Meet Peruvian Designer Yirko Sivirich: Miami Fashion Week’s Rising Star

After a recent jaunt down to Miami Fashion Week this month, we discovered Peruvian designer Yirko Sivirich, who debuted a strong showing of menswear and womenswear for Resort. Sivirich, who founded his company in his native Peru, has been showing at MFW for the last two seasons and has been quietly developing a larger profile. We caught up with Sivirich to find out his plans for the future. Read on about this designer-to-watch…

Explain the inspiration for your latest collection that you showed at Miami Fashion Week.
My collection is inspired by the fresh and effortless style of the Peruvian coast with a surfer influence that accentuates the Resort concept.

What brought you to Miami?
Miami is a city that I really love. I’ve visited many times and in 2016 I was invited to participate in Miami Fashion Week. It was pretty interesting to me, so I accepted it. In that moment, people liked my collection, so I think that was the reason the organization invited to me to participate again.

How has Miami Fashion Week given you a platform?
It’s allowed me to expose my collections in the North American market. Now more people know my brand and my work as a designer.

Antonio Banderas was the ambassador of MFW. Did you meet him?
I met Antonio last year at Miami Fashion Week. It was a pleasure to know that besides being a very talented actor, he is a great person. I still remember last year, after my fashion show at MFW, Antonio came to congratulate me and he didn’t hesitate to buy a jacket from my collection. This year he also told me that he had really liked my collection. It was very gratifying.

You work with Ermenegildo Zegna in Lima. What were you doing for them at the time?
I worked in the sales area and fashion consulting to the clients. It was my first contact with the fashion industry.

Did you found your label once you graduated from design school?
It took me a few years to decide to launch my design brand. During that time, I created a trademark, through which I became acquainted with suppliers, seamstresses, and other people involved in garment making—but, above all, I met my audience.

Where can your collection be bought?
Currently, I only have only one store in Lima. However, I plan to create an online store with international shipments soon.

You launched women’s in 2015. What made you decide to launch women’s, and how has it been doing?
Initially, I evaluated it a lot, but there was so much interest in the female audience to wear my designs that it was not difficult to accept the challenge. Fortunately, they have responded positively, much better than I expected.

What are your goals for your brand in the next five years?
I hope to be able to consolidate in the international market through points of sale outside Peru and participation in platforms such as Miami Fashion Week. In addition, I hope to expand my product line to make it much more complete for my customers.