It is a label that her grandmother, Vanina de War, started with big dreams. For designer Sayana Gonzalez, creative director of the French boutique deWAR, with its flagship atelier in New Delhi, it is all about carrying the legacy forward. “deWAR to me spells an escape from reality, a little fantasy world that was first created by my grandmother, and now I get to create this world that I love, season after season,” she says, dipping into the sepia-toned lanes of her childhood.
“In my first deWAR memory, I am about six or seven years old, it is within the week leading to a show and there are fittings happening,” she recalls. “My grandmother asks me to sit quietly while she finishes work. I see the models, the seamstresses moving around. But I remember paying attention only to the fine details of the ensembles and slowly falling in love with this world,” reminisces Gonzalez.
deWAR’s first boutique opened its doors in Paris in 1938, but then during the Second World War, the brand relocated and moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Maison deWAR enjoyed great success in South America though, unfortunately, once Vanina passed away, so did her brand.
As she grew up, Gonzalez had only one goal in mind, to reopen deWAR and with that bring her childhood years spent between fabric roles and needles, into a form. Franco-Argentinian by birth, she studied fashion design in Paris and then at the coveted Parsons School of Design, in New York. India beckoned soon enough and after her marriage to an Indian, post wrapping up her studies in Paris and working both in Europe and Asia, Gonzalez reopened deWAR in April 2017, in New Delhi.
Her biggest challenge? “I think it is yet to come, but what adds to my advantage on the desi turf is my background in luxury brand management. That is what gives me a better grasp of the evolving work dynamics, having worked abroad for over 26 years. I understand garment construction as well as how to read our sales analytics. Sometimes as a fashion designer, I feel more comfortable alone, enclosed in my own bubble, and my business background reminds me to pay attention to all things macro,” she laughs.
Classic chic runs through the vein of her sharp, natty, immaculately crafted creations. But then how easy or difficult has it been, finding her footing in the Indian market flush with sequins, embroidery, brocade and splendid bolts of colours? “I strongly believe one of the reasons why the Indian market has embraced us, is because we have kept a very classic style,” she responds, raising her slim shoulders. “We work with embroideries and brocades in a very subtle way, approaching colours and sparkle with a different sensitivity, and this has become our differentiating point over the years. Keeping it tasteful yet unpretentious has always been our goal.” Bullseye.
Gonzalez has made sure that deWAR has found its niche with an appreciate buyer segment of well-heeled, discerning women. Of course, it helps that she absolutely loves India, as she lists her wedding lehenga as one of her most prized possessions in her rather stylish wardrobe.Gonzalez is of the firm belief that surrounding herself with things she considers beautiful eventually reflects more aesthetic synergy to her brand.
She draws inspiration from several creative conduits: ranging from jewellery and interiors to architecture, textiles and her extensive travels across the globe. “What prods my creativity? It is truly a wide spectrum, that makes it tough to pin-point a specific source. It ranges from stories to art, architecture, films, concepts of time, physics of sound, colours, places… In fact, my latest collection is inspired by a play, ‘The Melting Pot’, by Israel Zangwill,” she shares.