Nicole-Jocelyn Sanchez and Why Filipinos Should Care About Sustainable Fashion
Nicole-Jocelyn Sanchez
〰️
Sustainable Fashion Designer
〰️
Nicole-Jocelyn Sanchez 〰️ Sustainable Fashion Designer 〰️
Nicole-Jocelyn Sanchez is a rising fashion designer and Philippine cultural practitioner based in San Mateo, California. Wearing her Filipinana sleeves proudly, Nicole provides traditional yet innovative portable Filipinana sleeves for Filipinos looking to reconnect to their culture. With a focus on sustainability, Nicole innovates ways to incorporate technology, storytelling, and using what we have to create something we are proud of wearing. Nicole is also a tenured performing artist of Parangal Dance Company, novice long distance runner, business owner of Niana Collection, and a content marketer in San Francisco.
“Filipiniana are a collection of things that come from the physical location of the Philippines, and as a Filipino American that’s born and raised here in The San Francisco Bay Area, what it means to be Filipinana doesn’t necessarily connect with my identity. And so Niana is my way of breaking the constraint of physical location, and celebrating everything that comes with creating what my story is.”
Nicole is just one of six recipients of the Kreative Growth Grant, a $3,000 to $6,000 grant Balay Kreative gives to Filipinx artists in the Bay Area, in order to launch new works of art and culture in the Filipino Cultural District in San Francisco.
In an interview with Iggy Mora and Jimmie Gabiola, Nicole talks about her brand Niana Collection, why sustainability is important in Philippine fashion, and how she anticipates her journey with the Balay Kreative Grant might help make a mark on the SOMA Pilipinas community.
Profile by Tianna Mae Andresen
Introduce yourself and your project
My name is Nicole Sanchez. I am a fashion designer under the brand new Niana collection. I am a Balay Kreative resident under the visual arts track. My project is called FilipiNIANA: Volume One and it will be a collection of various pieces from women's wear, to menswear, to some jewelry, and everything in between.
What drew you to the Balay Kreative Kreative Growth Program?
I was first interested in Balay Kreative when I first heard about the Kreative Growth program last year in its inaugural year, and I hadn't put any art out yet. I really wanted to apply but I wanted to first try my hand at putting my work out into the ether. When I started back in October I heard the program was starting up again this year, I was really excited to submit my application.
How did it feel learning you were selected to be a recipient?
When I first got the email, notifying me that I was accepted as a resident artist, I was so thrilled. The first person I told were my parents and my partner. I think it was really fulfilling to know that other people want to support my vision and the projects that I'm really passionate about. I'm really excited to be able to share my work with people beyond the four walls of my bedroom.
What do you hope to gain from your experience?
What I hope to gain from this program is a renewed confidence in myself. I think when I first was accepted, there was a fear that what I'm creating isn't good enough, but I'm really excited knowing that there are people out there who are also excited about the work that I'm creating. I'm really excited to continue sharing my work and growing the community around fashion, especially Filipino American fashion, and what that looks like on our bodies and what it looks like.
What kind of statements are you looking to make with your art?
I ultimately want to break through my art, I ultimately want to break the constraints of identity.
“I feel like Philippine American identity is really constrained by things like our location, and our ability to speak and our ability to show up. The Niana collection, the true basis of it, is being able to break those constraints and just create the story of identity through our experiences through how we show up in the world. Being Filipino, being Filipino American, is just part of that identity. ”
What would you say to aspiring Filipino artists? Why is it important for Filipinos to create?
For anyone out there who's trying to create, I think it's really important as a Filipino American, especially here in San Francisco to just build space. I think when we talk about fashion, we always talk about the patterns and what it looks like. What I really like to celebrate is the space that we take up, especially in our sleeves and the space that we take up beyond ourselves, and I think art is an extension of who we are. I'm really excited and it like brings me a lot of joy to see creatives out there bringing their work out.
What is sustainable fashion to you? And why should Filipinos care about it?
Sustainable fashion is using the materials that are readily available. I am really inspired by the food industry and a movement towards using local ingredients. Something that I am really passionate about when it comes to fashion is using materials and resources that are pretty much right on my doorstep.
There's a store in the city called Scrap SF where I really like to buy a lot of fabric. There you can find deadstock fabric, which end up bolt or materials that are meant to just be thrown away. That's something that I like to incorporate in my work.
There's a lot of different ways I really want to incorporate sustainable fashion into Philippine fashion. Because right now, there is a lot of scarcity around fabric, around materials, especially resources from the Philippines, whether it's capiz shells, or the threads that come with our fabric. I think here in the US, it's really important to us what we have in front of us because that's what builds our story. That’s what reflects who we are in our specific location. And so, for me, this is how I bring my spin into Filipino American passion.
What can we expect from you during your time as a Kreative Growth Resident Artist?
In my time, as a resident artist, I hope to complete my project and get my pieces out there. I'm really excited for the end of the year, especially the event that I'll be holding. I plan on holding a community activation, displaying and promoting my work, especially the pieces that I think are really going to excite folks.
I have a handful of new pieces that I think are innovative, and I'm really excited to put out especially my menswear stuff. I've been putting out a lot of my women's wear things, especially on social media, but I'm really excited about putting out some menswear
You'll be doing so much this year as a resident artist from masterclass to developing your project. What would you tell yourself at the end of 2023?
I want to continuously affirm myself in the work that I'm doing. You are amazing. You are beautiful. Despite all the trials and tribulations I feel like I don't tell myself that enough and I want to continuously affirm myself and what I'm doing. So good job. You're doing great, keep it up.
We will be documenting Nicole and all the other recipients journeys, follow @Balaykreative to keep updated and be the first to see what each recipient's final project is!
You can also keep updated with Nicole through the following platforms: