SENTIMIENTO: CREATING FROM EMOTIONS

An interview with María Isas on intuition, heritage, and redefining sustainable fashion in Mexico.

By: Michelle Salazar

What do Jennie from Blackpink, Charli XCX, and Mexican singer Natanael Cano have in common? Beyond being part of the music industry, all of them have been seen wearing Sentimiento, a Mexican clothing brand that has quietly resonated across borders.

(Charlie XCX wearing Sentimiento´s Lola Skirt)

Founded in 2017 by María Isas in Guadalajara, Sentimiento is an artistic project rooted in upcycling and emotional memory. The brand is instantly recognizable for its technique: transforming existing garments like jerseys, hoodies, and T-shirts into new pieces that carry the weight of nostalgia. Creating something new from something old becomes an intimate act, one that embodies emotion, memory, and personal history.

I spoke with María Isas about the origins of Sentimiento, her creative process, and her vision for fashion. Through her words, it becomes clear that Sentimiento is not just clothing; it is an invitation to look into the deepest parts of ourselves and embrace them.

How did you get into fashion? Do you remember your first contact with it?

It felt very natural, I grew up surrounded by women, my mother and my sisters. I remember watching them get ready, observing their teenage years from the outside. Over time, I developed my own affinity for style. As I grew older, I started experimenting, taking pieces from my mother’s and sisters’ closets. Later, I discovered flea markets and second-hand stores, which allowed me to explore fashion in my own way.

¨Sentimiento began with household textiles from María’s mother and grandmother, turning personal heritage into wearable pieces.¨

How would you describe Sentimiento?

It is creation from intimacy and emotion, incarnating the deepest parts of ourselves and our memories. It is a limited space of creation where clothing, sculpture, performance, and music can coexist.

What made you decide to start Sentimiento? How did it begin?

I studied fashion in Guadalajara and later did an internship in London. When I returned to Mexico, I worked for about five years in different places until I entered the world of theatre. I was working at the Palacio de Bellas Artes Opera in Mexico City, creating pieces for performers. Theatre reconnected me with the artistic side of fashion, the fantasy, the power of creating worlds. That experience reawakened my artistic instinct, and I began working on a collection. At first, I didn’t even know what the name would be; it was simply a need to create and share my emotions and ideas.

Sentimiento is recognizable for its upcycling technique. Where did that idea come from?

I call it ¨Sentimentizar¨ items. I started by using blankets and tablecloths from my mother and grandmother, looking to explore my heritage and genealogy. Working with recycled clothing came from my opposition to how much the fashion industry contaminates the world; I didn’t want to introduce new items into it. I thought: ¨This already exists, and it is perfect, why not give it a second chance?¨ Vintage pieces are complete on their own, that’s where experimentation began.

Is your creative process more experimental, or do you begin with a clear plan?

I rarely know where I’m going; my process is mostly experimental and intuitive, I work directly with the material, and I hardly draw. It’s like a collage: I add, remove, come back to it, working on the mannequin or on the floor. It’s very manual and instinctive. I start with curiosity, the evolution of an idea is never linear; sometimes a detail takes me somewhere unexpected, and I choose to follow it.

What impact would you like to have on Mexican fashion?

To inspire others, to create awareness, and encourage slower consumption. To question where what we consume comes from.

Do you think the way fashion is consumed today is changing?

Yes, there are more spaces worldwide practicing recycling and embracing new creative approaches that are resonating with us as humans and as socially responsible individuals, that is very powerful.

¨People are becoming more conscious of the fact that they can create, give new life to vintage pieces. It’s more accessible, intimate, and personal.¨

Sentimiento exists in the space where memory becomes matter, through intuition, inherited textiles, and an instinctive way of creating, María Isas transforms garments into emotional artifacts that resist speed, excess, and forgetfulness. In a fashion system driven by constant novelty, Sentimiento reminds us that what already exists still holds meaning, that clothing can carry stories, lineage, and feeling. More than a brand, it is an invitation to reconnect with emotion, to slow down, and to wear memory as an act of presence.