Interview with Mark Vélez, young designer of Darrk Studio

Asun Alonso of AEG speaks with a recent graduate of their school’s Higher Technician certification. As part of his four-year itinerary, he studied Pattern Making and Fashion Design, as well as Tailor Made Clothing and Costumes for Shows. Now he’s created his own brand of recycled clothing and preparing for a fashion show! We caught up with him on a recent visit and this is his story.

My name is Mark Vèlez, I’m 26 years old and I’m from Zarauz, a little town in the north of Spain. I’ve always loved fashion, so I tried to find a school near my town, and I found it in Donostia, that’s in the north of the Basque Country of Spain.

My favourite parts of this industry are designing, sewing by hand, and patternmaking.

After my studies, I created my own brand called Darrk Studio (see my Instagram @darrk.studio), inspired by the fashion greats in my opinion, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and other designers.

I make mostly upcycling, so I recollect other garments from second hand stores and I convert it in my own fashion, deconstructed.

My final customer is unisex, I don’t care what gender is my customer. I make fashion for all bodies and all the people.

Right now I’m excited because I’m working on a new collection called, in Basque, Ezezaguna, that in English is Unknown. It’s going to be ten upcycled pieces, because I have been invited to a show in Tenerife. If you see from the photos, each item is unique, it’s a work of art, about structure and pattern and self expression.

If I had to give some advice to designers just starting out now, I’d say that you have to work a lot, to study a lot. You need to have knowledge in the field, the information that you need in the background in order to be successful making your own creations.