— FASHION — INTERVIEW
“Dubié is assertive, instinctual, exquisite, progressive, present, sharp, unfazed, crude”—Agustina Dubié
A synthesis of the chaotic street culture in her hometown, Buenos Aires, and exquisite silhouettes were the starting point for Agustina Dubié to create her brand Dubié.
One of her signs of identity is the careful aesthetics, practicality and comfort of her shoes, considered as a second skin. With her designs, Dubié offers a contemporary vision of shoe craftsmanship, clearly betting on quality and tradition, without leaving aside innovation.
Agustina Dubié's career has been frenetic.
Studied Arts and Fashion Design in Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Moved to London in 2010, where she continued her studies in Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Worked for designers Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda Ilincic.
In 2012 she founded Dubié.
Included by Harper's Bazaar amongst the 14 most influential women from the fashion and arts scene in Buenos Aires, her collections were featured in prestigious media such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, I-D, Style.com, and many others.
We had the pleasure of talking with Agustina Dubié about her work, her new designs, her thoughts... and she shows us exclusively Time Management, a video series as a preview of her new SS21 collection.
Time Management is a series of videos inspired by the techniques and shortcuts we have adopted to manage time. The main idea behind the project lies in intimacy. Affected by periods of self-absorption, isolation, and interruption within our over-inhabited spaces has shaped this new luxury we know as intimacy. This series centers on the austere expressions of our protagonists, without punchlines and intervention, but in raw, quotidian solitude. In collaboration with various profiles and ages, we discover the distinctive shades of a Dubié woman and what it means to be an ageless brand.
How did your brand begin? How did the idea come about?
It began with what I understood as a need, a need not only for a type of product but a type of attitude and expression for people of today.
To create something beautiful or cool is not enough. I think those guidelines are old school. I was quite obsessed with finding those new guidelines to present exquisite, in looks and feel, sharp in shapes and attitude, street in location and inspiration, and something for everyday situations and comfort. Though the construction of our core was hard and took years for the brand to become whole, I knew I could.
Having Dubié become a reality and to exist had brought me into a much more complicated place than I imagined. Not only due to the business aspect, but I've also come to realize that I expose my inner self a lot and, at the end of every season, have found myself drained and exhausted. I'm constantly thinking about the product, and if it is truly and faithfully Dubié, so it is a never-ending thing.
How is your day to day life?
It's quite chaotic and disorganized, and I'm always on the run, both physically and mentally. I try to have periods of concentration and deconcentration so that nothing becomes overwhelming or stuck. In that sense, I kind of need to be in the mood of doing things rather than force situations or impose unrealistic objectives on myself. I believe it helps me creatively, not only for designing but for thinking about where we're at and where I want to take Dubié. It's not clear how much time I work, but things get done, and I enjoy the process, so I can't complain.
What are your inspirations for the development of your designs?
What I use to develop the collection is very mental. I think all the time and read, mostly about current issues. It's tough for me to read about the past; I'm limited to now, right now. Lately, I've read a lot about social, political, cultural constructions and the use of micropolitics to tackle these issues, with the ultimate goal of materializing or translating this into a product. It's a very abstract method, yet it somehow helps me come to conclusions on what I want to do and don't, which I find to be very important.
I also study the use and the shapes that make sense for us today. It's about providing a tool, of use, and attitude. To be able to stand strong and confident are the elements and guidelines I design by.
Buenos Aires is quite a harsh city, so being ready for that is a challenge. Like getting ready to run on uncertain ground. Dubié is removing the unnecessary, the ornamental, and the limitations of discomfort without sacrificing the quest for a sharp look. I like to think that our shoes assure the wearer who steps out into the streets knowing they're ready for everything.
How do you assess the current fashion world? What do you think the future will be?
I believe fashion is always looking forward, and as it is my objective to move and change, it suits me well, but on the other side, I'm entirely opposed to discarding. I think offering something that is not likely to be discarded is a starting point. It's ambitious to predict the future in such a massive industry, and I think the big players will, in the end, define it. Luckily, consumers are shaping the industry more and more; they're asking the right questions about what they're buying into, who made it, where it is produced, where the supplies are coming from, and their voices are loud and clear. For us, it's been in our nature to have an interest in producing something that we would consume, so putting ourselves in the consumer's place has continuously guided our work.
How do you assess the necessary sustainability of fashion brands? What measures do you take with regard to your brand?
This is a critical angle that I work on a lot. All shoes are crafted and sourced locally with materials that are responsibly tanned and have a 96% traceability, while we avoid the use of plastic and petrol produced resources. A friend of mine, who is vegan and rather conscientious, once said, while alternative materials for shoes work as great substitutes, her Dubié shoes have been dependable for the past eight years. They've not been a waste while alternative materials such as fabric or vegan leather tend to be discarded season after season.
How has your vision of your business changed with the current global health situation?
It's pushed me further to have a deeper view on needs, comfort, and try harder to offer what people need now. Our world has changed a lot this year, and the product should change with it. Our home is where we now need to stand as powerful as we used to stand in the streets. So, when it comes to shoes, we now have different situations to consider.
What advice would you give to a fashion student who wants to start her own business?
Hard one. But first, stay true to yourself. Think about what you and only you can offer, what you're good at, and what you're not so good at. Find support and help in those areas; we all need help. Teamwork is everything. There will come times when you lose yourself; simply go back. You can always rethink, reevaluate, and redo. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn and try not to make those same mistakes but make use of them. For me, it helps to step out of the product and brand. Go read and see what drives you because this is continually changing, and we need that to work. I often get inspired by talking to other people; as designers, we produce things to be worn, so listening may help you see what to provide.
Critical conversations are circling the media on gender equality and fluidity today — how do you think Dubié integrates inclusivity?
There are many things to be done to dismantle the modern anthropocentric, binary patriarchy construction we live in. And it starts with micropolitics and thinking. It's an ambitious agenda to tackle this issue, but it has to be done.
For us, it starts as defining ourselves not within a category but as a group of attributes, neither female nor male, just words that can describe what we all personally relate to. These words can create an affinity, not to an image but an idea, to a possibility. They empower us and hope it will have the same effect on other beings. I know we'll keep constructing and rethinking them while also planning a movement more visual and public. Maybe scream a little bit, which is something we're not used to.
Dubié is assertive, instinctual, exquisite, progressive, present, sharp, unfazed, crude.
What are your future plans?
To keep expanding myself in every aspect. To grow, to reach new people, to have my ideas be heard and recognized. To keep reading and learning all the time. Maybe even give up smoking and definitively make my mother understand that it doesn't mean I am having a hard time if I'm not calling her every two days.
Discover more about Dubié new collection here.
You can also follow all the news of Dubié on Instagram.
— FASHION — INTERVIEW
“Dubié is assertive, instinctual, exquisite, progressive, present, sharp, unfazed, crude”—Agustina Dubié
A synthesis of the chaotic street culture in her hometown, Buenos Aires, and exquisite silhouettes were the starting point for Agustina Dubié to create her brand Dubié.
One of her signs of identity is the careful aesthetics, practicality and comfort of her shoes, considered as a second skin. With her designs, Dubié offers a contemporary vision of shoe craftsmanship, clearly betting on quality and tradition, without leaving aside innovation.
Agustina Dubié's career has been frenetic.
Studied Arts and Fashion Design in Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Moved to London in 2010, where she continued her studies in Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Worked for designers Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda Ilincic.
In 2012 she founded Dubié.
Included by Harper's Bazaar amongst the 14 most influential women from the fashion and arts scene in Buenos Aires, her collections were featured in prestigious media such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, I-D, Style.com, and many others.
We had the pleasure of talking with Agustina Dubié about her work, her new designs, her thoughts... and she shows us exclusively Time Management, a video series as a preview of her new SS21 collection.
Time Management is a series of videos inspired by the techniques and shortcuts we have adopted to manage time. The main idea behind the project lies in intimacy. Affected by periods of self-absorption, isolation, and interruption within our over-inhabited spaces has shaped this new luxury we know as intimacy. This series centers on the austere expressions of our protagonists, without punchlines and intervention, but in raw, quotidian solitude. In collaboration with various profiles and ages, we discover the distinctive shades of a Dubié woman and what it means to be an ageless brand.
How did your brand begin? How did the idea come about?
It began with what I understood as a need, a need not only for a type of product but a type of attitude and expression for people of today.
To create something beautiful or cool is not enough. I think those guidelines are old school. I was quite obsessed with finding those new guidelines to present exquisite, in looks and feel, sharp in shapes and attitude, street in location and inspiration, and something for everyday situations and comfort. Though the construction of our core was hard and took years for the brand to become whole, I knew I could.
Having Dubié become a reality and to exist had brought me into a much more complicated place than I imagined. Not only due to the business aspect, but I've also come to realize that I expose my inner self a lot and, at the end of every season, have found myself drained and exhausted. I'm constantly thinking about the product, and if it is truly and faithfully Dubié, so it is a never-ending thing.
How is your day to day life?
It's quite chaotic and disorganized, and I'm always on the run, both physically and mentally. I try to have periods of concentration and deconcentration so that nothing becomes overwhelming or stuck. In that sense, I kind of need to be in the mood of doing things rather than force situations or impose unrealistic objectives on myself. I believe it helps me creatively, not only for designing but for thinking about where we're at and where I want to take Dubié. It's not clear how much time I work, but things get done, and I enjoy the process, so I can't complain.
What are your inspirations for the development of your designs?
What I use to develop the collection is very mental. I think all the time and read, mostly about current issues. It's tough for me to read about the past; I'm limited to now, right now. Lately, I've read a lot about social, political, cultural constructions and the use of micropolitics to tackle these issues, with the ultimate goal of materializing or translating this into a product. It's a very abstract method, yet it somehow helps me come to conclusions on what I want to do and don't, which I find to be very important.
I also study the use and the shapes that make sense for us today. It's about providing a tool, of use, and attitude. To be able to stand strong and confident are the elements and guidelines I design by.
Buenos Aires is quite a harsh city, so being ready for that is a challenge. Like getting ready to run on uncertain ground. Dubié is removing the unnecessary, the ornamental, and the limitations of discomfort without sacrificing the quest for a sharp look. I like to think that our shoes assure the wearer who steps out into the streets knowing they're ready for everything.
How do you assess the current fashion world? What do you think the future will be?
I believe fashion is always looking forward, and as it is my objective to move and change, it suits me well, but on the other side, I'm entirely opposed to discarding. I think offering something that is not likely to be discarded is a starting point. It's ambitious to predict the future in such a massive industry, and I think the big players will, in the end, define it. Luckily, consumers are shaping the industry more and more; they're asking the right questions about what they're buying into, who made it, where it is produced, where the supplies are coming from, and their voices are loud and clear. For us, it's been in our nature to have an interest in producing something that we would consume, so putting ourselves in the consumer's place has continuously guided our work.
How do you assess the necessary sustainability of fashion brands? What measures do you take with regard to your brand?
This is a critical angle that I work on a lot. All shoes are crafted and sourced locally with materials that are responsibly tanned and have a 96% traceability, while we avoid the use of plastic and petrol produced resources. A friend of mine, who is vegan and rather conscientious, once said, while alternative materials for shoes work as great substitutes, her Dubié shoes have been dependable for the past eight years. They've not been a waste while alternative materials such as fabric or vegan leather tend to be discarded season after season.
How has your vision of your business changed with the current global health situation?
It's pushed me further to have a deeper view on needs, comfort, and try harder to offer what people need now. Our world has changed a lot this year, and the product should change with it. Our home is where we now need to stand as powerful as we used to stand in the streets. So, when it comes to shoes, we now have different situations to consider.
What advice would you give to a fashion student who wants to start her own business?
Hard one. But first, stay true to yourself. Think about what you and only you can offer, what you're good at, and what you're not so good at. Find support and help in those areas; we all need help. Teamwork is everything. There will come times when you lose yourself; simply go back. You can always rethink, reevaluate, and redo. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn and try not to make those same mistakes but make use of them. For me, it helps to step out of the product and brand. Go read and see what drives you because this is continually changing, and we need that to work. I often get inspired by talking to other people; as designers, we produce things to be worn, so listening may help you see what to provide.
Critical conversations are circling the media on gender equality and fluidity today — how do you think Dubié integrates inclusivity?
There are many things to be done to dismantle the modern anthropocentric, binary patriarchy construction we live in. And it starts with micropolitics and thinking. It's an ambitious agenda to tackle this issue, but it has to be done.
For us, it starts as defining ourselves not within a category but as a group of attributes, neither female nor male, just words that can describe what we all personally relate to. These words can create an affinity, not to an image but an idea, to a possibility. They empower us and hope it will have the same effect on other beings. I know we'll keep constructing and rethinking them while also planning a movement more visual and public. Maybe scream a little bit, which is something we're not used to.
Dubié is assertive, instinctual, exquisite, progressive, present, sharp, unfazed, crude.
What are your future plans?
To keep expanding myself in every aspect. To grow, to reach new people, to have my ideas be heard and recognized. To keep reading and learning all the time. Maybe even give up smoking and definitively make my mother understand that it doesn't mean I am having a hard time if I'm not calling her every two days.
Discover more about Dubié new collection here.
You can also follow all the news of Dubié on Instagram.
