In September 2020, Carolina Sarria made waves online. First, she was featured as one of the 100 cover stars of Vogue Italia’s September issue—a special edition showcasing diverse figures, from Bella Hadid and Cindy Crawford to a New York-based Uber driver. Shortly after, she hosted a fashion show in Animal Crossing, the Nintendo Switch game that became a global phenomenon during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Born in Cali, Colombia, Sarria moved to New York in 2000 to study fashion design. Over time, she became a well-known figure in the city’s art scene, expanding her creative practice beyond fashion into collage, painting, sculpture, and street art. The pandemic marked a turning point for Sarria, who describes herself as a designer and multidisciplinary artist. “I always loved doing everything but didn’t know how to bring it all together,” she says, likening her approach to having “octopus legs.”

Her Animal Crossing show was a breakthrough, leading her to explore innovative ways of presenting her work. For her Spring 2025 collection, now available at Dover Street Market worldwide, she designed wheatpaste posters that come to life through augmented reality when scanned. She also animated the digital models wearing her designs herself.

Though her work often blends digital and physical spaces, Sarria opened a boutique and atelier in New York’s Lower East Side in 2016, merging fashion with her studio practice. “I start every collection with art, so fashion and art are always intertwined,” she explains. Her style carries a rebellious edge, influenced by New York street art and the vibrant culture of her hometown, Cali. The store closed in 2021, but its impact on her creative process remains.

Sarria calls her collections “rebellious and fluid,” with each season’s aesthetic shifting based on her current inspirations and ongoing art projects. Yet her punk-infused take on classic styles remains her signature. Her Spring 2025 line, for example, drew inspiration from the circus as a gathering place for outsiders—a theme sparked by a vintage poster she found at a Paris flea market. She reimagines traditional silhouettes by integrating her artwork, a method that has naturally evolved her brand into a primarily menswear line with an androgynous appeal.

Her label has been stocked at Dover Street Market since 2021, launching with a collection developed after receiving a license from the Andy Warhol Foundation to incorporate his art into her designs. Starting Fall 2025, her work will also be available at Bergdorf Goodman.This summer, Sarria will debut a custom installation and a small collection in Montauk, where she spends part of her time. She has also been growing her sculpting work with projects in Italy. “I sculpt from memories of other worlds,” the designer says, describing her art as an exploration of “the evolution of being.” To Sarria, we were never just human—we are shape-shifters, transformed over time and through each life cycle. The same could easily be said of her own creations.