Merche Segarra is the designer behind Spanish bridal brand Jesus Peiro. We caught up with her to find out more about her career so far.
Being a bridal designer wasn’t something I dreamt of when I was younger, although looking back on my childhood I realise that it was subconsciously in me. The cards for my first holy communion became my first bridal collection, which seems a little strange!
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I completed my university studies in Barcelona with a degree in Fine Arts and another one in Fashion Design. Then I spent a year in Milan studying a Technical Master’s Degree and, after that, I began my professional career working in an Atelier.
That was where my career in bridal design took off; I began designing unique and bespoke bridal gowns. That professional phase made me become aware of the way women think and feel. I think that to be able to dress a woman, the most important thing is to understand her.
There were many. Inexperience, lack of understanding, adapting to market forces and the management of a whole team being as young as I was. Nevertheless, it was extremely formative for the career I was to follow next. Facing challenges makes you grow, even if sometimes it is difficult at the time.
My job is to manage Jesus Peiro’s design department. This means being responsible for the creation of a product that defines the company. Additionally, my job is to optimize talent and distribute the workload fairly to each of the team members who work on the collection. It gives me enormous pleasure to be involved in a team effort since this always yields the best and most motivating results.
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Absolutely! However, what really thrills me is the result of everyone’s individual efforts. Bringing various talents together when designing a collection means that you are bound to encounter the unexpected, and once you see the end result, the feeling is amazing. Each and every person on the team has helped us dream a little bit and to be able to transmit this beauty through our designs can only lead to a feeling of deep emotion.
The creation of a bridal collection has two very distinct parts, although they are entirely connected and feed into each other in many ways. The first is the design department and the second is the technical department in charge of patterns and manufacturing.
The design department creates the idea whereas the technical department carries it through. Both departments oversee taking care of the aesthetic side of the dress from different, although totally complementary angles. A mutual understanding between both departments is required and it is very easy for me to manage a group of such qualified professionals who are highly involved in this task.
The rest is aesthetics, influences, fashion and the brand’s signature which are all very important aspects but don’t make sense if the first part of mutual understanding is not well executed.
Looking back, I am very proud of where I am now. I am extremely happy with my job and just as honoured to be a part of a historic brand such as Jesus Peiro.
To be able to enjoy it a little bit more… without rushing!
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I think that they are worlds apart. The bridal world is very specialised. I have always thought that the bride’s dress does not just dress her body or an event; it dresses a psyche, a state of mind, her expectations, and so there are specific elements that don’t exist when designing a fashion collection and which play a decisive role in bridal collections. The bright side of this is that we can create collections, where fantasy and preciousness can be a part of its core.
Having a wonderful and very helpful husband and children. This wouldn’t have been possible without them; I give them all the credit.
My advice is that passion and hard work is the best combination to see ideas materialise into collections.
I enjoy each and every part of my job. It always feels just like it was at the beginning and because of this, I make the same amount of effort every single day. The results of this still amaze me every day and I think this is where the charm of my job really lies.
I guess a new collection where all the different sensibilities of future brides have their own place. A collection that can thrill, amaze and make you dream.
To see more from Jesus Peiro, take a look at an exclusive preview of their Spring/Summer 2020 collection entitled ‘Cala’ here.