Inside the store of Mexican fashion designer Carla Fernández

Yesterday was a rainy day in Mexico City, I was hoping to see a friend at Colima street a few blocks from Mexican fashion designer Carla Fernández store in Álvaro Obregón street. The last time I visited the store was way back before the COVID pandemia. When I was younger and I attended my first fashion shows at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Mexico City, I was always in awe of the Carla Fernández runways. She became one of my favorite Mexican designers. I’ve never had an opportunity to interview her, but I am a huge fan. I even got one of her books “Manual de la Diseñadora Descalza / The Barefoot Designer A handbook”.

Who is Carla Fernández?

Carla Fernández is one of the most renowned fashion and textile brands in Mexico. It operates at the forefront of ethical fashion, documenting and preserving the rich textile heritage of indigenous and mestizo communities in the country.

Her designs are created in collaboration with over 175 artisans, including weavers, embroiderers, wood carvers, furriers, cutters, and dyers from 12 states of the Republic, who employ traditional techniques and processes that result in contemporary fashion.

The work it has done in collaboration with Mexican artisans has been showcased individually in museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Jumex Museum and the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico City, Heath Ceramics in San Francisco, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, as well as the RISD Museum in Rhode Island, among others.

Its ethical fashion project has received awards such as the Design Visionary 2018 awarded by Design Miami, the Prince Claus Award, and the Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year by the British Council. Carla Fernández is also a member of the Ashoka network of social entrepreneurs. Additionally, the brand is certified for its social responsibility by B Corps.

www.carlafernandez.com

Outiside Carla Fernández Store in Álvaro Obregón, La Roma, Mexico City.

At the store I saw her latest book, “Manifesto de la Moda en Resistencia” / “Manifesto of Fashion in Resistance” is a large-format book written by Carla Fernández. It serves as both an ideological manifesto that expresses her viewpoints on fashion, design, creation, and garment production, and as a document that celebrates the 15-year anniversary of the creation of the Carla Fernández Fashion House. It also commemorates 30 years of fruitful creative and productive collaborations with wonderful Mexican artisans across 16 states of the Republic, involving over 80 different artisanal techniques.