Rebelling from the world of fashion, Point Off View by Marina Testino runs in a series of limited quantity capsule collections each uniquely designed by different artists. Point Off View observes individual perspectives and viewpoints, bringing them to life through the fusion of art and fashion.
I was born in New York City and lived there until the age of seven. After that, I moved to Spain for nine years, then did my last year of high school in Paris. I did one semester of university in London, then went to college in Boston, and three years ago, I finally moved back to NYC where I graduated from Parsons School of Design and started, Point off View, a platform for art and fashion. I grew up around fashion and creative people my whole life and then studied digital marketing, so POV felt like the perfect place to keep exploring. Since its a startup, I worked on everything from developing collaborations with artists to designing pieces,
I’m involved in the production, marketing, selling, and storytelling all along the way. My dad always jokes that thanks to this experience I saved him having to pay for a masters degree since I’ve probably learned more in the past months working on POV then I could have in any classroom. Right now I’m in the middle of launching my second collection (it will be out in December, tune in to @point.off.view soon for details : ) and there are already several more projects in the pipeline, I’m excited to be continuing this journey for the foreseeable future.
Everyone goes through some kind of struggle while growing into womanhood. Probably the recurring difficulty I faced was trying to fit in each time I moved. I consider myself to be a shy person, always changing countries, schools, and languages were hard on me especially as a teen. Moving from Spain to France for my last year in high school was probably the most radical as it came just as I was becoming a woman. It meant trying to fit into a group of people who all had been together for years, just at a moment when friends and peers count for so much. When I look back at that time though, what I realize is that the challenge made me stronger. It made me work harder to know who I was, to know the things that stay even when we move from place to place. I think that is often true of most adversity (although it’s often hard to know that at the moment!)
Throughout my whole life, whether it was in school or with my family and especially when I started Point Off View, I was my biggest critic and had very high expectations of myself. And although it is good to push yourself, there’s a fine line between being motivated and not knowing when to stop, between challenging and putting yourself down. I’m learning that what really matters is that I do everything to my best ability and if some things fail, see it as part of the process, part of learning. I need to keep reminding myself of this and when I forget, I have amazing friends and my family who are always such a support. I think its an important part of self-love to let other people love and support you, to know that you don’t have to always be perfect and a “success” at everything you try.
An important part of “being your own woman in the 21st century” means not only doing what you love, but doing something that will give back in a bigger sense; something that you believe in, but that goes beyond your own individual experience. For me, this has taken the shape of exploring and investigating sustainability in the context of fashion. On many levels, I know that’s an oxymoron! I love fashion and yet I know that the way we are making and buying is not good for the planet in the long term. I don’t think it means we should all wear sackcloth and stop expressing ourselves through what we wear. But I do believe we need to rethink how we shop, why we shop, and where we shop.
On @marinatestino I’ve challenged myself and my community to play with ideas around this. One project was questioning why we feel the need to have a new outfit for every occasion. In #OneDressToImpress, I picked one, very non-subtle (bright red!) suit and wore it for two months, everywhere I went. In #CarryOnSummer, I packed one carry on size suitcase for two months of traveling around Europe. I’ve also been researching sustainable fashion and beauty products and am looking for ways to support these amazing brands. Of course, it’s also essential to me that the products I make for POV are made in a sustainable way both on a human level and in the materials that are used.
Instagram: @point.off.view
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pointoffviewbymt
Website: https://www.pointoffview.com
