Within the framework of Bogotá Fashion Week, FashionUnited had the opportunity to get to know up close the talent of the creatives who presented their proposals, both in the Agora —which served as the main stage for business meetings, talks and fashion shows— and in parallel events that highlighted the artisanal roots of Colombia, showing how designers have reinvented their traditional influences.
In this context of fusion between the traditional and the avant-garde, national designers presented innovative creations that not only reflect the unique essence of Bogotá, but also bring freshness and diversity to the global fashion scene.
Below, we invite you to discover four textile and accessory proposals that stand out not only for their creativity and originality, but also for the stories and processes that sustain them.
Woma Hatmakers
Juliana Granados, designer and owner of Woma Hatmakers. Credits: Raul Higuera.
In a world dominated by mass production and automation, Woma Hatmakers is a Colombian hat brand that celebrates craftsmanship and tradition, offering pieces that are 100 percent handmade with techniques recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The brand collaborates with up to 1,500 artisans, professionals in century-old methods, who use materials such as Mawisa straw from the La Guajira desert, worked by Wayuu indigenous people following ancestral practices.
About Woma Hatmakers:
* Founder: Juliana Granados (2016).
* Presence: Colombia, Mexico, Spain, US, Kuwait and Barbados.
* Contact: sales@womahatmakers.com.co
* Prices: Approximately, from 450,000 Colombian pesos (about 115 dollars) to 676,400 Colombian pesos (172 dollars).
* Production: Colombia.
Woma Hatmakers. Credits: Raul Higuera.
Juliana Granados, designer and owner of Woma Hatmakers, founded the firm after specialising in Footwear and Accessories in Spain and working in the fashion industry for a while, during which time she learned from the inside the negative impact of the industry, leading her to reconsider her career.
“I was horrified by how damaging and exploitative fashion is to the environment. But I soon realised that I can choose to present myself in a way that honours both my values and my passion, and that sparked my journey into sustainable and ethical fashion,”
Juliana Granados, designer and owner of Woma Hatmakers
She decided to create instead a line of hats that honoured her values and passion for sustainable and ethical fashion, a project that has become an ongoing collaboration with artisans from the villages of Colombia, weaving their centuries-old knowledge with Juliana's contemporary design aesthetic, resulting in luxury products made entirely by hand.
“Colombia has a huge variety of natural fibers such as jute, cumare, toquilla, mawisa, maguey... which are native to different regions. These fibres are then hand-woven or hand-loomed, dyed and embroidered by artisans who have sustained this ancestral knowledge through time,” Granados explained about the processes.
Woma Hatmakers. Credits: Raul Higuera.
Committed to transparency, all Woma Hatmakers products include certificates of origin and workmanship, guaranteeing sustainable materials and a fair wage for artisans. In addition, production is limited to avoid overproduction and ensure safe working conditions in artisan communities.
Verdi
Verdi is a Colombian textile studio that celebrates tradition by creating unique contemporary pieces of homeware, fashion and art, intertwining natural fibers with contemporary materials such as copper.
About Verdi:
* Founder:Tomás and Cristina, children of Carlos Vera Dieppa (2010)
* Presence: It is mainly available on its website, as well as showrooms in Bogotá and Mexico and select boutiques around the world.
* Contact: aux.moda@verdi.com.co
* Prices: from 490 dollars.
* Production: Colombia.
Artisan crocheting one of Verdi's textiles Credits: Verdi
From Verdi's own workshop we learned how the artisans crochet their hero product: the ethnic mochilas of Colombia. This sack-type bag retains its original shape and name, but has seen its traditional materials and technique renewed. Each piece takes around 15 days to be woven and completed by the artisans.
Credits: Verdi
The team is currently made up of around 80 people, but Verdi's story dates back to 1995 in the mountains of Colombia, when Carlos Vera Dieppa, a pioneer in Latin American textiles, developed a unique weaving technique in collaboration with a local weaver, which was originally applied to fiber rugs. This technique evolved over time to incorporate metallic threads by the hands of his children, who recovered this legacy and, under a new brand concept, continue this artisan tradition that speaks of the essence, innovation and deep Colombian tradition.
Credits: Verdi
The firm defines its audience as "classic, cultured and contemporary", with "an elegant style, an active social life and present at the most important events in the cultural industry", who also value the processes behind what they consume and the manual and artisan work of the products they use to invest up to around 1,000 dollars into each piece.
Cubel
Images from the campaign for Cubel's collaboration with Seven Studio. Credits: Cubel.
Cubel, under the creative direction of Humberto Cubides, represents in its purest essence the perfect symbiosis between the rich cultural heritage of Colombia with the most urban contemporary aesthetic.
About Cubel:
* Founder:Humberto Cubides (2015)
* Presence: On its website you can see all the brand's collections and place pre-order orders. In Colombia's St Dom Bogotá and Cartagena and in Mexico, CDMX in the IKAL store.
* Contact: Info@cubel.co
* Prices: from 100 dollars for a t-shirt to 2,000 for a hand-woven and embroidered coat.
* Production: Colombia.
His collaboration with artists and indigenous communities has helped him achieve an unparalleled brand identity that is materialised in the implementation of techniques such as basketry in his jackets or in silhouettes that represent the influence of historical cultures and a renewed vision of genderless fashion.
Images from the campaign for Cubel's collaboration with Seven Studio. Credits: Cubel.
The brand has managed to stand out in internationally renowned fashion scenarios, such as New York Fashion Week and the International Thai Silk Fashion W. Bangkok, thus consolidating its presence on the global scene. Preparing the ground to expand its presence in international markets with its autumn 2025 collection, the Colombian firm shared on the eve of Bogotá Fashion Week the results of its latest collaboration with the retail brand Seven Seven, where they found inspiration in the mycelium and its regenerative power to create an innovative and meaningful collection that quickly sold out.
For Humberto Cubides, the essence of this collection goes beyond the aesthetic. "This meeting between the worlds of Cubel and Seven Seven is very special, we managed to create a concept between urban silhouettes with prints and details that evoke the mycelium, highlighting the analogies between these beings from the fungi kingdom and humanity, transmitting a message of unity and connection," said the creative director behind the Colombian brand.
Designer Humberto Cubides wearing Cubel Credits: Cubel
Emi Díaz
Credits: Emi Díaz
Emi Diaz is the creative soul behind her namesake jewellery brand, which carries the roots of the Colombian Caribbean in each piece. Each of these works of art is meticulously hand-woven, stone by stone, merging an intricate play of colours, nuances, and volumes that find inspiration in the depths of the sea and materialise in the form of corals of all kinds.
About Emi Díaz:
* Founder: Emi Díaz (2019).
* Presence: Currently in the process of expanding both in the national and international market. For now, her jewellery is available in various concept stores around the world, including OliBati in Madrid, Spain; St Dom (also in Cartagena), Magangue, and the store of the Banco de la República Museum in Bogotá, Colombia; Makeno in Medellín; and Azulu in Miami, US.
* Contact: gerencia@emidiaz.co | +57 3167520 287
* Prices:from 300 to 900 dollars.
* Production: Colombia
“For three years, I dedicated myself to studying and testing techniques. I learned to weave by looking at images on Pinterest, without any prior knowledge or even the name of the stones. I think this way of learning was what set me apart, because if I had had an instructor, my weaving style would be similar to everyone else's,"
Emi Diaz, founder and creative mind of her namesake brand
Credits: Emi Díaz
Although she has a degree in economics, her passion for art and fashion led her to explore this unique art form. Each piece of jewelry from the brand reflects the time and dedication invested in both its design and its elaboration, using the highest quality materials, such as silver and 24-karat gold. Prices range from 300 to 900 dollars, reflecting the meticulous attention to detail and the artisanal process that takes approximately two and a half weeks per piece. Although her process is not susceptible to industrialisation, she has recently integrated one more person to collaborate in the production.
(From left to right) Cavata piece, inspired by a brain coral. Coralina, masterpiece, inspired by coral reefs. Candra, inspired by Tubipora corals. Credits: Emi Díaz.
The support of SENA, the Colombian National Learning Service, helped her to boost her project, providing a seed capital of 80 million pesos (about 4.4 million dollars) as part of a project to support emerging talent. Her turnover last year amounted to 93 million pesos (about 5.2 million dollars), and although its founder assures that "the company is holding its own", she seeks to continue growing by participating in events such as Bogotá Fashion Week or Expoartesanías, attracting a select audience that values "the authenticity and exclusivity" of her proposal.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.ES. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.
Read more:
* Perfect balance between tradition and innovation: A review of Bogotá Fashion Week
http://dlvr.it/T80zhP
