the consumer and, and give them options still to, you know, to make themselves look a little bit more pulled together.

Helen: Yeah. I’m seeing a lot of sequins which I absolutely adore and jumpsuits. I mean, I’m here for it. It’s beautiful. 

Carlos: Rich colors and, you know, a little bit of glitter, a little bit of all that stuff, because again, you might not wear that all the time, but once in a while, if you made a beautiful sequined dress, whether you make a maxi or short, it’s your choice. But if you make a pretty sequined dress in a stretch fabric, you put it on.

It’s not uncomfortable. It’s not tight. It doesn’t pull. It’s just liquid. And you go to the event and you get a glass of wine and a cocktail, and you know, you look better than anybody at the party, and you’ll have a good time. 

Caroline: You’re really painting a picture. I love it. 

Helen: Yeah. And you made your outfit, so you have the extra boost of confidence.

Carlos: Absolutely! If you like it so much, you can make it againin something not sequined.

Caroline: So what trends are inspiring you right now? And are you able to give us, like, a little sneak peek into any, like, upcoming patterns that are coming out or the styles that Vogue is going to focus on in 2020? 

Carlos: Um, in very general terms, I could tell you that the goal for Vogue is to be as, as, as, as high fashion as, as, as special as possible.

So, uh, I, I will be looking for more of that in the next, in 2020. They want the brand to stand apart. We want, want the brand to, like, have something unique to say, uh, to the consumer because I think in the end, there’s just so many different options for her. There’s no point in me having something that somebody else already has.

So for Vogue that will be, you know, more high fashion, more and more runaway inspired looks, you know, more and more of that, you know, giving her access to the best of the best. 

Helen: And looking back on 2019, do you have a favorite pattern design of yours or maybe a favorite pattern design of all time even, if you can think of one?

Carlos: Yeah, I mean, there was this one dress that we did, um, a couple of years ago that it’s, it was extremely popular at the beginning and continues to be, it was, um, V9253. It was a plunging neck dress with this beautiful little, like, tie that came from the back and tied, at the front. It was a, um, maxi shape.

And that dress has been incredibly popular. It’s one of my favorites for sure. People have made it in so many different ways, and, uh, it’s a very easy Vogue pattern. So it’s not difficult to make which is, kind of, ironic when you think about it, the easy Vogue. But, um, but yeah, that’s, that’s one of my favorites, for sure, 9253. 

Helen: We have seen that a lot in the community. I have that pattern myself, and I haven’t found the perfect fabric yet, but it is stunning. I mean, it just looks so glamorous, but also comfortable. What more could you want? 

Carlos: Yeah. And it works in every possible fabric there is. I mean, somebody had made it in sheer fabric even.

Helen: Wow. 

Carlos: Which, kind of, blew my mind because you could see right through it. But, but yeah, it’s super versatile. Um, it was a surprise that it did so well because that neckline is quite deep. Um, but it’s, hasn’t been an issue. I mean, some people choose to, like, close it up a little bit. 

Helen: Yeah. Yeah. I’ve seen that or wear a little camisole under it or something like that. You know, you can do what you would like with it. It’s beautiful. Very cool. 

Caroline: So to wrap up our conversation about, kind of, pattern design and the sewing world, I’m curious, in the 20 plus years that you’ve been working with Vogue and designing patterns, what are some ways that you’ve seen the sewing world evolve uh, over this time? I know we, kind of, touched on social media and that connection side, but have you seen any other shifts or shifts in the sewing community over the years? 

Carlos: Yeah, um, definitely, the, um, the, um, the, um, the PDF pattern phenomenon. That’s incredibly exciting and new. Um, the fact that there are so many, uh, independent labels out there is very exciting.

It, kind of, shows me that, you know, there’s a lot of people out there who want to sew they just need, you know, more options. So that’s exciting. I mean, when I first came to the industry, it was Vogue, Butterick, McCall’s, and Simplicity, and that was it. So, um, and, and some European pattern books, but yeah, the, the, the immense amount of indies the PDF patterns, uh, all of that stuff, um, it’s super exciting. You know, it gives me hope for the future because, you know, if, if those didn’t exist, if it was just the four of us, we’d be like, oh, okay.

Helen: Yeah, we agree. It’s so exciting to see the shifts that are happening. And we feel like there are more people discovering sewing every day and that there are different pattern companies for different things. And I think Vogue patterns is perfect, like you said, for those special moments, if you want to dress more like the runway trends or you want to tackle something more challenging. We’re always trying to encourage our listeners to get out of their comfort zone and try something that’s a little bit more couture, something that’s a little bit more difficult, but that it will pay off in the long run because they’re going to learn so much from it. 

Carlos: Yeah. I mean, there’s this place for fast sewing. There’s a place for slow sewing. I mean, the point is: you have options, and you should. 

Caroline: I also want to hear a little bit about your own sewing and if you are also sewing your own clothes and, kind of, what that looks like for you.

Carlos: Yeah. I definitely make my own clothes. I’m a slow sewer. I’m not a fast sewer. But, uh, on Instagram I have, um, an account where I, um, uh, aside from posting the things that we do here, I post my own outfits that I’ve made. Um, I’ve made, uh, the shirt pattern, um, V9220, like five times. I, I’ve made it in so many different ways that aren’t even on the pattern, like I’ve hacked it to make it into other things. But I do love making shirts. Uh, I love making jackets. Um, and for me, it’s about getting inspired by something that I can’t find in the store. Like, I want to make just a basic shirt, which is why I’ve taken this pattern and, kind of, twisted it every which way, but I want to have, if I don’t, if it doesn’t exist in a store, then I want to make it. So, um, that’s, that’s the primary motivation. Uh, I’ll mix these things, and I’m a slow sewer. I enjoy, you know, basting things by hand you know, cutting things one single layer of fabric at a time so everything matches. It, that’s, that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy hand sewing, um, and all those, like, time consuming techniques because to me,unless I’m rushing, I I’ll, I’ll spend four weeks on a shirt. But I’ll be so happy with the end result, that it’s worth it. And I do it in installments. I’ll only sew, like, for a couple of hours at a time. That helps. 

Helen: Yeah, that’s great to hear. All, all our listeners are always trying to find time to sew and are sometimes hard on themselves for taking a long time to make something. But it sounds like you are really embracing all of those nice details and taking time with your fabric and with your project to really feel the love and enjoy the experience which is a huge part of sewing.

Carlos: Yeah, my dressmaking manager here will give me the best piece of advice is of course you don’t have to,you can sew for one hour a day and you know, you’ll, you’ll get there. But you know exactly, but no pressure, no rush. Just, just do it whenever you can. Do an hour to two hours. Um, but enjoy the process.

Helen: We tell our listeners do 10 minutes. 

Carlos: I mean, even if that, but it’s you build up on that and before you knew it, I mean, again, it’s, it’s, it’s about enjoying the, uh, the, the, the trip, the, the, the, the journey. And I feel like if you put too much pressure of, oh, I’ve got to finish it in this many hours. It’s, it’s self-defeating.

Helen: We also were wondering about your fabric stash because, living in New York, you know, you mentioned you have access to all these amazing fabrics, and I’m sure you see tons of fabrics at work. So do you have your own personal collection at home? Are you raiding the Vogue collection at work? 

Carlos: Uh, I have a very, I’m pretty good about not accumulating a lot of fabrics. And I try to, if I buy, um, if I buy a fabric, I have very specific purposes for each one of those fabrics. So I tend to go through them, you know, I use them, so I don’t have a big stash. It is a very, very modest little number of fabrics that I have yet to cut through. But normally the process for me is I get the idea. I get a pattern that I want to work with, and I go get the fabric. I just get to it. Um, I mean, it may not be  immediately, but I’ll get to it and I try not to buy any more fabric until I have gone through the ones I have already, you know, put aside. 

Helen: Oh, Carlos, it’s reasonable. 

Carlos: I know, I know. I was made that way. 

Helen: It makes so much sense when you say it.

Carlos: Yeah. Yeah. But, but yeah, but, I mean, yeah, it’s hard because there’s so many different fabric stores here. You could go a little crazy. We do have fabric sales from time to time. And I always say to myself, you know, I’d rather let that go to somebody else who would love it more than I will. So I’m very generous like that. 

Caroline: Oh, well, I also wanted to encourage our listeners to go check out your Instagram account. You recently posted a really cool picture of a shirt that you made with this awesome piece that sort of wraps around the back, and it’s just so high fashion and so cool. And I wonder, do you often kind of incorporate those more high fashion elements into your own personal wardrobe? Like what is your, kind of, personal style? 

Carlos: Absolutely. I mean, personal style is classic with a twist. So, uh, a shirt like that, you know, the idea was that, you know, it wasn’t really an idea. I just thought of, what would it look like if I had a scarf that was built into the shirt and then I know, know pattern making and I can draft my own patterns.

So I took a basic shirt and I drafted this panel, you know, that went over and became a scarf. And I adjusted the back and what have you. And, you know, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. I, I did, uh, a very, you know, fast, little, like, muslin of it. And it worked, but I, I do love those, those special pieces, you know, to supplement the more classic things that I have.

And that’s, that’s why I sew. And that’s only, that’s really the reason why I learned to sew to begin with. As a teenager, I liked designer clothes. I liked looking at GQ, uh, Magazine for men. And seeing all those amazing clothes, and, um, I’m thinking well, I mean, my mom sews. I can sew. And really, that’s really how I got started. And all these years later, it still motivates me. 

Helen: So wonderful hearing all about your journey. And we’re so happy that we got a chance to talk with you today. 

Carlos: Thank you very much. 

Caroline: Tell our listeners where they can find you online. 

Carlos: Well there’s um, on Instagram is @carlosvoguepatterns and Facebook as well. And, of course, there’s McCall pattern company Facebook page and Instagram page. 

Caroline: Awesome. Thank you so much again for chatting with us. It was amazing to hear your whole story and how, you know, you just came full circle with designing, and we just loved hearing about your journey. So thanks a lot. 

Carlos: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Helen: Okay. Take care. Buh-bye. 

Carlos: Bye. 

Caroline: That’s it for this Love to Sew favorite, we’ll be back in September with our new season. And in the meantime, you can find me Caroline at blackbirdfabrics.com and Helen at helensclosetpatterns.com and our Love to Sew swag shop at lovetosewshop.com.  

Helen: We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and you can get in touch with us and get links for everything we talked about in this episode at lovetosewpodcast.com. Just search for the episode title.

Caroline: And of course, if you want to join our Patreon fam, now is a great time to start. For just $5 U.S. per month, you’ll get access to our monthly bonus episode. And $10 U.S. per month will get you a 15% off discount code for Blackbird Fabrics, Helen’s Closet, and our Love to Sew swag shop, plus a bonus mini-sode. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew for more info. 

Thanks to our amazing podcast team. And thank you all so much for listening. We’ll talk to you soon. .

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