The many muses of Eloise Ptito

These creations seem to be the cloth of a painter. They remind to the paintings of the muses they are inspired by but at the same time, this designer is able to innovate classic and timeless lines. Eloise is an enormous source of references and inspirations that make us traveling in a parallel world made of art, colors and distant times. “Classic eccentric in style, my label seeks to produce unique yet timeless pieces in limited-runs. My art-based design practice involves creating textiles from my very own watercolour paintings and implementing several emerging and historical textile practices such as Rococo hand-embroidery. Paying very little attention to current fads or trends, my ultimate goal is to create heirloom pieces that will be passed down from generation to generation, daughter to daughter. Whole-heartedly believing in the empowering qualities of colour, my label’s wearable art garments also incorporate many elements and textile practices from my Moroccan-Chilean ancestry.”

What’s the concept of your latest collection?

My most recent thesis collection entitled“The Many Muses” is a textile-focused S/S18 womenswear collection inspired by three different muses of famous male painters: Jeanne Hébuterne, Fränzi Fehrmann, and Rosa Rolanda. Often revisiting my thoughts over the years, the collection sought to pay homage to these three particular women for repeatedly inspiring me during my own creative processes. Through varied textures, hand-painted nudes, experimental embroidery, and digitally-printed textiles, I sought to honour the luminous creativity of these women that is often overlooked. All three women have frequently only been understood as muses when in reality, they were spectacular painters or artists in their own right. The collection explored their inner worlds sartorially and gave thanks to their undervalued work as artists. It is precisely their secret works that have aided in fuelling my own cycle of creativity all along.

What inspires you the most?

I am primarily inspired by music, various female painters & artists, textile art, and the wonderfully absurd outfits my boyfriend and I coordinate together every morning. We are currently obsessed with polkadotted rain bonnets, cuffed white pants, Swedish clogs, patchwork/quilted clothing, experimental embroidery, Kewpie dolls, bold colour (always), and enthusiastic pattern-mixing. My style can best be described as “psychedelic granny”. As for designers, I am inspired by Tsumori Chisato, Issey Miyake, Dries Van Noten, Renata Morales, and Chicco Ruiz.

How does the place you live in affect your design?

The city I live in affects my design in that it drives me to dream and retreat into my imagination more. Since the fashion scene here in Toronto is mostly drab, dull, and colourless, my design practice has in a way become a form of escapism from this monotonous reality. As Dries Van Noten once noted, I too do not believe in reflecting our current times. I seek to offer viewers sincerity, beauty, and soulful garments that allow others to dream and retreat back into their imagination too.

What’s the future of fashion according to you?

The current over-saturated fast fashion reality we face today is completely and utterly unsustainable and will not be able to continue far into the future. I believe the clothing production process will eventually have to be forced to slow down and instead become highly individualized, customized, and in some cases bespoke. I feel that fashion in the future will fall into two different camps: hyper-minimalism or hyper-romanticism. All genders will eventually be able to freely dress in either camps as well. Either way, I feel consumers will eventually begin to buy less and instead choose garments that they absolutely love and that serve multiple purposes for several seasons or years at a time. The cheap will definitely eventually lose their thrill. I believe the clothing production process will eventually have to be forced to slow down and instead become highly individualized, customized, and in some cases bespoke.

What’s your next project?

I have just finished showing my thesis collection at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week (TWFW) and am currently working on an art dress installation for an AGO & Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples exhibit entitled “Taking Roots: Our Canada”. I, along with five other emerging artists of Latinx-descent under 29, were selected to create works that explore the complexities of Latinx identity within Canada. The show will run for several weeks in early December.

I am also honoured and humbled to currently have my designs from my final thesis collection featured in Mode Canada’s beautiful exhibit, “Then Now Next”. It was curated by the Fashion History Museum and celebrates various Canadian designers from the past 150 years up until today. My designs are featured within the final “Form, Flow, Function Perfected as Art” section which focuses on Canada’s future young designers.