Daily Gems & other musings — woman owned business

Widely known as China's most renowned couturier, Guo Pei "has been dressing distinguished ladies, royalty and political elite who turn to her for show-stopping, magnificent creations when they want to look beautiful and stand out from the crowd." When we created our Style Board:  Diversity in Design series, we knew from the beginning that we wanted feature Guo in our roundup of inspiring designers.  We're in awe of the intricate embroidery and painting details she incorporates into her designs and are beyond obsessed by the way she incorporates traditional Chinese craftsmanship with modern design.  From being featured everywhere from the red carpet {think Rihanna at the...

We first discovered Elena Velez when we built our Style Board Diversity in Design series, and have been fans ever since.  Her designs speak to us not only because they're the minimal, modern silhouettes that we love, but she also uses repurposed and upcycled materials to make her clothing not only beautiful, but also sustainable.  Elena's designs "play on the ideas of femininity, challenging with the ideas of what can be beautiful by using materials that are deemed for grunt work and transforming them into ethereal garments." A recent Parson's graduate, Elena has already entered the mainstream by dressing celebrities...

Aisha Obuobi founded her clothing line Christie Brown in 2008 in Accra, Ghana.  We first discovered the stunning Spring/Summer 2020 Lookbook when curating our Diversity in Design Style Board series and immediately pinned her perfect metallic silver dress with our favorite Layered Hoops.  We're equally obsessed with the ready-to-wear collection available to shop online, especially the metallic gold Classic Bermuda Shorts, stunning Abstract Neckline Blouse and impeccably draped Metallic Drape Front Skirt. Aisha named the line after her grandmother, a seamstress, and was inspired by watching her "create rich and vibrant garments.  As a little girl she reveled in playing with shreds of African material and...

A true design and social inspiration, Ana María Guiulfo is not only the founder and creative director of her eponymous clothing line, but has also created "Aprendemos Jundos," an organization that works to "improve the education access for disadvantaged children who don't have {the} chance to learn in good condition."  Connection to community is something we've always admired and worked to achieve in our own business, from our own sales and product donations to local and national non profits for causes just like this one. We discovered Ana María's collections when creating our series of Diversity in Design Style Boards, and...

We discovered Claudia Li's stunning work when putting together the Diversity in Design Series of our Style Board inspiration, and we were immediately drawn to her prints and textiles.  After learning about the handmade element to her collections {something we deeply value in every viv&ingrid collection we design}, we were immediately obsessed! Featured as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in the Art & Style category, Claudia launched her line in 2015.  She was "born in China and raised in New Zealand and Singapore, she studied in London and worked in London designing for J.W. Anderson, before coming to New York and earning a...