About

Guajardo Studio creates mystical art to wear clothing and ornate small batch accessories, with designs largely influenced by flora & fauna. The label is inspired by the psychedelic silhouettes of swinging London's Carnaby Street alongside vintage Americana, and fuses western wear detailing with couture embroidery techniques to create one-of-a-kind items. The studio specializes in digitized embroidery, tambour beadwork & goldwork and designs for private clients, as well as for larger fashion brands.

  

Sophia Guajardo is a British Fashion Designer, Textile Artist and illustrator who graduated from the University of Brighton with a 1st BA (Hons) in Fashion Design.

Sophia moved to America upon graduation to design for US fashion retailers in the Midwest and New York before launching Guajardo Studio in 2016 as a trend forecasting embroidery & embellishment studio.

Guajardo Studio became a wearable label in 2022, and is currently based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

"When I moved to the US, I landed in Ohio, and Ohio is home to the Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was here that I knew what I wanted to do. Looking through the cabinets of stage wear at vintage applique leather coats from the psychedelic eras & Woodstock, punk studs & 70’s sequins, elaborate fringe & hand drawn motifs from the 80’s. Everything was completely one of a kind and told its own story. 

Throughout my career so far, I have always been designing. Mainly for larger scale fashion brands. In my spare time I would design stage outfits & costumes. Mostly in sketchbooks.

When I launched Guajardo Studio in 2016 I also started to learn how to professionally embroider.

My interest may have started at a young age when my mother brought home a book from the local library called ‘The Shining Cloth’

Every page of the 'The Shining Cloth' looked magical. Even the cover glowed with elaborate adornment. The book presented textile work of many era’s and cultures. Embellishment techniques included mirrors, coins, feathers, shells & beetle wings. 

When Guajardo Studio began, I also started to become more interested in vintage clothing. I had always frequented vintage markets, bootsales, & collectors fairs from a young age, looking through Victorian lace & pre & post war buttons and trims.

American vintage would become a whole new avenue of learning. I would become friends with vintage collectors who were also stylists & costume designers. Friends would mention Nudie suits or would know the different regions & makers of beautiful Native American jewelry. At vintage shows I could find the most beautifully hand crafted western wear. A lady once showed me her mother’s buckskin matching set from circa 1930’s when she was a famous yodeler.

The level of detail on western wear fascinated me. The intricate embroidery & construction mixed with rhinestones, beadwork, metalwork, leatherwork and fringe.

The history of western fashion as American workwear along with its strong ties to Native American clothing & design was also a large area of learning. From the use of floral motifs, woven textiles & traditional silhouettes to the functional element of fringe & snaps.

The accessories began in 2023, after a friend with a store in CA suggested making some western neckwear to complement her vintage Western Wear clothing. I quickly became quite obsessed with accessories and started researching in books and at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. I purchased a few accessories from the 1950’s to look at the original details & construction."