Did you meet while studying fashion design in college?
We’ve been friends since 2005; we met at the Yacht Club, where we were both on the hockey team and played in the same division. Today, we’re part of the same group of friends. We went through college practically together—especially during our last three years—and now we’re taking our final courses together.
What stage of their career are they at?
We've finished taking all our courses; we just have a few exams left before we can complete Portfolio 4 and graduate!
How did the desire to start your own brand come about?
Throughout college, we talked about starting a business together.
The truth is that the degree program is demanding and time-consuming, so we had to wait until we finished our studies before we could start planning. Starting in February of this year (when we completed our capstone project), we began developing the brand by combining our interests and our vision of fashion, which led us to envision a shared dream: to create a Uruguayan designer brand.
SAVIA es la fusión Helena+Paula.
Did what was available on the market fail to meet your expectations or interests?
The reality is that we believe there are very few offerings on the market that stand out from the rest.
Brand managers cater to a young audience and make sure they stock items they know will sell.
What are the differences between your brand and others on the market (local or regional)?
It will be characterized by a sense of purity and harmony, with a clean and uncluttered aesthetic. It finds beauty in clean, unadorned lines, free of superfluous elements, and seeks to blend the harmony of nature—with its simple, organic forms—with the Le Corbusier-inspired principles of modern architecture, such as purity, beauty, and functionality.
Our goal is to set ourselves apart by using high-quality materials such as linen, denim, cotton, wool, and leather, among others, and to innovate by incorporating A-line silhouettes so that each garment’s design is unisex. Broadly speaking, we believe that women, at times, can wear the same clothes as men—and vice versa.
Do you identify with local or regional trends? Who are your role models?
We aim to project a youthful and refreshed brand image, offering clothing that is both classic and modern. High quality, cutting-edge design, and sustainability are our main driving forces.
We want to convey that investing in quality products and building a wardrobe of classic pieces—which can be paired with constantly evolving styles in an ever-changing environment—is the current trend.
We follow many fashion brands and designers.The Row is one of our main inspirations; we draw inspiration from their signature cuts, which are defined by the waistline, the silhouette, and the fit.
What audience are they targeting?
The brand targets women in the ABC1 demographic aged 25 to 60: urban, independent, and enterprising women who are self-assured and strive for perfection in various aspects of their lives.
She is a grounded, well-balanced woman with a conscious worldview and a strong commitment to environmental causes. Her elegant style conveys a sense of purity and vitality. She is stylish, fun, classic, modern, cheerful, unpretentious, sophisticated, natural, well-balanced, discreet, and healthy.
What was it like to approach the brand from a communications and business perspective?
We sought advice on the aspects of the business where we lack experience. We have a friend who is studyingCommunication at university, Eugenia Queirolo—an excellent professional with extensive experience in the field who works with clothing on a daily basis. She helps us with our brand image, communication, and outreach on social media and in the press. Thanks to Euge, we’re on the right track.
We commissioned the graphic design from the Olga design studio, a team of highly talented professionals including Lucía Picerno and Kenia de los Campos, who also attended the university.
In other areas, we ask for help from family members who have experience in management, and if there’s something we don’t know, we learn it and do our best to ensure everything is handled as professionally as possible.
Formally speaking, when was SAVIA officially established?
We began developing the brand in February of this year; it took us several months to come up with the concept and bring the brand image, the collection, the search for a location, and our communication strategy to life.
Why SAVIA?
It was very difficult to choose a name; every time we picked one, it was either already taken in our industry or was an internationally recognized brand. Since our medium-term goal is to export, we didn't want any obstacles standing in our way.
In the end, the graphic design team and I chose the name SAVIA because we felt it was simple, unpretentious, and captured what we wanted the brand to represent.
The launch took place at the latest edition of MoWeek, and it was a huge success!
How did you end up at MoWeek, and what was that experience like?
The initial plan was to launch the brand atMoWeek with a showroom, giving the public a chance to see what SAVIA has to offer.
Two weeks earlier, we applied to Proyectarse, a competition organized by the Chamber of Design and MoWeek, which gives young entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their designs on the runway. We were selected and were able to participate in the fashion show and present our first collection, which received a lot of attention and very positive feedback.
We also took part in the business matchmaking sessions organized by the same group as Proyectarse, where we were able to personally showcase our products to representatives from companies such as Refinery 29, Cool Hunters, and E! Online, who saw the potential for our products to be featured on their e-commerce platforms!
And we were mentioned in an article by Micaela del Prado—a highly acclaimed blogger who writes for E! Online—in which she listed the 10 Uruguayan brands you need to know, ranking SAVIA in fourth place!
How did what you learned in college help you with this process?
We participated in the Lento Mode On and Moda Motion Uy projects, and we also had the opportunity to work with brands through our final-year course, the Capstone Project.
These experiences enriched us academically, but above all, they prepared us to enter the professional world; that is why we are now joining forces to start a business together.
Everything we know is thanks to our professors, who nurtured us academically and pushed us to strive for ever greater excellence in every aspect of our professional lives.
What are your plans for the future?
Open a SAVIA store and export our products. We want to showcase Uruguayan designer fashion and make it known both regionally and internationally.