Profile of the Month | Susana Gago
India is her muse, floating vibrant colors, the way Indian women mix and match bold colors, inspired this free spirited, adventurous, independent woman to be a risk taker and an entrepreneur. Originally from Spain, Susana Gago successfully runs her own fashion line called Miss Monkey in Goa, India.
As we celebrate Fashion Night Out and talk endlessly about New York Fashion Week, Lights Camera Action’s Ruchi Mukherjee got intrigued by Miss Monkey CEO/Founder Susana Gago’s passion for fashion in a unknown land which she calls home now.
What was your inspiration for Miss Monkey?
India is so rich in culture and the way Indian women gracefully mix impossible combinations of purple, lemon green, and pink, I have to confess, those intense shades most certainly inspired me to be a designer. I am a huge fan of nature and in my designs I want to sense an intensity and create a powerful effect.
What kind of style and fabrics do you keep in mind when you are designing?
The rich textures, the finest silks, velvets, and crisp cottons are my most favorites. Those ancestral embroidery techniques are so beautiful. I love French and Italian classic; simple cuts for my designs with an exotic, elegant and sexy touch added by the finest textiles and bright colors.
What is your style statement and how would you define a fashionista?
We are all different and special. In my opinion a woman should find her own style. What works for me is to choose freely what to wear and how to wear it and I usually don’t care what others think. There are so many limitations to our freedom already so why should we follow someone else or something else and not our heart. Move ahead and just look for the beauty within. Many times women buying a outfit in my shop come up with this question “But where would I wear this?” and my answer to them is anytime you want to look and feel gorgeous.
A Fashionista is one who is daring, ready to take chances, sensational. For sure you´re one of them!
Tell us about this Fall’s fashion trends
It may sound weird to you but I don´t follow fashion and latest trends at all. I try to stay away of influences and trends at the end of the day it´s a repetition over and over again anyway. It is just fashion in cycles, right? It may be a bit romantic but I find the 20s and the 30s extremely elegant fashion. That was amazing, those perfectly tailored cuts and fitted dresses.
What attracted you about India and why Goa?
India is such an amazing country full of life, colors and inspirations. Everything around me here inspires me and keeps me moving ahead. The busy markets, the palaces, those beautiful sufi sounds, santoor and the tabla. I can see and feel beauty everywhere I look here. It does touch my soul.
Goa, a Portugese colony for 450 years and a tourist hot spot since the 60s, and it has a lot more to do in certain ways with my Spanish culture. It is very much alive with an international mix, and for me a place where quality of life is sort of easy to reach in a simple way..
On the other hand, those amazing beaches, the coconut trees.. the cashew landscapes, the lush jungle, no wonder it is named the land of the gods. Early morning I go out to the Arabian sea with my kayak and suddenly I find myself surrounded by dolphins. It´s so simple to make it work here.
Susana’s efforts to bring the East and West closer through fashion has been quite successful. Colorful and exclusive, Miss Monkey dresses a woman with presence, cosmopolitan and sophisticated outlook and most certainly free. Both chic and funky, a Miss Monkey Woman is not afraid of being noticed.
Contact Lights Camera Action more more information regarding her outfits.
[galleryview id=168 showPanels=true showCaptions=true showFilmstrip=true panelWidth=565 panelHeight=520 panelScale=nocrop transitionSpeed=800 transitionInterval=0 fadePanels=true overlayPosition=top overlayOpacity=0.2 frameWidth=60 frameHeight=60 filmstripPosition=bottom pointerSize=6 frameScale=crop frameGap=5 frameOpacity=0.3 easingValue=swing navTheme=dark startFrame=1 pauseOnHover=true]
