Saul Velásquez, Costa Rican Artist: Sustainability, Fearless Expressiveness and Love and Art as a Lifestyle
Graphic by Grace Lougheed. Image via Saul Velásquez.
“But baby, who says this dress has to be worn as a dress?” says Saul Velásquez, the 27-year-old fashion aficionado and founder of Casa del Sol, an eco-conscious fashion brand that sells and repurposes #preloved pieces. “We can find so many other ways of giving love to it and wearing it to make it look even more fresh. We can flip it around, use it as a scarf. I want to show the world that just like this dress, as beautiful children of the Earth, we have endless potential, and we don’t have to stick to the narratives that society throws upon us that many times don’t allow us to reach our full potential,” he says. "It is possible to live your dream, to live your utopia in a fulfilled, mindful, connected way. We just have to open our eyes and hearts and listen, and trust. Listen to ourselves and to all the love out there.”
Images via Saul Velásquez
This restless desire to question mindless consumption and society’s narratives propelled Velásquez to live fearlessly and sustainably as a physical embodiment of his values. In 2016, he quit his job and took a soul-searching trip around the country. “I had the security of working in advertising for Coca-Cola,” he says. “I could have easily stayed there. It brought a glamorous lifestyle — but I wasn’t fulfilled. Why was I putting my heart and creativity for a brand I didn’t even consume, I didn’t even believe in, with no higher purpose?”
Image via Sharon Kleiman
The trip around Costa Rica, where Velásquez worked as a tour guide to fund his adventures, marked a cathartic moment in his life and opened doors to new adventures such as Envision Festival and Burning Man Project, two festivals designed to tap human potential. These experiences let him connect to music and art in a new way, to his inner child, and to his true purpose of helping the world become a more loving place. They taught him to express himself and explore his creativity fearlessly and authentically as a way to show others that they too can do the same, that they too carry within them infinite beauty and potential.
Images via Saul Velásquez
“Seeing the world through Saul’s eyes is seeing beauty in everything, living life to the fullest with gratitude, kindness and love for people and animals of the planet who he says are beautiful mirrors,” says 26-year-old Swedish fashion partner Sofia Malmia. Malmia and Velásquez met at Burning Man Project, where they instantly clicked as they complimented each other's outfits and started bonding over their mutual love for thrifting and the importance of sustainable fashion. “Getting to know him has helped me accept myself for who I am and has taught me about the importance of being your own biggest supporter!” Malmia says.
When he returned from his trip, Velásquez knew he had to work with purpose: “Bills and rent are very real things, but I had to embrace uncertainty and trust that everything will flow if I work with intention,” he says. Velásquez remodeled and moved into a quiet old house amidst the hustle and bustle of San Pedro, Costa Rica, and uses it as a boutique space to sell and repurpose “showstopping” pieces he’s thrifted and collected during his adventures. He also sells his curated pieces at local thrift and flea markets.
Shedding light on the downsides of the fast fashion industry, “Casa Del Sol” aims to dismantle the stigmas around second-hand pieces and what shopping for them encompasses. Velásquez has created a safe space for expression, where people can go in and try on pieces without the pressure they feel at fast-fashion stores.
“My clients come in by appointment, and I will be there to support them and have fun! No judgments. No such thing as guy clothes, girl clothes, the way something has to be worn,” he says. “I want my clients to use fashion as expression: a way to feel more confident and love themselves. Happy faces are magic.”
Looking for ways to radiate and receive love has come to inform his lifestyle. “When I asked him if he could choose one superpower and what it would be,” recalls Malmia. “His answer was to love unconditionally — no limitations.”
Velásquez holds a mindful and sacred relationship to clothes that elevates their innate poetry. He finds that the beauty of thrifting (and life) is coming into the process with no expectations, letting it surprise you. “When you find a thrifted piece you really love, and it doesn’t fit you and it just isn't working,” he says, “there are no other sizes like in a fast fashion store. You need to be able to let go. And when you do find that piece (because you will) that fits you, it is truly made for you — it makes it so much more special.” A parallel can be drawn to his philosophy of life, practicing the value of non-attachment, finding and acknowledging the beauty in things that aren’t for him without latching onto them. Velásquez has an underlying trust in the universe that something is made for him, and his time will come.
Seeing the world through metaphors, he merges playfulness with deeply rooted messages of love during his social isolation as his business comes to a halt temporarily. What might seem like merely lighthearted videos of creative exploration, dancing, making outfits and smoothies are intended to “bring light and ease into the homes of those who are not having a good time,” those finding it strenuous to find fun within the seriousness of the pandemic. “I want to show people that we can play games, be creative and goofy with the limited resources we have, and that it’s okay to not have things figured out. I didn’t even know how to cook before I started posting silly videos making smoothies.” Velásquez uses his Instagram to invite his followers to love, laugh, connect, accept and embrace vulnerability.
One of his last Instagram posts features a video of his groovy hair-dyeing transformation to platinum blonde, captioned “MAKING IT FUN! Sharing this moment of in-house partying at @casadelsool, finding more inspirations & creating new forms of art. In this time of collective healing let’s invest love in ourselves, trying out possibilities, doing what feels right to our hearts, vibrating in art to create a new reality out of this. We are our home #stayhome.”
Disclaimer: Many of the quotes are translated, as the interview took place in a “Spanglish” of sorts.