Ana Clara Watanabe and the passion for creating

With a Japanese heritage, Ana nurtures her passion for creation by developing various projects that transit between different areas of design - whether it's fashion design, furniture, or graphic design.

We talked to her about her creative process, her inspirations, and future plans. Check it out below:

FURNITURE DESIGN

What inspired you to transition to furniture design?

• Furniture has always been very present in my story. When my grandfather came to Brazil, my family's first business was focused on popular furniture, where my father continues to run the Casa Oriental store, which has been in operation for over 60 years.
  As I began to understand my passion for creation, I realized that I could extend my creative process beyond clothing. I envisioned clothing while imagining it in a space made up of other products. Walls, scene objects. Everything that will compose that garment comes to my mind when I am developing a wearable piece.
  In this way, as I got closer to upcycling processes and understood the possibilities of creation with recycled materials, I found the Precious Plastic recycling project, and I was captivated by the extremely durable material with a marble-like appearance that recycled plastic has. Thus, I decided to bring furniture from the imaginary into the physical realm, launching my first piece of furniture last year, the ZAISU 01, a low chair for meditation inspired by the Japanese ZAISU (座椅 子) model, which has no legs, just a backrest. It is assembled with 100% recycled plastic panels. The model was designed to fit together without the use of screws, referencing the folds of origami.

What are the main challenges you encountered when entering the furniture design market?

• I believe that the fact of not having a work history in areas such as architecture and even in interior design makes the commercial process a bit difficult. There is still a significant distance between fashion and other areas, and having a background in fashion and being known for my work in that area has made the process of entering certain decor environments slower, but little by little we are conquering our space.
  Especially when we talk about sustainable design, I see that there is still great consumer reluctance to invest in a product that has been recycled. In fashion, we still have this barrier as well; a lot is consumed from the universe and concept behind brands that have sustainability as a core, but few truly manage to survive. Working sustainably goes beyond raw materials; it goes beyond environmental sustainability. For a product to be genuinely sustainable, the entire behind-the-scenes needs to hold up as well, the supplier needs to be paid correctly, waste needs to be managed properly, and all of this ultimately increases the cost of the product.
  Thus, besides this difficulty in entering the market itself, I see that the question of the value of a sustainable product vs. the final consumer is still a barrier to be broken.

How would you describe your personal style in furniture design?

• I have increasingly been reclaiming my Japanese origins in my projects. I draw a lot of inspiration from origami when creating anything, be it clothing-accessory-furniture. Thinking about how something can unfold and turn into another product is very present in WTNB products; our pieces always allow disassemblies and reassemblies so that the consumer can play with the design and interpret the piece in different ways. In furniture, it's no different; our ZAISU is made up of four panels that fit together but can be reassembled and adapted for new types of design.

CREATION PROCESSES WITH UPCYCLING

How did you start incorporating upcycling into your creative processes?

• I started the upcycling process in London. I was studying at UAL at the time and wanted to take full advantage of the college's structure to create, but the fabrics there were very expensive. I began searching for pieces in thrift stores, deconstructing and building new fabrics, creating patchworks.
  I sold some pieces that I created from others and realized that this could become something scalable and profitable. When I returned to Brazil in February last year, I mapped out disposal points for pilot tailoring pieces, and we started deconstructing and building new tailoring pieces with those fabrics. Tailoring fabric is made to last, and not taking advantage of it would be a shame.
  We expanded in the last drop for customization of these thrifted pieces, screen printing and painting them manually.
  Then, in November of last year, I began a partnership with Innovativ Têxtil, a weaving company in the interior of São Paulo, which opened up its stock of homewear fabrics that had been sitting for years and would have been discarded. We brought those rigid materials that were meant for sofas and wallpaper into our clothing.

What materials do you prefer to use in your upcycling projects and why?

• Blazers. The best fabrics and materials we can repurpose are usually those from blazers that we find or are donated by ateliers that provide us with old samples. The blazer has numerous layers, and a good product, handmade, has beautiful hand-stitched details, so we do not damage the product when deconstructing and can use the lining and fabric.

What are the benefits and challenges of upcycling compared to using new materials?

• The biggest challenge today is reproducing these pieces. Fortunately, we have a high demand for custom projects, and the products end up being exclusive, but working with thrifted materials or fabrics that have been out of production for many years has the disadvantage of reproduction.

THE WTNB COMPANY

What was the original vision behind the creation of WTNB?

• The idea was to create a well-defined brand conceptually that would allow us to explore different areas of design, whether in fashion, furniture, or graphic design. Sustainability aligned with this brand structuring; we understood that we could embrace the cause and expand the concept beyond environmental concerns, and also embrace the social aspect, showcasing the creative potential of the labor force from the interior of São Paulo, more specifically in my hometown, Pindamonhangaba, where we have done incredible work in crafting the pieces with local seamstresses.

Can you share any recent project from WTNB that reflects the company philosophy?

• I believe that TARSILA AMARELA, which will be showcased on May 28, reflects the company's philosophy well. I drew inspiration from centennial works by a female artist from Brazil, who was extremely important in the history of Brazilian art, opening doors for other female artists. Diving into the centennial works of Tarsila do Amaral for the development of my new collection made me see new possibilities for creation, merging my story with hers.
  We formed an incredible partnership with Senac de Pindamonhangaba, where we created a group of women of different ages for crafting part of the looks; we used only sustainable, repurposed materials; we used the coffee grounds from Nespresso capsules to develop the buttons for the collection; we used the glass from Heineken to make accessories... all presented in a performative fashion show that takes fashion back to that whimsical-magical place that I envision it belongs to.

What are the future plans for WTNB in terms of growth and innovation?

• We will open a physical space this year to welcome our clients and display the pieces we create. We have been expanding more and more into the Wearable Art segment, and having a gallery-store allows us to showcase everything we create and believe is art. We also have plans to create a proprietary atelier-production of the brand with this special workforce from the interior.