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Cari Borja: San Francisco Designer to Watch
As a performer, crafter, Ph.D. and ultimately an extraordinarily gifted human being, a person who seems to never tire of educating herself through extensive travels and ever-changing experiences, Cari Borja's unique clothing line looks as if it will consequently stay as dynamic as she has.
A series of all very different experiences have contributed to the very multi-talented Borja we meet today, experiences, which began initially with childhood talents in dance, skating and cheerleading. Fueled by determination, a sense of art and a fascination of the world in which she lives, Borja's pursuit of a higher education began at Holy Cross, where she received her first opportunity to travel abroad in Europe and study in England. Propelled by this worldly experience, Borja's interests branched towards anthropology, in which she earned a Ph.D. at Berkely in 2001.
Borja's designs represent the same kind of promise and strength that she has exhibited through her life. The whimsy of her clothes identifies with her thirst for knowledge, while the frequent boldness and varying patterns in her intricate dresses represent Borja's worldly, anthropological knowledge. Finally, the total femininity of her dresses connects with the
utterly accomplished performer, mother and wife that she is.
FACTIO MAGAZINE: How did you get your start as a fashion designer?
CARI BORJA: I started making clothes in fall of 2000. I was in the middle of finishing my PhD. in Anthropology and Film at University of California at Berkeley and was on my honeymoon in Italy when a friend asked me what I wanted to do after being "doctored". I said make clothes.
FM: Envision the woman who epitomizes your designs?
CB: Someone who loves to be in her body and who feels transformed when she puts on clothing. She becomes another self in my clothes. She can be in ready-to-wear during the day and change her shoes and go out to dinner or a benefit in the evening. The clothes can work both ways, like a chameleon and the woman who wears them mirrors that.
FM: Any intentions to open your own store and/or go global?
CB: Possibly open my own store in the future, but I am still in the midst of working towards that "next level". I have had many stores around the country and in Europe contact me to sell my clothes in their stores, but I am not at that point yet. All of my clothes are still made by either myself or my part-time assistant and are still all pretty much one-of-a-kind pieces, which means I don't have line sheets and haven't figured out how to transfer my clothes into something that can be manufactured or even made in various sizes. Luckily, since my clothes are all cut on the bias and/or made with knits. They fit many sizes.
FM: Who were your most influential mentors? What moves you and inspires you each season?
CB: One of my inspirations and mentors is my friend Monique Montgomery, who is a stylist and customer. In many ways, she introduced me to a sort of passion in clothes that I had never really seen before - a real love and knowledge of clothing that she has accumulated throughout her life. She introduced me to vintage through her own personal collection and she also introduced me to her method of "making vintage modern" - her technique of altering and making vintage clothing more contemporary.
Another top mentor is my friend Christi Mider, who is a stylist, whom I met a few years ago when she styled a SF Chronicle shoot I was featured in. Since then she has been a mentor and muse, as well as my stylist for all of my collections. She makes me see my clothes through her eyes, which is always a fascinating way to be inspired time and again.
FM: How was your first runway show experience?
CB: Amazing. What was so amazing about it was that I had never been to a runway show, and decided not to do a conventional runway show. Instead, I did a performance piece based on the legend of the transformation of the sirens. It was called "shedding skins" and my friend Dorsey Dunn created an amazing piece of music for the event and I had six friends "model" six interludes of clothing. They began all in white, all walking the same hypnotic walk, and ended in blacks and reds all dancing through each piece. You have to see and experience it (we made a film of it) to understand what I was trying to get at. It sounds kind of goofy explaining it.
FM: What is your most memorable moment to date in your career?
CB: The first is doing Gen Art's "Fresh Faces in Fashion”, which is kind of ironic. Most of my career has been “so not of the norm” in the sense that I didn't go to fashion school, don't draw my designs, but rather come up with designs as I am sewing, etc. What I liked about Gen Art's show was that it was all about what a designer goes through to get a collection on the runway - model casting, picking out music, choreographing a simple runway walk. The other is an editorial shoot - my summer 2005 collection - I just did a couple weeks ago on location in the Caribbean with a whole crew! It was amazing!
FM: What is your signature style? How does your trademark look translate to your designs?
CB: Flowing and fluid ruffles and lines, zig-zag edging and bias cuts and lots of glamour without it being too much. They translate so well into all of my fabrics I use. Each season I don't so much change styles as I change and expand the fabrics I use, and all of my fabrics - from fleeces and poly-lycras to wools, satins and silks all get transformed differently with my signature style.
FM: Where do you see yourself five years from now? How about 10 years from now?
CB: With a full on expanded collection of women's ready-to-wear and couture, as well as my Baby Royal line for babies and toddlers. I also see myself designing for a couture house. I would actually love to do that because to get it right, you need a bit of both innovation and a love of the line that would involve lots of research into the history of the line and its collection.
Also, I love both runway shows and doing on-location editorial shoots of each collection, so I would like to find a way to make these "events" into annual collaborations with those I love to work with.
FM: Where do you shop in San Francisco? How about the rest of the globe?
CB: In SF I love Cielo on Fillmore. I don't buy anything there, but I try on my favorite Antonio Marras or Yohji designs. Also, on Filmore I always check out Crossroads (both in SF and in the east bay) where I leave with a pair of Chloe pants for $40 or a beautiful pair of Michel Perry boots. It is where I get my designer staples. Also, I check out Jeremy's (both in SF and Berkeley), especially when I am with my daughter in Elmwood, Berkeley. In terms of everyday stuff, I buy a lot at Gap and really like what Pina Ferlisi is doing over there. I like to pair my very over the top skirts that have 45+ ruffles with a simple gap tank in either cotton or silk.
In NYC, I love INA, a consignment store in Nolita and Soho or Century 21. In LA, I love to look in at Maxfield's. In London, I check out Brown's. Since I am a fickle dresser and love to either wear something forever until it is completely worn out, or wear it once and then sell it, I like to hunt for used clothes and rarely buy things at retail.
FM: What designers do you look up to? Whose clothes and shoes can you not stop buying? Any wardrobe tips?
CB: I love Madeleine Vionnet and Elsa Schiaparelli, but in terms of contemporary designers I admire what Marc Jacobs has done with both his own line and Vuitton, and also how Tom Ford re-created Gucci. I really appreciate Alice Temperley, Doo.ri, Sari Gueron and a designer called J Mary that is carried at Maxfield's in LA.
In terms of what I wear, I love to buy and wear - I have a couple of cool gowns by Galliano and Alexander McQueen, and some favorite coats are by Marc Jacobs and Yohji Yamamoto, and Levi jeans and cord jackets. I also love to wear knickers made by San Francisco design team called Minnie Wilde. Almost all of my shoes I either get at Rabat, Bulo Crossroads or at Otto Tootsie Plohound in NYC. I also love the comfort of Prada flats.
In terms of tips, I like to spice up something super casual - which is what I mostly wear since having a baby - with my friend Nancy Dobbs Owen's jewelry. I will wear all black - simple elastic-waisted pants and tank with one of her tangle necklaces that has 40 or 50 gems on it! It makes me feel so good.
FM: If you could change one thing about how people dress, what would it be?
CB: I think it would be more of an attitude of dressing - more European and NYC, where you have the glamour and classicism and elegance that can be integrated in practicality and comfort. In the bay area, it is mostly comfort…jeans and sweats and more laid-back looks, which translates to boredom and not caring for me. When I lived in NYC and in Europe and London, I really enjoyed getting dressed everyday, it defined who I was in a really fun way. Here, it doesn't seem to matter as much, which is okay but which means "I" end up wearing those jeans and sweats and sneakers - my uniform - which I can't stand seeing on other people - the contradiction of fashion.
For more information, please visit http://www.cariborja.com/
Factio Magazine, www.factio-magazine.com Interview by Melissa Maynard, Intro by
Georgia Bistolaridis
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