“We are not designing for a model, we are not designing for a specific woman. We are designing for ourselves, because between the two of us we have a series of silhouettes, activities, women who have an active life, but who also want to dress in fashion”, Alejandra Salvatore explains to the Observer. The other half of the “two” she mentions is Sandra Barradas, with whom she launched a zero-waste women’s clothing brand with pieces that fit all bodies in October last year. It’s called from 10 to 10.
They met through mutual friends during the pandemic. In September 2021 they joined a group that swims in the sea every Friday and Sandra decided to invite Alejandra for coffee. “I asked her if she wanted to launch a womenswear brand with me. We have such similar tastes, ”she recalls about her spontaneous invitation. “I was surprised,” says Alejandra. “We liked each other, but we had known each other for a short time. I told him I would think about it.”
He thought and accepted. Fridays also became meeting days, where they brainstormed what they thought a womenswear brand was missing. “We have very different bodies. Sometimes it’s not easy to find pieces in the larger sizes that fit and look good,” explains Sandra. Starting from a thoughtful creative process, they arrived at the desired result, which has already materialized in four clothing collections that adapt well to various body types, thinner or wider, taller or shorter.
“A pact that we have is that we will never make a piece that we would not use”says Sandra. There were also things they learned to like about each other. “I expected everything in my life except to wear shorts in the summer,” she laughs as she explains that it was Alejandra who made her give this outfit a second chance. “She liked the color less than I did and in the first collection we launched yellow pants,” she continues, before the couple add: “And now I have yellow pants, I wouldn’t believe it. Each one had to get out of their comfort zone and push the other out of theirs.”
To force themselves, there it is, to get out of their comfort zones, they also decided to serve as models for the brand’s first campaign. “We like to shoot with, as they say, ‘normal people.’ It is not that the models are not, but I think that the clients identify a lot with the project because we made this choice”, explains Alejandra. Of the four campaigns they photographed, only one had a professional model.
Sandra Barradas and Alejandra Salvatore in the first campaign 10 to 10
The “barriers”, as they are referred to, that women build around themselves are very present in the concept, more precisely the will they have to break them. “I see super positive things in Sandra and she sees super positive things in me, but when we look at ourselves we don’t see those things. Why are we so demanding of ourselves?” Alejandra asks herself, and the question does not apply only to them, but to women in general.
The name of the brand was inspired by the plan that guided the production from the beginning, which involves creating only 10 units of each piece. To close this cycle, they decided to launch it on October 10, the tenth month. “The 10 is our friend, it helps us to have a starting point for production”, reveals Sandra. Despite continuing with this process, they soon realized that sometimes these units are not enough when demand is higher, which has already led them to relaunch some parts on several occasions.
“Choosing organic cotton is not synonymous with being sustainable. The choice of materials is often mentioned, but the concern for the waste that is generated is one of the most important aspects when it comes to sustainable choices”, says Alejandra. In 10 to 10 there is no waste of fabrics, they are all spent to the end and are purchased in exactly the quantities needed to produce the pieces. They use local factories, within a 50-kilometre radius of the Porto area, and most of the clothing is made in an atelier that works almost exclusively for the project.
An architect, a textile engineer and two children’s brands
Alejandra graduated in architecture and had already founded a women’s fashion brand in the Spanish capital, which was presented at Madrid Fashion Week. Subsequently, she launched the children’s clothing brand Severina Kids. Sandra is a textile engineer and has worked in the Nike development department. 10 years ago, she also founded a children’s brand, Cherry Papaya, another common ground.
“It’s that very traditional story. I knew the business fabric here in the north well and, when I was a mother, I wanted to stay at home with my daughters, so I launched the project. Sometimes it almost seems that it was a preparation to get here ”, she confesses, a feeling that he shares with Alejandra. For the second, the path that led her here “was very organic.”
For now, the online store is the only permanent point of sale, so they like to show their pieces live on popup windows, so that people can get to know them. From this new collection —and after a brief indecision— they manage to highlight one piece each. “The striped dress”, choose Alejandra. “We were looking for the perfect line and when we didn’t find it, we designed our own line.” For Sandra “it’s the denim dress. It turned out to be very versatile, it’s both a dress and a coat, and I really like functional pieces that can be dressed in different ways. The color was also perfect.
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Source: Observadora
