Meet Carola Besasso | Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carola Besasso and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carola, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
1:
When I started my businnes in 1998, I had just returned to my hometown Buenos Aires from living 7 years in the Netherlands.
I was 29 at that time, and recently graduated from Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy, in Amsterdam. My idea was to create a space in which I could sell products that were art related, mostly in the shape of clothes.
I wanted to use the shop as a free venue to explore creativity. Through clothes, art installations on the shop window, and different types of events with live music.
My inspiration was the ludic atmosfhere that I absorbed in my Amsterdam years during the 90’s, and I just wanted to recreate that free spirit in my own space.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What I am most proud about my business is that I managed to maintain a coherent and powerful identity throughout the 27 years of its existance.And that my public grew older and stayed loyal to what I have to offer.
Although having a business in Argentina is not an easy task, and there was a lot of struggle sometimes ,I always could survive the general crisis by staying in a small production scale, avoiding investment risks.
I have learned that my succes was based on staying true and persistant in my own personal vision,no matter what new trend was around.
My brand is an extension of who I am, it speaks for myself, and grew along the years with me.
DAM is my life choice, my expression and the language I created to express myself in the world.
Since 1998 untill now is was my beautiful shelter and family.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to the Lattente Cafe, which was the spot where I got my top quality coffee for all those years.
To eat, I would go to Sampa avegan restaurant that I love.
And just take a walk from my neighborhood Villa Crespo, to Colegiales and enjoy the quiet streets full of trees and old houses.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this to my art teacher Johan Van Oord, from when I was a 24 year old kid, and who made me realize that all I had to do is listen my real inner voice and to believe in myself enough to stop trying to be like others.
And both my parents who let me go freely as a very young age to another continent following my instinct

Instagram: dam.boutique

Image Credits
Photo credits .Pilar Condomi