RUS
Feature 15.11.19
Photography Thea C. Sneve Løvstad Styling and words Patricia Gutiérrez Monllor Model Leah Abraham at First Models
Designer and stylist Patricia Gutiérrez Monllor introduces us to her new brand RUS. A knitwear focussed brand, RUS designs are inspired by real women and created with longevity in mind, selecting considered materials and techniques that cause as little damage as possible along the way. In an exclusive feature for Also, Patricia tells us more about the brand and her creative journey.
It was during a trip to Copenhagen with my sister Inés on September 2018, when we started shaping the idea of what would later become RUS and decided to work together as a team. We joined our experience and entrepreneurial vocation to create our personal project, aimed to inspire women to curate and create their own dressing ritual, layering pieces in infinite ways, prioritising comfort over all things.
I have been working as a knitwear designer for more than eight years now, I studied fashion design in Barcelona and then specialised in knitwear in Brighton. During those years working for other brands I felt always a bit out of place, so I started building my own creative project outside of my job as a full-time designer; my interest in photography, design, art and architecture led me to start @maggieontherocks, a visual inspiration journal. Soon after that I got the opportunity to start working on projects as a stylist and creative director, at the beginning just out of curiosity since I had never considered that path before. Those projects complemented my work as a designer and allowed me to meet inspiring professionals from different backgrounds in fashion, some of them became good friends and were the first to encourage me to finally become independent.
Inés comes from a totally different background, she is an industrial engineer specialised in logistics. However, she has always had an interest in fashion and has a keen eye for simplicity and functionality when getting dressed. We have always got along really well, even as kids, which makes working together very easy. Each of us us manages different areas. Inés is very pragmatic and resourceful and I am more curious and restless, so I focus on the creative direction and product development and she handles the operational side of the business. However we consult each other everything and try to always travel together to our factory, shootings or sales showrooms.
We believe in having an appreciation for quality and craftsmanship, the beauty of well thought and ethically produced garments. Our aim is to work encouraging considered purchased rather than mindless consumption, sustainable practices can’t be only an aspiration, but an obligation towards our planet. According to our philosophy of responsible consumption, our objective is to offer a product that is desirable, that our customer values and relates to, and can enjoy for a long period of time, slowing down the pace of consumption and working towards building a wardrobe that transcends seasons.
