Victor von Schwarz: "In Taiwan, people stopped eating to buy themselves a handbag"

Victor von Schwarz (his surname in German means "black"; Sabadell, 1988) is the artistic name of the fashion designer who has dressed some of the most popular artists on the music scene, such as Aitana, Lola Índigo or Rosalía, and who is part of the Shein X program. The designer has matured an androgynous style —influenced by his time in Taiwan—, with a constant presence of pink and "cute aesthetics, which was reflected in the pink jersey-top that Rosalía wore in the music video for Milionària. For wine, Von Schwarz is true to his brand: when he can choose, he chooses black.

In the modeling sessions with his designs, several amphorae are seen. Why?

— In the studio where I was before, Palmera Estudio, we had them for decoration; we liked them aesthetically. Albert Madaula, who is the founder of the artist creation space, really likes the sea.

Is wine part of your daily life?

— Not much, because I hardly drink alcohol. But if there's a dinner with friends or an event, I like to drink it. I don't understand much about it, and whatever they recommend seems fine to me, although if it's very dry I find it harder.

Better black or white?

— Generally, black. But at events I might prefer it white. Although with an ice cube, because it's softer that way.

Do your colleagues scold you for that ice cube?

— My friends don't scold me, no.

Do you remember any particular event?

— It must have been one of the first 080s, when I was still a student. They set up a shell-shaped tent in Barceloneta. I think there was a white wine sponsor… It's a magical memory, because it was one of the first times I went to 080 and saw a fashion show.

Do you value the story behind wine?

— The story can amuse me, but in the end I'm looking for something soft and that's it [laughs].

In 2014 he moved to Taiwan. What surprised him about the social life of that country?

— Investment in fashion and beauty. On every corner there was a place for creams and makeup. People stopped eating to buy a handbag. Here no one spent so much on brands; there, many people had a Chanel, whether bought or inherited.

Are social gatherings held more often inside or outside the home? 

— People go out quite a bit. There are many night markets that are quite cheap, and many people don't cook at home: it's just as cheap to eat at the market stalls as it is to buy at the supermarket. In fact, my first apartment didn't even have a kitchen, just a microwave.

What do they drink?

— A lot of tea. If they go out at night, beer and mixed drinks, more or less like here. Taiwan was under Japanese rule for 50 years, and there are many Japanese places where sake is drunk. But in general it is a quite Westernized country influenced by the United States.

How did it end up in Taiwan?

— My partner was from there. When I started dating him, I didn't even know where Taiwan was, its political situation, or anything. It was quite a big shock, especially because masculinity was experienced very differently. When I asked them, they said it was because they hadn't had a Catholic education.

But he also said that in the modeling world there was less diversity of bodies there than here.

— It has been a long time since I went there and I don't know how it is now, but I was surprised that they were much tougher with bodies. In the first photo sessions, the people from Taiwan who accompanied me told me: "No, she is not a model, because she doesn't have thin legs." And to me, she seemed extremely thin. Also with youth: we are not so obsessed with looking so much like children, so young. They want to appear fifteen years old their whole lives.

Did the aesthetic pressure see it only towards women or also towards men?

— Also towards them, but not so much. Many young people wore makeup and spent a lot of money on clothes, more than here at that time. But now the level has also risen a lot here: young boys spend more, go to the gym, take care of their skin... In my time, in high school we were children; now, when you walk past a high school, you see mini-adults.

When I was in high school I wanted to be a veterinarian. 

— I did the scientific baccalaureate, but I didn't get the grade for veterinary medicine. My friend signed up for fashion and I did too. And I loved it.

But did you know how to sew before starting the course? 

— In high school I used to sew for my friends, but by hand and badly. I made them bell-bottom pants because they looked like bell-bottoms… But I had never thought of it as a professional career. I'm from Sabadell, my parents were knotters, and I had always heard that the textile industry in Spain was doing very badly. 

What did his family say when he told them he was going to study fashion? 

— I deceived them for a year and a bit. I said I was doing an advanced vocational training course in pathology laboratory and cytology. I paid for almost all of it myself, except for some subjects in the last year. My parents never told me 'don't do it', but rather 'you yourself, we've already warned you'.

He said that crisis and creativity often go together, but he comes from a generation that has been chaining crises.

— You have to be creative to be able to do everything you want with one euro and a half. You are always thinking about how to do it, how to use the materials you have, and how to work with the people you want to work with... You have to squeeze your creativity all the time.

So, if you suddenly had a million euros, would it be harder to decide? 

— I wouldn't know where to start. It would be much better, because I could create a team. But alone, I wouldn't know how to do it: I'm used to being in precariousness.

Where do you see yourself in five years? 

— I don't think it has changed much. I'm not ambitious enough to say "In five years I'll be at...". I like a bit of tranquility.

And how did she experience the moments of greatest projection, with Rosalía...?

— I barely experienced it. Things take time to come out and, sometimes, when they become media-friendly, you are already somewhere else. When Rosalía's first pieces came out, I was a shop assistant, because we hadn't sold enough.

From the outside, it might seem that projection and work always go hand in hand. 

— And it is not like that. Right now I am managing, but I am aware that we are about to go back to working as dependents, which is the easiest thing for designers when things go wrong.

He says it in a rather ascetic tone. 

— It's something I think about often, and that I thought about a lot during COVID. If it goes wrong, I've lived many more things than I imagined. If I had to leave it tomorrow, I would have the happiness of having lived it.