She
assures us that fashion is a childhood passion and admits to contributing to
the world in a professional, assertive and honest way. Creating is her thing, and
she characterises her creative process as calm and passionate. Soraya da
Piedade is one of the special guests of this anniversary issue, a woman with «natural
tendencies»
to reject rules and escape the everyday. Covering fashion, personal life and
the country, get to know the universe of Soraya, the rising Angolan fashion
designer.
« I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary»
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a peaceful citizen, with a great desire to contribute in an honest, professional and assertive way.
Did your passion for fashion come about in your childhood or later?
Ever since I was a child, I have noticed that I didn’t like things exactly the way they were... I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary!
Brazil marks the beginning of your foray into the fashion world. Tell us about the whole journey until you came back to Luanda.
Feeling a sense of fulfilment was missing, after having completed a course in Business Management at university, I took the risk of doing a Fashion Design course, just to check if that «calling» I had had inside me since I was young was something that could actually bear fruit, and it bore so much that I never looked back. I feel completely fulfilled now.
Back in Angola, do you feel that the community immediately understood your creative language?
Yes and no. As I was already quite well known when returned from Brazil, in a sense people already knew my style. However, my goal was always to break the paradigm that fashion, as a lucrative career or as a real business, had no future in Angola. I am proud to have contributed against this idea. Today, the brand lives off what it creates, is completely self-sufficient and is expanding rapidly.
Describe your creative process.
Peaceful, like me. Except for the times when I’ve drawn total blanks that never end, it’s a relatively easy process for me.
What do get your inspiration?
Everything and anything...
What challenges did you face when creating the Soraya da Piedade brand?
The segmentation of the public that I wanted, the acceptance of the price that the quality of the product deserved, and the ongoing difficulties of living and producing in a country that has no fashion industry.
« I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary»
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a peaceful citizen, with a great desire to contribute in an honest, professional and assertive way.
Did your passion for fashion come about in your childhood or later?
Ever since I was a child, I have noticed that I didn’t like things exactly the way they were... I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary!
Brazil marks the beginning of your foray into the fashion world. Tell us about the whole journey until you came back to Luanda.
Feeling a sense of fulfilment was missing, after having completed a course in Business Management at university, I took the risk of doing a Fashion Design course, just to check if that «calling» I had had inside me since I was young was something that could actually bear fruit, and it bore so much that I never looked back. I feel completely fulfilled now.
Back in Angola, do you feel that the community immediately understood your creative language?
Yes and no. As I was already quite well known when returned from Brazil, in a sense people already knew my style. However, my goal was always to break the paradigm that fashion, as a lucrative career or as a real business, had no future in Angola. I am proud to have contributed against this idea. Today, the brand lives off what it creates, is completely self-sufficient and is expanding rapidly.
Describe your creative process.
Peaceful, like me. Except for the times when I’ve drawn total blanks that never end, it’s a relatively easy process for me.
What do get your inspiration?
Everything and anything...
What challenges did you face when creating the Soraya da Piedade brand?
The segmentation of the public that I wanted, the acceptance of the price that the quality of the product deserved, and the ongoing difficulties of living and producing in a country that has no fashion industry.
