Kurriizmatic – a phonetic version of the adjective charismatic – is a very zestful brand as its name would suggest. Founder, Hector Diaz, has set his intentions on righting the wrongs of our traditional fashion industry, through the repurposing of second hand scraps. He sees his work as cleaning up the mess that others have uncaringly backgrounded, as he takes discarded material and reweaves it afresh. His homespun fabric is then artistically crafted into unique pieces, none two which match the same, and his work takes on a characterful aesthetic, and one that is genderless and unanimous.
When speaking with GLITCH, Kurriizma spoke openly about his dyslexia, and how his difficulties with fluent writing inspired the idea for his purposely misspelled brand name. Kurriizmatic is a brand built upon the design principle of “Wabi-Sabi”, which encourages creators to draw perfection from imperfections. Kurriizma fashion house does this in a multi leveled way, as not only does his apparel label seek to empower all bodies, all personalities, and all wearers, but his creations are an act of drawing beauty from the wastage of others.
Engaging in an extensive 360 recycling project, Kurriizmatic absorbs scraps from all sectors of the textile industry, whether it be clothing or upholstery. They then adopt a traditional form of weaving known as Kilim to develop their signature textile. Kurriizma also plays with knitting and crochet, as he structures his clothing by hand, bags, accessories, and plushies with knitting and crocheting practices to extend the interwoven and overlapped sentiment of his collection that rings true through it’s physicality as well as its history.
GLITCH had the opportunity to speak with Kurriizma upon the launch of his third collection, named after the book Thus Spoke Zarthrustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, and understand the motivations and inspirations behind this inventive circularity advocate.
What new ideas and expressions are present in your 3rd collection?
This iteration of work is the final part of my third collection, and is named Thus Spoke Zarathrustra. The intention was to express the differing ideas of personality and archetypes in this work. As such, I decided to build the collection into 3 Acts, each of which builds upon the previous. All 3 parts are aptly named after work by Friedrik Nietzche, a philosopher who analysed cultural theory, and as such my work intends to hold a place and meaning within culture.
How did the creative process for this collection differ from the first two iterations?
This time around, I am again using my signature “dream-weaving” process. In this process I break down old clothing into yarn and reweaving them into new fabrics. I then incorporate more elements of cut and sew to create more tailored pieces for various sizes and body types. In this collection, I am being more daring however with the materials I reprocess – experimenting with bed sheets, upholstery and even mops. I have become more focused and on the sentiment that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
What 3 words encompass the Kurriizmatic mission?
Sustain, Dream and Connect. These things are universal to our existence. We all connect with one another, we all have dreams and we all want to sustain our lives.
Why is the woven and interlaced aesthetic so strong throughout all your pieces?
All my work is made from scrap pieces, and I focus on this idea of weaving anew. I believe that clothes should never be thrown away, and so I wanted to create a process by which clothes can be worn forever without the need to create fast fashion materials and feed into a cycle of waste. I think this sentiment is true of all textiles, whether it be clothes that are too small, or household fabrics that have become too worn, I see potential in everything.
What do you hope for the future of your fashion house?
I want to expand my brand and reach new clients and cultivate an interested community. I speak a lot about dreaming, and a core dream would be to see my clothing on some of my biggest icons such as Julia Fox or Bilie Eilish! I also have this vision of going to landfill sites with my team and just scooping out all the waste with my hands and
More concretely, I intend to go back to my hometown in Brooklyn New York and open a full studio where I can begin to recycle more textiles and waste. I also want to set up Kurriziimatic branded donation centers where people can drop off their old clothes, and see them repurposed and brought back into circular fashion. I also plan on helping to launch an entire Fashion Week in Tampa, where I intend to work together with community leaders and charities to help give back to the people of the city and curate a new platform for creators who reside there.
Kurrizma’s 2nd Act will be showcased across a fashion week in Tampa on March 8-10 and his 3rd Act will be shown exclusively at Vancouver Fashion Week in April.
Written by Hebe Street from GLITCH Magazine
Words by Hector Diaz from Kurriizimatic
