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After three seasons on the Paris catwalks, Spanish fashion designer José Castro has proved his worth in France, where his conceptual collections have met with unanimous acclaim. Castro is also on the design team of Desigual, the Spanish brand which combines romantic shapes, state-of-the-art fabrics and colour surprises. Fashionfromspain went to find out more.

As a Spanish designer showing in the French capital, do your collections retain anything of your native Galicia?
I was born in A Cañiza, in the province of Pontevedra. Galicia [which is located in the far north-west of Spain] is damp, sombre and dark and yet luscious and green. And when I’m making my garments, childhood memories of those luxuriant forests always come back to me.

Is your background in the arts, textiles or industry?
It’s artistic and textile-based. I studied at the Barcelona School of Fashion Arts and Techniques, and got a scholarship to continue at the Royal College of Art in London. The RCA’s training is amazing: you learn method, shapes and design, and you discover how to channel your creativity to get the very most out of your work.

“A lot of the textures I use are my own creation”

What brought you into fashion and made you create a brand in your own name?
My passion for design: the idea of turning my own name into a brand was the result of business experience. I was put at the creative helm of Miró Jeans, without much success, and then I was signed by Desigual. After several years in the sector, I decided it was time to adopt my own approach. It took many years of ‘commercial noise’ for me to arrive at my own vision and find ‘my own woman’.

How does your work for the José Castro brand differ from what you do for Desigual?
I have plenty of freedom in both. At Desigual, we have to present ideas based on stipulated concepts or lines, but its energetic, lively and very fresh philosophy. The brand team is fantastic; it’s all about fun and profit! For my own creations, I choose the style, volumes and garment lines myself. My team and I work on concepts together.

You’ve also worked on the autumn/winter 08/09 collection for La Redoute.
Yes, with 10 other designers of different nationalities. I’ve made a series of garments for the women’s ready-to-wear collection in the sleek, restrained but chic style of a brand with more than 80 years’ experience behind it.

What makes your creations special?
Volume, layers, deconstructing the female form and then rebuilding it to create a new silhouette… Then textures too – largely of my own creation – and the fabrics we use. We choose a fabric to suit every garment and vice versa.