Sofía Sanchez de Betak, one of the most admired fashion designers by celebrities, finds her inspiration in the tranquillity of the Mallorcan mountains.
The headlines in the international press speak for themselves: the Argentinian who takes New York by storm with her jeans, …admired by Chiara Ferragni, …intimate with Marta Ortega… consultant for Mango… This is how is presented Sofía Sanchez de Betak, better known as Chufy, the name of the fashion brand that this Argentinian based in the Tramuntana region is developing in the United States. Despite her almost 600,000 followers on Instagram, the designer admits that she was never a fan of being exposed to the cameras.
“I came to Mallorca as a child by chance and have been coming here with my husband for 14 years, until I moved full time last June. I decided to have my daughter Sakura here,” explains Chufy to Mallorca Global Mag – one of her designs was featured on the cover of this magazine worn by the multifaceted Rossy de Palma – “People told me, ‘How can you not have your daughter in the USA! But I wanted a calm, healthy, present environment, in line with what I felt”. A moment of greater introspection in her life in which, she admits, she enjoys healthy habits “like watching the evolution of flowers, a sunset and, above all, seeing through my daughter’s eyes in a world saturated with filters”.
Photos: @andrea_illan.
An inner journey
Recovering from a tough time for her family, Chufy is gradually resuming her activity with the imminent release of “The Journey Within”. “My projects always have journeys of inspiration and The Journey Within is an inner journey”. A project of spiritual retreats, healing and introspection that will be her occupation on the island and that will be accompanied by the presentation by her brand in the USA of a new collection under the same name. “It will have more seventies prints, constellations and more psychedelic inspiration. It will be very strong visually, with lots of colours and exploration of different dimensions,” she says.
“In New York I had some projects and now here I am a mother, surrounded by nature… It’s easier to be present and work body and spirit. My dream for the future would be to set up a programme where you can go to connect with yourself but with your family”.
Conscious fashion
The designer decided to limit her use of social media. “Sometimes it’s hard to expose yourself when you’re processing things; if you don’t even know where you are… it’s hard to communicate it. Nobody has a perfect life and fashion accompanies me; when I’m feeling good, I dress in powerful colours while on other days you can see that I’m not because I hide in my clothes”.
If there is one thing that has accompanied Chufy in her career, it is sustainability. “I’ve been very aware of it since I was a child, that’s why I tried to introduce sustainable fabrics or at shoots I didn’t allow Starbucks cups. With the brand we gave away refillable bottles in our showroom, where customers were usually offered plastic bottles. And in winter we offered them a hot water bag. My team looked at me strangely when I insisted on this old-fashioned product, but a few months ago even Burberry put them in the front row of their fashion show. See why I’m the boss, I joked. We have to remember that there are much more sustainable ways of living,” says Chufy, a proud supporter of the Mallorca Preservation Foundation.
About Mallorcan fashion, she acknowledges that the scene has “designers who are committed to their lines, passionate about antique fabrics and unique models. Very interesting things are being developed, from factories to independent producers. There are very talented people,” she concludes.
💡 Report included in the magazine Mallorca Global Mag spring – summer 2023. Find out more here.
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