The Wonderful World of William Murphy

Portraits by Miguel Figueroa

To master any art, you must start at the first step. William Murphy has spent practically his entire life tracing his own path in the world of fashion. From an early age, he learned to sew with his mother, and since then he has gone through almost all the required levels in that arduous and complex, but entertaining universe. This year, he presented his collection at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. William Murphy has everything a person needs to be a great designer.   

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ART PAPI: When did you start sewing?
William Murphy: I was around 8 years old. I started sewing Christmas ornaments with my mother. She also made custom bathroom decorations and sheets. At the same time, I was taking dance and theater classes. In my new collection, I am inspired by that child I was. It's a reflection from then until now in my 30s.  

How did your creative exploration begin? 
The only way I could express myself was by clowning around. 

So you could be yourself by being funny? 
No, it wasn't clowning around. It was by becoming a church clown. 

What!?
It was theater with makeup included. That is where my creative development begins. 

Does that phase of your life influence your collections? 
I incorporate balloons, oversized pants and bright colors. I love being the clown of the group. But, at the time it was also bad that Lasi [his nickname] was "too clown" like.

Did your mom make your clown clothes? 
She made my wigs.  

You were young when you came out, you say that everyone knew. Do you think that having that space of certain acceptance at an early age makes you feel freer? 
Yes. I had a solid foundation. I was loved. They defended me. My nickname [in my family] is Simpson but others called me Lasi; Simpson was the male and Lasi was the female [a reference to Lisa Simpsons]. That was the bullying from other people... They thought it was funny to call me that, but they made me feel bad. I was not mentally prepared then. But now it's a good thing, because it makes sense.

You took the nickname as empowerment. 
Absolutely.  

A mutual friend told me that the first dresses you designed were for your drag queen friends. 
Yes, including my boyfriend at the time. When I entered the art of transformism, things changed at home.

You can be a clown but you can't be a drag queen. 
Yes. Sewing was a curiosity of mine and I just continued sewing in my room. When I graduated from high school, I decided to go straight to fashion school. 

Where did you study? 
With Lisa Thon and Carlota Alfaro.* At Lisa Thon's [institute] there came a time where I painted outside the lines and I did not feel comfortable finishing projects. I am very practical and fashion theory makes me tense. I don't like it.

You prefer to be hands-on. 
My mind is creating at all times. Being still and organized is not natural for me.

So you create when intuition calls you? 
Of course. When I pick up a book, I tell it to talk to me. Where it opens, I read.

Did you take classes with Carlota Alfaro? 
Around 2014. I defied their laws of sewing because there was a rhythm to it. But, I discovered that I could develop my own. 

Opening night. Villano Antillano wears William Murphy during the first night of Bad Bunny’s Un verano sin ti world tour. Photo via Instagram.

What things have you been able to develop following your rhythm? 
The proportions of balloon silhouettes and shoulder pads. In design school, they limit you because you have to follow the school's proportions of shape and design. 

Why do they want that? 
Security and cleanliness. Things beyond them can be misinterpreted. 

It should be the opposite, they should celebrate the desire to do something different. Who are your inspirations? 
I don't follow anyone. 

I realize that everything has already been done and in this world of wanting to do something, there are so many comparisons. If I could tell you that I like someone, I like everyone. 

Fashion is identifiable in many ways. But if I have to choose someone, it would be Schiaparelli's new creative director, Daniel Roseberry. Also, Jean Paul Gaultier — a revolutionary like no other. And I am very revolutionary.

I feel from another era. [Being] Lasi, Leslie, William or Simpson were always ways of being able to say, “I am like that, I was like that and I can do this because I already did it.” Do you understand me?  

In Puerto Rican fashion, I was very progressive when I was in school. They criticized me for using big hair, big earrings, and models with very long necks and legs up to there. I was identifiable. To me it was like, "Wow, is that right or wrong?" That limited me from wanting to release other things and even with myself. At home, I had access to feathers and sequins. Mom designed carnival costumes. I studied sequins, wondering why they’re so bright. I studied them with the lights off to see their reflections. I saw organza coats, taffeta... 

You were surrounded by beautiful things. 
My mom is an artisan. She also creates events. She even took porcelain doll-making classes. At home, there were works of art, carnival costumes, taffeta suits with big bows in the back and we knew the designers from the other small towns. I practiced embroidery with my mom, creating my wigs. The path was being traced. Now it is opening up in a good way. 

The most important thing is that you enjoy it. 
I love it. Because it is the clown that is inside everyone. You are a clown with me. Maybe inside you there is a child, there is a baby there who wants to dance, who wants to scream. And I can't help bringing him out. 

You lived in the United States. What did you do over there?
I lived in New York after Hurricane Maria, where I worked at Elle Magazine. I went there with a make-up artist friend, who was the one who did our drag makeup. One of my top client’s daughters was having her quinceañero. She told me, "William, things are really bad in Puerto Rico." She gave me two options: to stay at the house of a friend who had a generator to finish the job or move with her to the States, finish it at her house, and then decide what to do.  

A fairy godmother.
An angel, an angel. Wow. I thought, "What am I going to do?" I was a young adult with no direction. It was like “What am I going to do? First, I have to finish this job." I arrived on October 17, 2017. They picked me up at the airport and when I got to their home, the living room was set up for me. 

Did you just make the quinceañera outfit? 
I also did her makeup and ended up making the little sister's outfit. 

The work was finished and I spent about a week thinking and organizing what I was going to do. My friend called me and told me that they needed some pieces of mine for a photo shoot. I created some plastic raincoats and when I arrived ... I entered an elevator that could fit about 7 cars. And when that door opened... What a dream! 

New York City opened my eyes... It was awesome. I never went looking for that. Moving from Vega Alta to New York was impressive. Suddenly, you see models who are 6'3" and weigh 92 pounds. In less than two months I was living that. I worked in teams doing fashion editorials for magazines in Bulgaria and Greece. I had the opportunity to see pieces from Gucci, Versace, and spend a day visiting hat shops.

The universe was asking, "You like this, right?" 
Aha! "Here it is." Oh, and I was also working at Aldo. They hired me at Aldo in Puerto Rico. But because of the hurricane they couldn't open and when I got to New York I was registered as an employee and I worked their Christmas season. That whole process was crazy. I was making a lot of money and I was investing it for my label. My life completely changed. I was there for a year. But I returned to a Puerto Rico filled with turmoil and earthquakes...

When I met you in 2019, you were working at Mango. You have a lot of knowledge of the world of fashion. You are not only a designer, you have worked in magazines, you have been to fashion schools and you have worked in the world of fast fashion. As a creator of a brand it is perfect because you have a rounded-out knowledge. You know how the cookie crumbles. 
A friend told me, the same day I arrived in Puerto Rico, that Mango was about to open and that they were recruiting. I went straight from the airport to the interview with everything and my suitcase. There I was, in Plaza Las Américas,* with my luggage... I did everything at Mango: I trained employees, I did the windows, arranged the floor layouts, personal styling... I also worked at the BCBG outlet and their regular store. 

I have a lot of street knowledge. I could have decided to study business administration, but at 15-16 years old, I was already working at the Hecho a Mano** in the mall of my town. I did it when they sent me to do community work for school credits. I was a bitch, I did not give a fuck. 

As clear as you could be. 
Yes, but without knowing. I wanted to go very fast without organizing myself but now things are organized and it is easier, but yes, the knowledge was there. I was kooky. I worked at the school kiosk selling chips for the graduating class. And now I'm in this phase that feels ahead of me. I feel grounded.  I am realizing that I’m doing something that’s no longer new for me. For others, yes; but not for me. 

William is one of the contenders of Revelación Moda, a new reality show from Telemundo.

What do you think about the world of fashion in Puerto Rico? 

The fashion world in Puerto Rico is lazy. Puerto Rican designers want to please their clients. 

Who is she? 
She’s conservative, but not quite, because if she’s too covered, she gets hot. And if it is very uncovered, she gets cold. They are lazy. 

It seems like Puerto Rican fashion plateaued in the late 90s. 
In Puerto Rico, fashion is not very in tune to the decades. I don’t see much progress or many flashbacks. That’s very good, because you can identify who designs what because it is already built in a certain way. Puerto Rican fashion is lazy in the sense of how much a designer limits his creativity to please his clients for fear that they will not purchase his collection.

Puerto Rico is very good for fashion, but internationally there are other needs. People are risky. They are bitches. They are dramatic. Those things must be given. If you limit yourself, your life is limited. The Puerto Rican designers are very limited, they are very lazy. Yes, follow the path. Fashion is a book. It will never go out of style. 

Designers have many hats. It is not just designing and that's it.
Working in fast fashion, I realized what’s necessary for my brand. I’ve played the field.

You can sell clothes to a hippie or a snobby woman from Condado.
Fashion is mixed and not everyone understands it.

Not everyone has your focus and pace. 
My mind’s racing all the time. It’s all happening.