From Wanting To Be A Fashion Designer To Becoming A Trend Forecaster And Consultant For Designers

When she was a child, Camila Straschnoy wanted to be a fashion designer. Her passion was not just to design but to engage with fashion, and learn and comment about it. This is how she became a top contributor for many fashion outlets, as well as a trend forecaster and consultant for designers.

Currently, Camila works with consumer, macro-, micro-, and seasonal trends and knows how to get ahead of the game. Although most of her clients are in the fashion industry, she works in various industries including apps, retail, and beauty

“As a girl, I wanted to be a fashion designer when I grew up. I created dresses from my barbies, and playing dress-up was my favorite game. I wanted to be a fashion designer, and I eventually got my BA in fashion and textile design between Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I was born and raised, and London. When I graduated, it became clear to me that although I didn’t know what was my purpose, being a designer didn’t fulfill the hunger I had for more. I’m curious by nature, and I love thinking and it was clear I wanted more.” Camila shares.

Eventually, Camila decided to start an MFA in Visual Arts, while freelancing for various publications and brands as a contributor. In between, she had the opportunity to go to Spain to get a master’s certification in trend forecasting and fell in love with the practice. In fact, she trained at one of the world’s leading consumer trend agencies, TrendWatching, and is also an innovation observer.

“I started contributing with some of the top trend agencies worldwide and got trained by them, expanding my skill set. I finished my degree and kept writing for InStyle, ELLE, L’OFFICIEL, Harper’s Bazaar, ¡Hola!, and VOGUE. Because of that, I started traveling beyond the big NY, London, Milan, Paris fashion week circuit and started exploring Latam iconic fashion weeks such as Colombiamoda, Bogota Fashion Week, San Jose Fashion Week, Guatemala Fashion week, and so on.” Camila recounts.

Soon, Camila started to be invited as press and lecturer to various conferences around the world. She would talk about fashion business, marketing, branding, and trend forecasting. During one of those trips, a designer who knew about her background asked her to consult for her brand.

“In the beginning, I was super hesitant, but I gave in and started with one client, and it never stopped growing to the point where I decided to found a HOME for the consulting agency named MATE HOUSE in 2021,” Camila explains.

Today, her consulting agency MATE HOUSE helps different brands connect and align with their target consumers so they can be what they aspire to be.

“All our services are aligned with one goal: to drive our clients to succeed in a saturated market by applying disruptive strategies and a trend-based approach to brand innovation.” She says.

Camila is also a brand strategist, trend researcher, keynote speaker, editor, creative storyteller, and educator in Miami Beach, FL. She is on the faculty of Istituto Marangoni Miami and is frequently invited to give workshops on brand strategy and trend research by various higher education institutions, organizations, and companies around the world.

Today, Camila is a frequent contributor for more than 20 companies including Bottega Veneta, L’Oréal, InStyle, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, L’OFFICIEL, ¡HOLA!, Univision, and the Latin American Fashion Summit.

Due to her experience managing several businesses and developing sustainable brands and startups, Camila developed an online course, “Using Trends As Your Thinking Partner.” 

As a consultant, her purpose is to help companies break through the noise by developing disruptive strategies to connect them with their brand tribe and applying a trend-based approach to innovation. 

“My tagline is ‘FUELED BY CREATIVITY, DRIVEN BY DREAMS.’ This is priceless to me, because by showing them new ways to align with the world of today and tomorrow, to flow, connect and sell, I help them fulfill their dreams. Helping people think out of the box and get their creativity and critical thinking going, exposing them to the signs of future changes that may affect their brands. And I love helping them strategize with trends and using them as our secret weapon.” Camila states.

Camila’s projects this year include launching a podcast, growing MATE HOUSE, and starting an incubator program as a way to give back. She also wants to develop more educational content such as online courses and webinars, and have new speaking opportunities.

Find out more about Camila here.