January 2019.
Net-a-Porter channels a Colombian vibe
A cache of exclusive designs from a cool collective
Silvia Tcherassi top, price on request. Johanna Ortiz skirt, price on request. Magnetic Midnight bag, £735. Muzungu Sisters basket, £310. Bibi Marini necklace, £644. Mercedes Salazar hair clip, price on request. Tabitha Simmons x Johanna Ortiz sandals, £445
Net-a-Porter is launching the Colombian Collective on January 15 – a celebration of the country’s artisanship – offering designs from some of its most creative fashion, jewellery and accessory designers.
The fashion line-up includes Esteban Cortazar, the Miami-trained, Paris-based designer – the youngest to present at New York Fashion Week – who has created a capsule collection (from £725) based on Colombian dance movement. Colombia-based Johanna Ortiz is also spotlighted. The designer trained in Florida and is known for her feminine ruffles and prints, as well as canny collaborations – alongside exclusive pieces (from £152), her stylish block-heel sandals (£445), designed in collaboration with New York-based British designer Tabitha Simmons, feature in the selection.
Some of the most original jewellery comes from Bibi Marini, who trained in the US before returning to Colombia where she works with single mothers who make her flamboyantly large but very light earring designs (from £180-£300) from delicately crocheted silk, scattered with Swarovski crystal beads. The designer often uses small, sometimes milky Colombian emeralds set in 18ct gold-plated brass, and has created exclusive designs (from £300-£645) featuring raw unfaceted emeralds for the collective.
In the accessories arena, Magnetic Midnight ushers in glamour with a selection of bags (from £735), while jewellery designer Mercedes Salazar teams up with Spanish espadrille brand Castañer, adding her playful, tropical, embroidered motifs to its shoes (£265). Meanwhile, the London-based Muzungu Sisters, whose bags are ethically made by indigenous communities around the world, have worked with the three Colombian tribes to create modern versions of traditional tasselled mochila bags (from £140). The duo made the cut as London-based co-founder Tatiana Santo Domingo is half-Colombian.
Link: https://howtospendit.ft.