Michelle Del Rio

Interview by Wes Hardin | Photography by Andres Altamirano

Founded in the living room of her New York City apartment in 2019, American designer Michelle Del Rio’s eponymous label has for the last four years mapped deeply personal constellations in her own family history.Through a meticulous, slow-grown approach to design and production, Del Rio crafts one-off garments and limited capsules that, with the aid of her tender, deeply romantic storytelling voice and sensibility, pay homageto a multi-continental Latin heritage. Most recently, Del Rio partnered with Ecuadorian, Brooklyn-based photographer Andrés Altamirano to document her latest collection as part of his La Herencia project, which archives and celebrates Latinx artists and creatives in the diaspora. As she prepares to move her atelier to Paris, Del Rio and I sat down to speak about her new collection, Milagros, and her ideas for the future.

In a way, I always like to start from the beginning. Where do you see yours?

Hmm, I think the beginning for me had to be the moment I realized that pursuing architecture was not for me. I remember being in class and panicking that I really felt I had made a big mistake. It’s interesting you say that––I think often that the two disciplines, architecture and fashion design, share all kinds of overlaps. Both marry real necessities, buildings and clothing, with a space to imagine how we might live in them, how we might tell stories about ourselves, or think differently, or connect newly. I suppose that’s really just what design of all kinds seeks to do. Are there any aspects of this initial draw toward architecture, and maybe some of the things you learned while there, that remain or persist in your imagination? I think architecture definitely fed my love for structure and form. What really turned me off is that there are so many rules to follow because, you know, physics [laughs]. Something I’ve noticed with other designer friends is that they often see texture and textile first, while I’ve always thought of structure and form first, rather than necessarily thinking of the fabric. I love the puzzle of it all, and there are no rules with garment-making. You don’t have to worry that the building is going to fall if you want to make the ceiling curve a certain way. Making clothing shouldn’t be that serious!

Connecting that to the present moment, could you tell me a bit about the inception of your namesake label?

Well, at first I really didn’t know anything about fashion, designers, or how the industry works. I just knew I always wanted to make clothing, but I thought I couldn’t because I had to come from an affluent background, and also it was too late––meaning I was already in my early 20s in college for architecture. To be honest, I still don’t know exactly what it is that I’m doing, but I do have a strong vision for silhouettes, stories, and texture. Everything always feels so abstract until I can connect it with something personal… and I guess in a way, that’s how the birth of the eponymous label started.

How would you describe your vision?

Romantic and a little sad, if that makes sense. I think of Pablo Neruda’s poems. If I can put a context to what I envision, I think of his poems about love and loss. Your newest collection, Milagros, definitely reflects that romanticism, as well many aspects of the design sensibility you’ve worked thus far to create. Though, I should say, with some new departures and focuses.

Could you talk a bit about the title of the collection and some of your inspirations?

Well, it sounds a little unorthodox but it all started with a medium, a spirit guide I started seeing. My dad passed away three years ago, around the same time I moved to New York. I was really depressed for a while. The grief I felt was profound in a way where it inspired a lot of visuals. It was so weird, like why am I feeling this way? I had an idea for a collection but put it behind me until I spoke to this medium who knew nothing about me, and, aside from mentioning my dad, she mentioned the women on my mom’s side of the family. How they all carried so much grief and, in a way, I was a channel and I needed to create something out of it. I remember her saying, “look lady, I don’t know exactly what it is that you do but just know, it’s not for you. You’re a channel and you need to connect to all your roots. You also have strong ties to Spain––you need to go and see what’s there.” It really sparked my interest in talking to family in Colombia and asking questions about my great grandmother who is from Catalonia (Spain). From there, I encountered so much sorrow. It actually made me more depressed [laughs]. But I was also inspired by all the women before me. It was bringing all the parts of my background, Mexican, Colombian, and Spanish into one. One thing that those countries have in common is the use of milagros, which are good luck charms. The charms are meant to be on your person, such as on a bracelet or a necklace, and they serve as little prayers for healing. It could be your heart, your ear, tooth, etc… Milagros felt like an appropriate title for the collection because I feel like everything I made had a purpose to heal a part of me that deeply needed it.

There are a couple of looks from the collection that I wanted to talk about in particular. There’s this fabulous black and deep ivory dress with a drop waist, a sheer lace bodice, shimmering black skirt, and lovely contrast off-theshoulder detail. Paired with a beautiful riff on a Spanish Montera hat. The textures and textile juxtapositions remind me of the really romantic styles of a few transitional early 20th century couturiers, like Callot Soeurs and Paquin. nThe latter actually had a few different Spanish and Basque head designers. But with a really contemporary sense, too. Could you tell me a bit more about the piece?

That’s so interesting you made that connection. I was inspired by the traditional flamenco dress, which also has a drop waist connecting to flounces. I wanted to create aneffect in the transition of the drop waist into a draped, sequin skirt that would resemble water in a way. The fluidity of it all was inspired by jaleos, which are the words and chatter of encouragement spoken toward flamenco dancers while they’re performing. Typically you’ll hear someone shout ‘agua’ which means ‘water,’ and that really stuck with me. If you look closely there are also little milagro charms scattered throughout the piece. This dress was really a combination of many things! There’s also this wild bateau-neck, black and silver tinsel mini dress. Definitely with a slight Mid-Century feel, maybe a little mod in the silhouette? Yes, I was really thinking of the fringe that’s used in some older traditional dresses in Colombia. I went to a museumin Santa Marta in Colombia, and some of the pieces on display used fringe in wild places, and I really wanted to modernize that.

Where do you see your sensibilities and design universe evolving from here?

Gosh, I really want to get into couture and to continue doing research from Ibero-America. I want to tell more stories…I’m really inspired by tango at the moment, we’ll see where that takes me next.

Interview by Wes Hardin conducted in New York City

October 2023