Fit that flatters
To say Isabella Miscisco's art form is woven around people seems an obvious statement at first glance. Her pieces speak of the model and their beauty first, and the clothing second. The lengths of thread she uses can represent the wearer's self-consciousness; the wool itself is a nod to the people she has met along the way.
Miscisco's life is an array of avocations, ranging from cherry picking to the gym, to volunteering and working in student-led governance. And while undertaking full-time study at the University of Otago, she is also in the midst of creating her own brand of sustainable, people-focused fashion.
The clothes she designs are glamorous, bold, and feminine. And the unique hook is that they are all made from locally sourced wool, which Miscisco handspins herself and then crochets.
On an unusually warm Friday afternoon, Miscisco makes time for an interview about her fashion line, Cisco Bella. She arrives wearing a Snoopy T-shirt she thrifted the night before at a university market, now part of a very colour co-ordinated outfit. She has tortoiseshell glasses that accentuate her hazel eyes and curly hair, underneath which is a cheeky smile.
When asked why she began her brand, the designer doesn't hesitate — it's clear she is passionate about her work, and knows exactly why she does it.
"A huge reason why I started creating my own clothes was because I just did not fit Glassons, or Cotton On, or any of the easy-access stuff we find in New Zealand. Either my thighs were too big, or my arms were too wide".
With an ease that comes only from unfeigned individuality, she explains that although people wouldn't assume she faces that issue, it was an overwhelming factor in how she felt about herself.
"I didn't feel like I could be someone who complained about that sort of stuff, but I was having that issue with all clothes."
So, she began making her own clothes or altering items herself.
"It just brought so much more confidence back into my life. Instead of going to the gym so that I could fit into clothes, I was going to the gym so that I could just have a good day afterwards."
An early creation was her high school ball dress, which she crocheted entirely by hand. From there, her creations evolved into a fashion line, through which she has won several awards in fashion shows, including emerging designer and glamour categories at Wool On. Her work has also been accepted into several national fashion shows, Āhua Fashion Week a favourite.
Miscisco knows the issue of ill-fitting clothes isn't new. Based on her own experience, she knows the importance of feeling as though your clothes are designed for you, not for the checkbox figures that bulldoze fast fashion forwards.
She explains that the small, medium and large of fast fashion can't realistically cater for the range of body types and combinations of proportions that real people have. Despite being so young, Miscisco was never taken in by the deceiftul myth the fast fashion industry has fabricated; that you should alter your body to fit the clothes, rather than alter the clothes to fit your body.
The designer knows this issue can be addressed. To create a positive change, Miscisco has the idea of "fit and flatter" woven into all of her work.
"Less in the sense of size inclusive, but confidence invoking."
She has already seen how much impact it can make, and how removing the labels and numerical measurements can entirely change someone's self-confidence and body image.
"Recently, I was working with a friend to try to figure out how I could create without measurements. We came up with using yarn and just shaping it around the person; it wasn't numbers."
Her hazel eyes are full of passion as she recounts the meaningfulness of the moment, her tone becoming more animated.
"And when we actually laid out the pieces and looked at the different lengths of everything, her mindset about herself just changed. There's certain parts of herself that she wasn't so confident about, or that she would be really embarrassed about, and when she saw them laid out like this and not in numbers it changed the way she thought about it. And it was quite cool to see a little thing like that."
Miscisco was raised in Cromwell, where her community has been a vital part of her work. After being taught to knit by her grandma, Miscisco reached out to women within her community to further her skills.
"What I'm realising now is that wool is providing an avenue for me to connect with people. Sometimes when the wool stuff's not working as well as I want it to, I think of the connections with people that I'm making through it."
After attempting to teach herself to spin wool for more than a year, she finally asked a Cromwell local who runs a wool-dyeing business, she explains. With her help, gradually Miscisco learned the art.
"There are many people on the way from Cromwell to Dunedin that I'll stop in to see and have a chat and learn the tools and tricks, but also talk about older generation stuff and younger generation stuff."
She speaks warmly of a blind woman in Cromwell who helped her finesse wool spinning, who she now catches up with often to show her work.
The close-knit community has also allowed Miscisco's work to transition naturally into a sustainable venture. Recently, her grandma went with her to a wool fibre festival where she bought locally sourced alpaca wool. The vendors each had information on their farm history and land, meaning you could trace the fibres back to their origins.
"I could place it back to the exact alpaca. So, it's cool to think you know the thing that's making it, and the grass that's feeding it."
However, the designer is well aware that "sustainability" means more than using locally sourced fibres. She focuses on creating pieces that are adaptable enough to be staples in a wardrobe even as fashions change. Additionally, she is constantly thinking about how handmade pieces can be affordable to "everyday Joes", especially in the context of personalised clothing. But, the other half of that balancing act is being careful not to exploit herself.
"Lots of people who make their own stuff take away a lot of [the potential for] profit from themselves, or don't pay themselves, because they're just wanting to get their name out there. But that's not very sustainable."
Over the next six months, Miscisco will spend her free time spinning, dyeing and crocheting wool for a new five-piece collection that will be showcased in December, in a KAM Models show in Auckland. Although the glittery and glamorous night is months away, Miscisco says the entire process is a highlight. "Applying for shows and finding out you can put your work in is a huge high. It's a cool dream and thread you get a chase."
And yet, it's not the spotlight that motivates her.
"Something I bond with my grandma about a lot is my fashion. So, I love telling her the next new thing, or show, that's a huge high in itself."
Between the bright lights and excitement, there are a low points. Miscisco explains that balancing study, a part-time job and fashion is difficult in many ways; finding enough hours in the day is hard, but so is taking the risk of investing her time.
"Societally, committing all to fashion isn't a safe route. So, I guess maybe the hardest part for me is maybe believing in myself that I can do it."
However, despite being early in her career, Miscisco has already seen many opportunities come her way as a result of her dedication and passion. From winning awards against competitors who have been in the industry for years, to earning places in brand workshops and entrepreneur programmes, she is making her mark. In the future, she would "absolutely love" for Cisco Bella to expand and become a fulltime job.
It's inspiring to see the seeds of change being sewn into the fashion industry, as the ubiquitous shroud of fast-fashion myth begins to fray. Young designers like Miscisco are reimagining how people can relate not only to fashion, but also to themselves.
"If more little things like that keep happening," she says, "what will we see in the future?"
Seren Stevens is a University of Otago humanities intern with The Weekend Mix.
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