Ivette Mancilla from the blog Little Moon Lover

Incognito interviewed Ivette Mancilla, the blogger from Little Moon Lover, thanks to this interview we hope we can transport you to her universe between dream, art, drawing and fashion. If you want to get inspired, her blog is the right place to be !

I have been reading Ivette's blog for a while now. What makes me a fan of hers is her ability to make you understand her state of mind and identify yourself with her thanks to her drawings. Actually this was the first motive that makes me read her blog. The second one is that when I saw her interest for art and passion for Frida Kahlo, I felt like being a woman for her is definitely important and I love that ! Ivette is just so passionate about what she does that you can feel it in every post.

Incognito: So let's start the interview with a very basic question, who are you ?
Ivette: I'm a mexican fashion designer, illustrator, writer, dreamer, cinema obsessed and music lover. I guess those things define me the most.
  
Incognito: So you are what we call an artist. What do you like the most between all those things that define you ? 

Ivette: tough question.. I guess I couldn't exactly choose one thing. There are many different things I like just as there are many different sides of me, somedays I may not feel like drawing but more into writing, others more into reading a book in silence and some others more into listening to loud noisy music while I yell, smoke and drive around the city with no destination. I guess I'm a bit of everything, but if I HAD to choose one thing I'd say drawing/illustrating because that's how I let go of things. Whatever I have in mind I let it out through my art.
     

Incognito: Actually, we noticed that drawing was a way to express yourself. Did you come to drawing first or to design first ?
Ivette: drawing first. since I was a kid.. that's what I've always done. My mom kept all my kindergarden and elementary school notebooks just to keep the drawings in the sheets and also all my drawings from college and highschool time as well. My books and notebooks would be filled with drawings instead of words though I've always been an A student. I liked my classes but I liked drawing the most.

I actually studied Marketing. I have a Bachelor's Degree and I always thought of studying Graphic Design after that but I don't know, I somehow chose Fashion Design to try myslef in that and it's like I discovered a passion I didn't know I had. I love it. But drawing will always be my number one. I think my head would explode if I didn't let go of things through it.
     

Incognito: Do you have one drawing you made that you like the most ? if so why do you like it ?
Ivette: mmmm but I have to really think about THE one. I like them all and each one of them represent a stage, situation or experience in my life. 

I guess right now, I love the most one of my recent ones where I drew myself as officially "in love".
Why I cherish that one? because I had never ever been in love and I liked that feeling..a lot.
I like it for what it represents more than the actual "illustration technique" if you know what i mean.

Ivette favorite drawing. Its title is "Ouch"

Incognito: I see what you mean, technique comes after, this is not the point for this drawing, your point is the feeling in it. 

Ivette: exactly.I don't consider myself that much of a great illustrator or painter. I'm not perfect, I can't do portraits. I just try to translate what I have inside my head.

"Explosion" an other drawing by Ivette expressing her state of mind.

  

"Lost mermaid" . A different type of drawing, more symbolic and yet very expressive.

   
Incognito: After reading this answer I think I can understand very well why you like Frida Kahlo so much. Speaking of her, why do you love her so much ?
Ivette: hahah I've been asked that a lot. Why wouldn't I love her? 

First of all I love that she was a very very tough, strong and independent woman not to mention mexican as me. She went through so many things during her life. Horrible things like her bus accident when she was 18, and because of it she has to be in bed for ages and has to go through more than a hundred surgeries and therapy to gain back her body movements. I mean obviously these life experiences made her stronger and tougher, but all that strength on the outside was also diminished by one of the simplest and most cliché thing in life: love. Her love for Diego Rivera killed her as well. When they were happy everything was great, when they fought or he cheated on her, she became super depressed and suicidal and acting weird and feeling misplaced. And she painted all of it, her good times, bad times, sad times. Since her accident she discovered this passion of her and never stopped it. She painted what she saw inside her head, what she felt inside her heart, not what she saw with her eyes. And I guess I relate to her somehow on that too because that's how I illustrate and paint as well. She's an inspiration.

The Two Fridas, a painting that represents Frida weakness: her love for her husband Diego. 

   
Incognito: You mentioned twice that you were mexican and so was Frida. What does it mean for you to be mexican ?
Ivette: I did? I didn't notice but it does actually mean a lot to defend the place I was born because not many people around the world know our culture as it is now.
When I lived in Spain most of european people I met (not just spanish) couldn't believe I was mexican. Honestly, people in the world still think that all mexicans are doing is to drink tequila, wear sombreros (hats) and live in the desert with horses as the only mean of transportation. That's just not true at all.
Incognito: Yes you did ! I felt while reading your blog that it is really important to you that is why I wanted to ask you that and the fact you mentioned it twice convinced me even more.
Ivette: haha guess I'm more proud of being mexican than I thought then. Mexico is a very conservative country, and we are still very "green" (immature) in lots of areas, especially art and fashion. That's why mexican artists and designers gather whenever we can to make shows and get people involved with art, make them appreciate it more and open up their minds, seriously this is still a very conservative society, only a few big cities like D.F. (Mexico) which is the capital, are the ones more open to it. And there are also a lot of great artists here that don't get recognition so I guess I want to bring Mexico to the spotlight as much as I can. We've got great things here that not many people know of.
  
Incognito: Like you said we don't know a lot about mexican culture, we always think about its hispanic side but do you think that your indian side is still very present ?
Ivette: aztec side... yeah it kind of is. I live in the northern region, just across the border of USA, so I've been influenced more by american culture than mexican to tell you the truth, but the history about aztecs, our roots is pretty interesting and the art they still do, I mean like the true and closest aztec descendents that exist nowadays in the south of Mexico is beyond amazing. I've always loved history and have read about other countries history as well but as to Mexico's I like to keep closer as an inspiration resource as well. I know my style in fashion design isn't very mexican classic, "rustico' as we call it but somehow I'm trying to combine it with my paintings and illustrations. I'm searching for a bond or something there, I'd like to somehow show off my roots in what I do even as a small detail.
  
Incognito: I understand. Up until now we didn't speak a lot about fashion, but you said that your country even in this area is consevative, but did you have some mexican designers you like ?
Ivette: There's this one called Mala Facha who has apparently had some success in Italy more than in Mexico. Here he is recognized BUT his clothes don't sell, people here aren't that much fashion adventurous, the style is still super conservative. Julia y Renata are 2 girls that do some really cool collections as well. And I'm sure there are more talented designers, but as I mentioned before fashion here is in such a baby stage, it doesn't get "out there" a lot.
A lot of mexican designers are forced to go to USA and try out there for a chance to be succesful because it is more difficult here to make it big.
  
Incognito: I understand. We saw that you participated in the Elle designer Competition, tell us about this experience.
Ivette: It is actually my third time entering. The first one I just made it to the first round which was presenting the garment but I had just entered fashion school, I didn't even sew that well haha but I got carried away with excitement. The second time I made it to the semifinals so that was a huge boost, the experience was great and sure I wanted to enter again, so I did it and got to the semis again. It's a great experience, you get to know fashion designers and students from other cities, get into the competition mode, see other styles and influences, it's fun. and it helps you "measure" yourself up.

Ivette dress for the Elle designer competition

 

Incognito: Do you feel like going abroad to succeed in fashion ?

Ivette: yes and no. 

Incognito: why ?
Ivette: I've thought about it a lot, that's actually one of my stress causing source haha.
I'd like to stay in Mexico and make myself noticed here, join the rest of the fashion designers that are all fighting to create consciousness in this country that fashion is art and it is serious and that we should be growing in this matter. But I know that going to europe or USA might be tough because there are a lot more designers BUT the industry is bigger as well. People buy fashoin and here they don't, at least not innovative, edgy, trendier ones. The fact that I live on the border with the USA makes it easier though, I can stay in Mexico and still make myself present in USA, starting with California. Los Angeles is only 3 hours away.
   
Incognito: Do you know the blogger Andy Torres ? What do you think about her ?
Ivette: oh yes I know her. I actually have emailed her several times but had no answer. I'd like to know how she got there. She's been featured in mexican editions of Elle and Vogue magazines. But I guess I'm proud of where she is because of what I was telling you that in Mexico we are still very young in the fashion scene, it's not like we have Anna Dello Russo, Anna Wintour or Carine Roitfeld.

Incognito: oh and about blogging does it come naturally to you ?

Ivette: actually that's an other thing mexicans don't do so often: blogging. Andy Torres is known by a very very small circle of people in the country. Actually none of my friends know her or read blogs. That's why I started one in English, to gain more readers since english is the most known language and because in Mexico the blogosphere is also small. I've fallen in love with blogging and I think of my blog as a baby haha, honestly you have to pay attention to it a lot. Furthermore I've always loved writting so one day I woke up and I thought "I think I'm gonna start a blog".

 Incognito: Do you have some favorite blogs ? and what make you want to follow a blog ?

 Ivette: yes I have blogs I look forward reading daily like Stylemarmalade, Alice Point, Violet E., Style Rookie, Oracle Fox, Fashion Canvas, Ivania Carpio, The Cherry Blossom Girl's blog is super dreamy even though it is not my style. I guess I look for things I don't see in others, some of them I follow for the fashion I find, or the photography, poetry, paintings, etc..

Incognito:  I know what you mean for example I would never wear what Style Rookie wear but I do love the atmosphere.

It is interesting because you read blogs that are very different from one to an another.

Ivette: yeah it's like I enjoy seeing that other point of view even though I'd never do that,

I know it's part of what I said in the beggining of the interview probably, I have many sides. I like so many different things.

I don't know why sometimes it's hard to find a center you know, like I get lost and dont actually know in what direction to go because my mind is pulling me in different directions that's why when I draw I let it out and somehow calm and peace myself again.

Ivette's blog: http://littlemoonlover.blogspot.com/


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