Exclusive Interview with Juliana Yasmine- Sustainable Artist and Clothing Designer

In today’s climate change conscious world, new and upcoming designers are rising to meet the challenges of finding new, innovative ways of clothing people while leaving less of a carbon-footprint behind. One extraordinary new designer and artist is Juliana Yasmine, and Greendeals had the opportunity to chat with her about her work. Her newly named clothing label is called Koko Boho. From organic and eco-friendly to DIY and up-cycling re-worked vintage, every piece has a touch of originality, beauty, and comfort.

She comes from the UK but also has spent plenty of time living the US. She got her start studying art and fashion at The Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. When I had the pleasure of meeting her, we were both doing a little post-college work/trade volunteer farm work through the WWOOF program (see Eco Activism and Volunteer Opportunities for more details on this program) on the Big Island of Hawaii. She went there immediately after graduation from Parsons The New School for Design in Paris, France. Julianna, or as she’s known as by most, “Juby,” has a profound love of/respect for nature, travel and culture. She brings those influences to light in her brand Koko Boho, and her creations reflect the woman she is.

GreenDeals: Tell us a little about Juliana Yasmine, the artist and designer.

JY: “My general philosophy is to have a boutique that gives the vibe of a combination thrift store/vintage shop, but all things made for today’s woman with today’s fabric so still modern. My vision is to make and create individual, uniquely designed, comfortable, bohemian women’s wear clothing and accessories at an accessible price range that has an ecologically friendly appeal with limited edition collaboration pieces to emphasize and enhance the sharing of thoughts & talents with others in the world.”

GreenDeals: How are you incorporating sustainability into your designs and art?

JY: “If I do buy fabrics, I tend to buy whats on sale or the pre-cuts that are rejected by most buyers so I’m more aware of how much waste and overstock we produce as a consumer society. I also love to take clothes that people have donated to me and use that for fabric, as well as “grandmas old fabrics” like unused table cloths, left over pillow fabrics or my moms old wedding gown that I’m going to turn into a baptism outfit for own children someday.” However, when working on a collection, there is often an over-abundance of materials left over. Not a problem for this creative soul at all! Her solution? She’ll save any of her scraps she can and always have a stock of yarns and fabrics to use for clothes, samples, or even her paintings and mixed media artwork.

“If I’m working on a higher priced collection, I will buy fabrics that are organic and fully silk, cotton, bamboo and linen etc., making sure that they were treated in an eco friendly way.” By doing that, she’s making a huge difference in the world of fashion as well as the environment. It’s estimated that 17-20% of the world’s industrial water pollution comes from the dyeing and treatment of textiles.

From the Koko Boho Dance Into Life Collection

GreenDeals: Tell us about your Koko Boho line that’s been described as comfortable Bohemian with a touch of DIY.

JY: “The Koko girl is a young, growing, spiritual explorer of the world. She is aware of her surroundings both bad and good and stands boldly as someone “different” to the crowd. The collection caters to the movement and diversity of environments that the Koko girl immerses herself into, whether it be festivals, yoga, meditations, picnics, lounging and travel. Bold-simplicity is key, as it is without effort that the Koko Boho girl carries a sense of bohemian flare in style. “ I personally love this talented designer’s amazing boho aesthetic (especially her ‘Dance Into Life’ fall/winter 2013 collection) for the very reasons she described. The methodically planned, yet seemingly effortless movability that her clothing embodies inspires me to go off exploring and traversing new landscapes in her comfortable, flowy, boho rags.

GreenDeals: Can you give our readers a sneak peek for what’s next?

JY: “Right now I’m working on a new collection Chaotic Perfection. It’s going to be a very messy but organised collection where I’m using patchwork knit, crochet and jersey, as well as a custom print and hand dyed fabrics.” She’s also got some smaller projects for ‘on-the-go’ like making rasta-inspired doo-rags and t-shirts.

“For the future I hope that a small boutique is in the cards with a studio space right there in the shop so that I can work more personally with the customer and they can see and fully appreciate what I do.” That’s an interesting thing to hear from designers, many prefer to keep the “creative process” a more private and personal time, but for Juliana, it seems she wants the client to have as much of a connection to the construction of the garments as she does. She’s even willing to/excited for getting custom orders put in so she can collaborate with her customers and help their visions collide with her aesthetic for truly unique clothes and art.

“I hope to continue selling to a customer that is aware of their environment and is that fun-loving-hip-bohemian woman.”

RAW
Besides showing her work on the runways in London and Paris, her most recent showing took place in Honolulu, HI. The show was through RAW natural born artists, which puts on shows in nearly 60 cities across the United States, Australia, Canada and London. Local artists are hand-picked in all genres to spotlight the local, underground talent. RAW artists are creative, visionary, and influential to their local following and beyond. Check out Juliana’s RAW profile here.