SUCCESS STORY

Abraham Sebastian:

Crafting Essence

By Guillaume Jean Lefebvre

Abraham Sebastian is not just a brand; it's a harmonious fusion of artistry, craftsmanship, and passion. The brainchild of Veronica Lumbreras and Abraham Climent, the brand's genesis lies in Valencia, Spain, where these visionaries united dressmaking with industrial pattern-making and tailoring with craftsmanship. Their journey is one of collaboration, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of artistic expression through fashion.

Abraham Climent, hailing from Valencia, Spain, spent formative years immersed in diverse cultures, living in both Chile and Ireland. Veronica Lumbreras, also born in Valencia, brings a unique perspective shaped by her academic journey in fashion design at the School of Art and Design, specializing in industrial design.

Their childhood experiences were profound, influenced by the sights, sounds, and scents of artistic endeavors. Abraham recalls the allure of working alongside artisans, the alchemy of fire and iron, and the delicate dance of water and mud shaping raw materials into art.

The brand's evolution mirrors their personal growth and passions. Abraham Sebastian is not merely a label but a canvas where their essence is woven into custom garments, each detail a testament to their journey and vision.

Their early steps were humble, marked by collaborative projects and showcasing collections at prestigious events like the CLEC FASHION FESTIVAL. Key milestones include dressing public figures, creating a digital presence through their website, and gracing runways in Valencia and Madrid.

Their approach to work is characterized by a reverence for tradition intertwined with modernity. They attract strong, vibrant personalities drawn to classic elegance yet unafraid to embrace bold colors and cuts, celebrating life's essence.

Among their proudest accomplishments are the impact of their presentations on various platforms, from catwalks to television. Balancing professional demands with personal life remains a challenge, but their dedication fuels their journey.

Looking ahead, their goal is sustainability and growth, anchoring their lives around their craft. They aspire to be perceived not just as a fashion brand but as a beacon of artisanship, offering timeless garments for discerning consumers who value style, substance, and individuality.

BIOGRAPHY

What inspired the creation of Abraham Sebastian, and how did your partnership with Veronica Lumbreras come about?

My greatest inspiration to work in the world of fashion was my grandmother in Chile, who taught me never to be afraid to express myself and to follow my vision for the world. Shortly after she passed away, I decided to create the brand and work to turn these ideas into reality.

I was motivated not only by my passion for design but also by my curiosity to learn the traditional methods of dressmaking, in order to make creations by hand in a sustainable way.

In my formative years, I was highly influenced by the ideas of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Cristobal Balenciaga, and Yves Saint Laurent. I was particularly fascinated by the pattern design techniques of Cristobal Balenciaga and the way he combined Japanese sleeves and his work with female silhouettes. I was inspired by the political activism of Vivienne Westwood, above all for her leading role in the punk fashion movement. The story of how Alexander McQueen achieved success from humble origins with a tailoring technique and work that was inspired by nature.

I first worked together with Veronica Lumbreras in 2017, who taught me the techniques of industrial dressmaking. Due to the energy of our working partnership, we decided to create the brand Abraham Sebastian. The brand was a fusion of our creative energy for fashion design combined with artisan craftsmanship.

2. Can you tell us more about your latest project, "Bendita Locura," and the inspiration behind it?

Bendita Locura is a collection in which I wanted to create a fusion between flamenco fashion and Japanese minimalism.

Where the stories of our frenetic lives pass through chaotic noise towards absolute calm, but always with uncertainty on the horizon. It is a journey through mystery, passion, and madness.

Exploring the world of flamenco and offering our own interpretation focusing on its innate dedication and passion. It is a cry that comes from the soul.

A rhythm that grows through clapping, the cajon, and suddenly stops dead, creating a dramatic turn in your dance.

In this collection, we worked and got into the world of Drama - Passion - Madness - Mystery - Seduction - sadness, and fury. Representing a cocktail of our emotions and the times in which we live where immediacy is required of us and we reduce everything to a number.

Photographer: Pablo Fuentes - @photographypablofuentes
Model: Fatou - @enansyu
Stylist: Barbara Fores - @barbara.muaofficial
Assistant Photographer:Jon Casau - @jon_phto
Artistic Direction: Jhon Mateo Lucas - @jhonmateolucas
Jewelry: Sueibars Jewelry - @sueibars_jewelry
Designer: Abraham Sebâstian - @dombyabraham

3. Can you elaborate on your childhood experiences that shaped your artistic vision?

As a child, I surrounded myself with my aunts who worked on their traditional regional costumes for the main festivals held in my town (intricate dresses for "Falleras" for the festival of Fallas, and "Claveriera" for Holy Week). I saw how their hands worked with silk, embroidery, lace, and corsets. They sewed to measure for the people of the town, and some of my uncles even had a factory where they made clothes in Montesa, a small town in the Valencian community, which sadly had to close its doors after the crisis.

At the age of 6, my family moved to live in a small city in the south of Chile, very close to the Andes mountain range. As a child, I was already making my first sketches of dresses inspired by nature. Our first collection for the Clec festival was called "My Secret Garden," where I aimed to represent my emotions as a child seeing condors overfly with their majestic wings or the tireless flapping of hummingbirds perching on flowers to extract their nectar. I sought to represent the fragility of everything through design, within garments that gave off sensuality in their movements.

Since childhood, I collected fashion magazines and was passionate about the world behind them. It was a way to be close to Spain while enjoying the beauty of nature in Chile. I remembered the hours my aunts spent sewing by hand, creating a team where they enjoyed lace, embroidery, cutting lapels, and creating meticulous work by hand.

It caught my attention that behind the suit, there was a revolution in dressing and how women were positioning themselves, and of course, also the reflection of a new masculinity. I realized that clothing was my best way of expressing my emotions, transmitting it to each person I dress.

4. How do you infuse your personal experiences into your designs, and what sets Abraham Sebastian apart in the fashion industry?

We believe that each garment is imbued with our personality. If you are sad, you create sadness; if you are happy, you create joy. But our work goes one step further.

Starting from the fact that it is not a brand designed for industrial growth at the moment, although we do not close our doors, we need our garments to be full of details and with meticulous work. We move forward in a very gradual way and consistent with our circumstances. Since we are not always conscious of our environment, we dedicate ourselves to creating unique garments for that precise moment. We take into account what our client wants to express, what parts of her body she wants to emphasize, and how we can bring out the best version of them.

We are passionate about the psychological work behind our creations, the personalized approach that makes dreams come true. What perhaps sets us apart from other brands is precisely our personality, our way of understanding fashion and the body. Every designer has a different style, and that, for me, is beauty. We do not like to compare ourselves with other brands because we believe that each brand is created by different restless souls wanting to express the best of themselves. What obsesses us most is learning with each garment and reaching a great obsession with technique. Above all, strong personalities inspire us and exude security. When you see one of our garments, you see the craftsmanship of the details and, above all, the inspiration of a mystical woman involved in that specific moment.

5. Could you walk us through your journey from a small project to showcasing collections at renowned events like the CLEC FASHION FESTIVAL?

We approach our growth process with passion and calm; I think we evolve in a very gradual way. It started as a need to express my emotions, and along with my best friends Pablo Fuentes as a photographer, and Jhon Mateo Lucas as Stylist and Artistic Director, we worked on photo sessions that little by little gained traction in the most alternative panorama of fashion in Valencia. Our Instagram is called DombyAbraham because my grandmother was called Domitila. The brand actively demonstrates that beauty has no age or sexual condition. Pulling a lot of inspiration from the feminine world, I also strongly advocate for genderless clothing, which I have included in all of my projects. Our union with Veronica was also very natural; seeing that we really enjoyed working together, we created a great family called DOM. After accumulating several photo sessions, Amalia Riestra and Miquel Suay (organizers of the Clecfasion festival) noticed us and supported us so that we could present our collection AT THE Clec Fashion festival in its first edition as Emerging artists and the second year as New artists, making us better known in the Valencian fashion scene. After seeing my work at the CLEC festival, French philosopher and sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky called it “a disruptive and sustainable brand.”

6. What values and principles guide your approach to work, especially in balancing traditional techniques with modern aesthetics?

For us, the environment is very important, and creating garments that last over time, mixed with accessories and removable pieces to give it a more modern approach, is crucial, but always with an eye toward a new life for those garments. Our ethic is sustainability, personalization, and handmade artisan work. We search and investigate new shapes and patterns but always with our modern version without abandoning the classic techniques and precise finishing touches. It is a vision of a modern woman but consistent with her times.

7. What challenges did you face during the creation of "Bendita Locura," and how did you overcome them to bring your vision to life?

The biggest difficulty in carrying out this collection was dealing with the amount of time required to deliver this type of project. Well, Abraham Sebastian is the result of our work done in the hours outside of the team's other jobs. In short, at the moment we do not live from this, but we fight and work hard every day to achieve our dreams. Another challenge was the common thread of the collection, which was understood to be the representation of a frenetic day that reflects our reality, working from one place to another to transform our hours of sleep into our dream.

8. You mentioned dressing public figures and featuring in various media. Could you share some memorable moments or collaborations?

From the beginning, I have worked with people as wonderful as the Madrid singer Sandra Bernardo, dressing Eva Gallem, former Miss Spain representative, in different events and cities, as well as Madrid-based stylist Elena Esteban for the Latin American fashion week. We are currently working on the new challenge of designing and creating bespoke wedding dresses.
9. Sustainability is a growing concern in the fashion world. How does Abraham Sebastian address this, and what are your future plans in this regard?

Above all, we believe in slow fashion and we defend custom-made garments. We believe that this is the secret of sustainability, in addition to researching new textiles and manufacturing techniques. We would like to continue to try new fibers that are more sustainable. I think our secret and key is in creating unique pieces for unique people. We believe in artisanal manufacturing and taking great care of the amount of fabric we use. We practice neighborhood commerce and responsible consumption within the polluting nature of the industry. We want to see ourselves in the future creating a fusion of industry and custom clothing but on a very personalized scale.

10. As founders, how do you maintain a healthy work-life balance while managing the demands of your brand?

It is very difficult while working other jobs to find a balance between our professional and personal life but I believe that we have arrived at the point of ourselves known and work hard to be able to live from what we are most passionate about, which is sewing, patterning and designing.

We seek balance especially in the moments when we can travel and be inspired by other cultures and of course enjoying the small details such as a good conversation with the people who love us.

11. Looking ahead, what are your aspirations and long-term goals for Abraham Sebastian?

We would love to be able to grow as a workshop and dedicate ourselves 100% to our craft and the challenges we see in the future, in addition to the jobs or orders we receive, is how to achieve a brand that is sustained over time and gradually get into the bridal making.

We would love to launch a line or collection without gender, and with an elaborate pattern designed to dress different silhouettes and continue with our vision of elegance

Our greatest challenge is to make a living from our passion.

INTERVIEW