‘Bogotá was a gray city that did not understand the color’: Pepa Pombo

Find the validation of El Cazamentiras at the end of the news.

On Wednesday, May 17, Pepa Pombo did not endure the emotion and his eyes were filled with tears. No podía creer que por fin su nombre estaba allí, en la lujosa tienda Bergdorf Goodman, en la Quinta Avenida de Nueva York. Era el día de la inauguración oficial de la 'pop up store' (tienda efímera) que incluía sus creaciones."I was next to the really designers, between Balenciaga and Prada, imagine," says the designer.

Being there, in Saks Fifth Avenue or in Neiman Marcus, the big luxury stores of the Big Apple, which stand out for selling design, originality and exclusivity, had been a dream for many years and, although I had already made some attempts,He thought he was going to die without doing reality.

“I called and called Saks and they answered that they did not receive handmade things because the upside down was horrible and full of knots, and that they were not interested.I begged and begged, until they finally received me.The lady who attended me told me that she did almost for tired.That day I left with a jacket of mine upside down and she told me: ‘delight her to see the knots," and I said: ‘This is the reverse’. Me hizo sentar y, al final, me pidió 3.000 garments.I turn to and say: ‘Lady, do you think life reaches me to deliver your order?’.And I left. Entonces les tenía pánico a esos almacenes con pedidos en esas cantidades”, cuenta Pepa.But finally he succeeded and the invitation made by Bergdorf Goodman for 15 days a couple of more weeks was extended.They chose about 80 garments from their last three collections to offer them to their select clientele.They liked.They sold.Again the design, quality and originality of its product was recognized.Reached this achievement, everyone asked Pepa: "What's still?".This question has reminded him of a card that he bought many years ago at the Samborn bookstore, in Mexico, which said: “After having lived, having, of having lost, of having won, of having fought, of having cried, having laughed ... I finally found you! ".And when he opened it, he added: "Now what?"."And so I'm, mijita," says Pepa. Así es: Pepa Pombo ha triunfado; ha estado a punto de tirar la toalla; ha desfilado en pasarelas y ha participado en ferias de moda en París, Moscú, Río de Janeiro, Italia, España, Estados Unidos, México; ha vendido sus prendas en casi todas partes del mundo, ha abierto y cerrado tiendas en varias ciudades de América Latina; montó dos fábricas...Anyway, many things have happened, and one remains: the unique style of its garments, the originality of its designs, the DNA of its brand, which was born in 1978. “Pepa fue pionera en una técnica que no se hacía en tejido de punto, construyendo sus propias fibras, con un trabajo muy artesanal que definió su estilo desde el principio, que era muy diferente a todo lo que se hacía, a otro tipo de propuestas hechas con telas”, comenta la periodista Pilar Luna, experta en moda y directora de contenidos de Código Malva.Their preparations do not have seam.“Pepa fue la primera diseñadora que incursionó con las manualidades ancestrales de nuestro país, ella comenzó con los telares entretejiendo las sedas con las lanas, creado un estilo propio que ha evolucionado coherentemente, ahora también con la incursión de su hija Mónica (Holguín)”, comenta la especialista en moda Pilar Castaño."She has managed to preserve the originality of her fabrics, to the point that there is no possibility that she copies it," adds fashion journalist Consuelo Gaviria.

Textiles have attracted Pepa Pombo since childhood."All my life has fascinated me textures.At school he woves and wove;They always gave me the first prize in work and mention in religion, nothing in mathematics or sciences, ”says the designer with that jocularity with which she knows how to captivate her auditorium. “Cada vez que llegaba a un sitio tocaba el mantel, el saco del señor, el pantalón de la señora y mi mamá me regañaba porque eso era de mala educación”, agrega.Paint, weave, embroider, sew, all crafts liked."She had art in her hands, she painted very nice, she stood out in tasks, she was always very artistic," confirms Geny of Alberti, her childhood friend and a pip in the school of the Sacred Hearts Belén, in Lima, the city the cityto which Pepa's family arrived when she was 5 years old.“Even, she puts the table in detail;So we are in confidence, she makes it divine, ”adds her friend.With those skills, since he was already his own things to be different from the others;be the different of her group, rather than completing her, made her feel special. “Mis amigas me preguntaban ‘¿dónde conseguiste eso?’. Yo lo tejí, yo lo hice, yo lo cosí, les contestaba”, recuerda Pepa.However, when choosing a career he did not think about the fashion design or things like that, but in Fine Arts."But my dad told me:‘ daughter, bohemia no ’".That did not stop her: he began to teach children in the garage of his house to pay the race at the University of Los Andes de Bogotá, which he returned with his family when he was 16 years old.There she already showed her businesswoman mood, because she soon set up her painting academy."She has always been a recursive entrepreneur.It is not going.His studies were paid, but from school to Ponqués to sell.It is very skilled for business, ”says his brother and partner José Pombo, who has been administering the company for 37 years.“My colleagues were María Paz Jaramillo, Luis Caballero, Elena González, María Eugenia Cárdenas, a group of very good painters.But the race changed to the age of two and I left the textile side, ”says Pepa.There he met Olga de Amaral, who was her teacher and a great influence for her.But he did not abandon the painting: "I spent hours painting, I was angry to call me lunch," he notes.Remember that the famous art critic Marta Traba, in some note, dedicated some lines: "He said something like that he had just met someone with a lot of future," says Pombo.The academy grew, taught in the modern gym and set up its own gallery in northern Bogotá.“I only had my things: in addition to the paintings, I designed jewelry, belts, scarves, the first macrame shares that were exported to the USA.UU., things linked to art ".The fashion part began to primar about painting, although the Bogota market was not easy to conquer.“When I returned to Bogotá, I saw a dark city, very winter.I did not know what the rain was, because in Lima it never rains and when I saw the first and the rays I scared me.I thought ‘to this city you have to put color’.My designs had it, as well as different textures and mixtures, but here people did not understand very well.It was the era of blue blazer, gray pants, striped shirt, ”says Pepa.

Instead, in Mexico, where he was traveling with some frequency, they admired what he put on and took them to the friends. “Y un día, un señor me paró y me preguntó por algo que llevaba puesto; le conté que yo lo hacía y me dijo tráigame cosas, yo le compro.He was the director of Palacio del Hierro, las tiendas de lujo mexicanas.I started there, ”recalls the designer.The reception was total.He made costumes for Televisa productions, parades, set up his store and received international recognition.“I wore María Félix, Daniela Romo;Elizabeth Taylor was a good client, Jacqueline Kennedy too.Now, Eva Longoria and Amal Clooney use my things, ”he says.Faced with success, he went to live there to expand the business. Porque como ella misma dice en su sentido práctico: “A mí me gustan los aplausos, pero me gustan más los cheques.You can make beauties, but if they are not sold, it makes no sense ”.And there everything was sold.Or as once asked what moved her when designing, and with her good mood she replied: "Water, light and phone, the receipts to be paid". Gran parte del sello de Pepa Pombo se debe a que ella lo hace todo, empezando por la base textil. “Desde chiquita me acuerdo que si alguien llegaba a venderle fibras, mi mamá le decía tráigame lo que nadie ha querido comprar, lo más feo, porque le aterraba tener lo mismo que otros, así lo hubieran comprado Valentino o Armani”, cuenta su hija, Mónica Holguín, hoy directora creativa de la marca.“I wouldn't know what to do with a fabric that bring me done, why don't I know how many threads it has, what torration they have done.I would feel doing something that is not mine, copying someone, ”says Pepa.Por eso desde el comienzo, montó su propia hilandería en Bogotá, donde transforma la materia prima, la mezcla, la tiñe a su antojo, en un constante proceso creativo y de innovación, junto con Mónica.From that factory and another that has in Mexico, it supplies with its designs the two stores it has in Bogotá, that of Mexico, that of Guatemala (a franchise), the multi -brand stores in which it is present in another countries and the online sale.And so he lives, between Mexico and Colombia.

So work has for a while. No piensa en el retiro, pero cada vez le gusta más la idea de que su hija Mónica Holguín esté al frente de la dirección creativa de la marca, porque eso le ha permitido dedicarle tiempo a lo que más le gusta en estos momentos de su vida: ser abuela."I don't want to be anything else.My grandchildren have changed my priorities, my schedules, my activities, ”he says.With Valentina, 11 years old;Mateo, 8, and Joaquín, 2, play the office, to make market, make caves with blankets, jump in bed, color ... "Everything you need to keep them away from the cell phone, the computer, the TV," he saysThe designer.Maybe when they don't pay so much attention, you can wake up the painter's gene."I feel that I have frustrated that side. He tenido ganas de volver a pintar, pero para eso necesito mucha concentración, no hacer nada más”.

Aunque Mónica Holguín prácticamente creció en el taller junto con su mamá y también es diseñadora textil, trabajar juntas se dio de una manera casual, cuando ella ‘salvó’ a Pepa.“I had erased a parade that I had and was missing for that.I came from Italy and continued for Mexico, and I told Monica to pass through the warehouse and empty it to take that to Panama.She, who is very strict, told me that she could not parade with what was for sale, that she was in charge, that we saw each other in Panama.And there he arrived, a month later, with a complete collection, that I had not even seen, ”says Pepa.He liked what he saw and more when the collection sold everything."That day I said:" You have to work with me, ".That was already 16 years ago.The arrival of Monica has brought new colors and silhouettes to the brand, and industrial processes, although the garments continue to have many artisanal finishes.“Mi mamá, dentro de su gran generosidad de delegar, lo ha hecho con amor y paciencia, y me ha permitido ser, me ha dejado imprimirle a la marca cosas mías como la funcionalidad de las prendas, la idea de las prendas reversibles, que ya hoy son parte del ADN de Pepa Pombo”, dice Mónica.“Mónica has a very clear creative part, the way things are balancing is very precise.I fully trust her, ”says Pepa.This Monday - July 24-, this joint work will be seen in Paris de Asia, the collection they prepared for the opening of Fashion Colombia.Natalia Díaz El Tiempo Bottom