Threading the needle Finding the perfect pattern for career shift and creative fulfilment The Creators
By: AV Kitching Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, May. 18, 2024

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This article was published 18/05/2024 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Miriam Delos Santos grew up surrounded by sewing machines but being a seamstress was never the plan.

Despite being a daughter of accomplished tailors, it wasn’t until she was in her 30s that, as a new mother looking for ways to express herself, Delos Santos taught herself the craft.

Little did she know the first thing she would make — a delicate cotton bow headband in soft pink with white polka dots for her baby — would change her life.

“When I became a mom, I went through a really big change and something in my heart was really pushing me to do this. I was gifted an old sewing machine and I just went bananas,” she explains.

Having previously worked in male-dominated spaces in the corporate world — at different points in her career Delos Santos held full-time roles in aerospace as well as in the political arena — the rigidity of her work environment was no longer fulfilling.

A fashion lover, who’d always had an eye for style and colour, she decided to switch paths.

Six years later, Delos Santos is the full-time designer and sole proprietor of her fashion label Hello Darling, conceptualizing and creating unique garments, statement headwear and accessories from her home studio.

“I needed to give voice to my creativity. I had to lead a more meaningful life, even if that meant taking a really big risk,” she laughs.

“Lucky for me that risk paid off.”

Evolving from hair accessories to women’s fashion three years ago, Delos Santos began to design for her body, which had changed since motherhood.

As someone who never subscribed to mainstream fashion trends and wasn’t keen on clothes shopping, making garments she would wear herself was a natural progression.

“My body changed so much and I did not want to be shamed into thinking about what size meant. I have such a diverse swatch of women and men and non-binary people of different sizes who purchase my clothing because I think there is an importance in something made for you that hangs a certain way and doesn’t suck you in,” she says.

She calls her style “dopamine dressing” — bold and extravagant outfits architecturally structured to allow for maximum movement while retaining their line. Her clothes are designed to be universally flattering and she favours textiles that hold their shape.

Each item is made-to-order and she releases her collections in small-batches, which she announces on social media. Her clothes are extremely popular and often sell out quickly.

“In the busier months, during winter seasons, or when I’m doing fashion shows, I will hire home sewers to help me sew but in the leaner months, such as spring and summer, I do everything myself. I find a textile I love, I draft a pattern of something, I will make the dress or pants and I will do content around it and I will post this one thing. I will put out a pre-order and tell people I can make this for you in three weeks and I am making only 20 pieces and it will sell out within the hour,” she says.

The designer also conducts workshops with high school and university students where she explores how creative women of colour navigate spaces that are not traditionally welcoming to them.

She believes her perspective will validate the choices of those who want to make the leap, just as she did.

“A lot of the time you are in uncharted waters. Many first-generation immigrants may think ‘oh, this is not for me, maybe it’s just something small which I can keep inside my heart and that will go away.’ I want to say to them that these spaces are also for them to claim.

“If you are passionate, hungry for knowledge and keep practising your craft then inevitably something will click, and you will get it. But you have to really want it.”

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca