Tamara Toby is the Tel Aviv-born designer -based in Barcelona- who has just launched her eponymous footwear brand reflecting an exciting vision of fashion, avant-garde and uniqueness based on a modern approach to haute couture.
In the aesthetic and enigmatic world of TAMA TOBY, beauty is extracted from decadence to illuminate the high-end stage by creating exclusive shoes with virgin leftover skins from various luxury houses with which he redefines contemporary sensuality.
Each of her handcrafted pieces becomes the result of a unique creative expression in the form of heart silhouettes, wide boots, infinity heels, mules or custom designs for the community of dreamers and fast fashion renegades who value fashion as art.
HIGHXTAR (H) – You trained in the world of design in exciting luxury houses like Alexander McQueen or Viktor and Rolf. How has all this background and/or learning influenced the creation of your own identity?
TAMARA (T) – Wowww, where should I start?! I’m super grateful I had the opportunity to work in these brands which I’m a huge fan of. It was literally a dream come true for me. I was fascinated by the way they look for inspirations, develop a story, moodboards, researching materials and references. It taught me a lot about myself and about the way I should work. In such big fashion houses like Mcqueen and V&R I saw how a collection is born and how all the pieces are coming together into one huge collection, from jewelry to hairstyle to footwear and garments, it was like magic. The biggest thing I took from Mcqueen is the focusing on combining vintage pieces as a part of the garments while using ancient handcraft skills while in V&R it was more the ultra personal statement in each and every piece.
H – At what point do you decide to undertake your brand and bet on your vision?
T – Mmmmm, do you want the real answer or the other one? (:. It’s just that London and Amsterdam were way too cold for me to stay (kidding). But honestly, I think that the actual moment was in my second year of university (IED) when one company came and asked the students to pick one of their brands and to do a trend board for their next season and they picked mine. Then I realized that I can create my own “Mundo” and even make it sellable. With that understanding I told Asi, my partner, “Bebeee, Let’s do it!!” And here we are.
H – In the midst of an industry oversaturated with creative stimuli and design, what could TAMA TOBY bring to fashion?
T – As a new emerging brand I have the privilege to design whatever comes to my mind, inventing myself over and over again and giving a modern approach to high end fashion from my perspective and from the way I see things and life in general. Tama Toby is about the power of fashion, about edginess and uniqueness and painstaking attention to details in each and every piece. Tama Toby is about art, a lifestyle. Tama Toby is a fashion manifesto against fast fashion and today’s industry. It is my way to tell my story from my own little “Mundo”.
H – You use the deadstock of skins from different luxury houses as a means to build your avant-garde footwear. What is the creative process you follow, from inspiration to the materialization of the design?
T – It’s been quite some time now that I have been living in different cities, traveling all around and being exposed to different cultures. Seeing different people, living different energies and color combinations. You know , walking around, flea markets, second hand shops, collecting all kinds of pieces. I love public transfer! For me everything is there. I sit and ask myself how we can do it the TAMA TOBY way, watching, observing…
At my studio, everything starts with the material, way before I start sketching, making shoes prototypes ,fitting, more prototypes, more sketching, more prototypes till we define the lines, the volume, the needs of these shoes… Each model goes through a whole process till we define the “vibe” that “belongs” to this pair of shoes according to this deadstock piece we chose back then in the beginning of the process, remember!? It takes time and this is how we create a unique and never been seen Tama Toby pair of shoes.
H – How would you define the aesthetics and ethics of TAMA TOBY? What would be the references, codes or value systems that have helped to configure all this?
T – Tama Toby was born as a small family business by my partner and I from the urge to translate and express the way we see things and the ideals we believe in into products. Our mission is to create an enigmatic aesthetic world for all the dreamers who are sick of fast fashion, for the people that have crazy nightlife but also going to yoga classes at 6am. Something that is Inspired by the connection of the dark side and the bright side of life and the synergy between bold, classic and sensual.
H – Your brand is based on a virtual sales system in which you advocate the customization of exclusive pieces to measure. How exactly does the process work, and from where do you carry it out?
T – Luckily, someone did it before us. The iconic MaisonCleo inspired us and made us understand it’s possible to achieve it in high end fashion, they f*ucking nailked it. So we decided to adapt their vision into our footwear brand. No collections. No seasons. No trends. Each drop is live for a limited period of time and then shut down so we can fulfill orders. During this time, each piece is made by hand in a small family factory in south of Spain to ensure a high level of attention to detail, then shipped to all the dreamers on this planet. This way, we can showcase our designs and at the same time provide an unparalleled pair of shoes from high-quality leather that won’t be found elsewhere.
H – You recently designed exclusive boots for La Zowi for her Sónar concert. How did that collaboration come about, and how did you live the experience? Would you like to continue creating for the music scene?
T – We are both super into music. Asi worked many years in nightlife and as a concert promoter in Tel Aviv so when we were thinking about how we want to start showing our designs, the opportunity with La Zowi at Sonar festival was “ Ok! definitely like this!!”. Tania ( Morenilla, fashion stylist), that she is with us from the first moment, told me she’s going to do the styling and Adriana (La Manso), the muse by herself, is making the custom and it just felt very natural and cozy to me doing that and I knew it’s going to be iconic. It was my opportunity to show the world what we are made of and the quality of the product. Performance is the highest form of art, everything is live, everything needs to be on point from top to bottom. And yeah, I would love to design more pieces for the music scene… And for other scenes as well (:
H – Now about to make your brand and your interpretation of avant-garde footwear known, where do you want TAMA TOBY to be ‘born’ from and where do you want TAMA TOBY to go in the future?
T – Well, Tama Toby is born from my position regarding the industry of fashion and my vision to make people understand that fashion is much more than just a market, it’s a way of self expression ,it is art. I feel it’s my mission to show the world how that Tama Toby is not only the best fucking shoes on this planet, it’s a way of life , a genuine belief that everyone should live their own life and live it the most!
And where do I want to be ?! Well, let’s keep something for the next interview (: That answers your question?! hahaha.
TAMA TOBY will have its official release on September 11. Follow all the steps and updates of the brand through @tama__toby.
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EDITORIAL CREDITS
PH: Tomás Pintos
MUSE: Aïda Camprubí
MUAH: Inés Ssiux
STYLING: Tania Morenilla
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