Silvia Hoya Mena COLLECTION

Featured in Vogue Italy in November 2013, Silvia Hoya Mena is a ”slow fashion” sustainable fashion designer from Madrid and based in Manchester. Formally trained in both bespoke and industrial fashion design and pattern cutting in Madrid (Goymar School of Fashion, 1989-1992) and fashion design and styling in Manchester (University of Salford, 1997-2000) she has developed a passion for classic yet modern couture, and an obsession with the perfect fit for the female form. Whilst still a student, Silvia co-ran a stall in Afflecks Palace called "Gomma", selling her unisex hand-crafted street wear under her label “Multipocket Syndrome”, as well as corsets made out of recycled inner truck tyres. After graduating, Silvia went traveling Europe in a camper van, selling her creations on the road, mainly at festivals, then settled in Barcelona and opened a studio/shop in the chic suburb of Gracia from where she designed and sold her collections of streetwear made with sustainable textiles, as well as designing and making bespoke costumes for the circus, theatre, performance and music acts. After two and a half years living and lecturing fashion design at the Donghua Textile University in Shanghai (China), Silvia adopted an Oriental edge to her designs. She is particularly inspired by the form and history of the kimono and combines this with her love for vintage tailoring.

Concerned about sustainability and ethical issues, Silvia manufactures only by order and bespoke, locally and fairly with green luxury fabrics, vintage kimono and obi silks, with each piece perfectly tailored and hand-finished.

In 2007 she returned to Manchester, settling down in her favourite city once again, this time working for the vintage and upcycling boutiques of the Northern Quarter as bespoke fashion designer and maker (the Junk Shop, Rags to Bitches, Zuzu Couture). In 2009, Silvia opened her fashion design company "My Sewing Box" in the same area, where she is permanently based. Nowadays she is mainly designing and making bespoke bridal and special ocassion gowns and frocks, as well as designing her own collection of sustainable high-end womens fashion plus a thousand side projects collaborating with other local designers and artists.

Silvia was a finalist in the 2009 “Best Of” Manchester Fashion Awards with the collection “Silverclub” designed in collaboration with German fashion designer Constanze Friedrichs, and two of the companies she has worked for have won that same prize with her on board: Rags to Bitches (2008 and 2009) and The Junk Shop (2011).