Daily Gems & other musings

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Kika Vargas

Posted by Robyn Burnaford on

We recently discovered an article on the Elle Magazine website that featured some of our current favorite (and recently featured in our Designer Spotlight series!) designers, as well as some new (to us) creators.  We love discovering new names, and this installment features the talented Kika Vargas - read on to learn more about her!  The Colombian born designer was born in Bogotá and currently calls it, Madrid and New York home.  She studied fine arts at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and fashion design at the the Istituto Marangoni in Milano, Graduating in 2008.  She's an award-winning designer, was the first...

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DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Minju Kim

Posted by Robyn Burnaford on

Youthful.  Playful.  Avant garde haute couture.  Not necessarily styles you would expect to normally find in one place, but when you look at Minju Kim's designs, you'll be able to see just how perfectly they can work together.  A true, raw talent to say the least! Minju is a South Korean fashion designer known for her use of bold prints and juxtaposition of a vibrant, youthful vibe mixed with unmatched couture detailing.  After studying fashion in Antwerp, she "has made her career through designing brave and daring collections with large motifs and a color palette representative of a packet of sweets.  She is quoted...

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DESINGER SPOTLIGHT: Sindiso Khumalo

Posted by Robyn Burnaford on

  If you've been following along on our Designer Spotlight series, you'll know there are few things we appreciate more than a great textile.  Sindiso Khumalo is known as "a genius on the subject, with a Central Saint Martins master’s in the niche and single-handedly designing all of her fabrics through multimedia methods such as watercolor and collage." But let's begin at the beginning.  The brand's founder and namesake, Sindiso "studied architecture at the University of Cape Town prior to moving to London, where she went onto study a Masters in Design for Textile Futures. Sindiso Khumalo founded her eponymous label...

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DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Caroline Hu

Posted by Robyn Burnaford on

Image via Hong Kong Tatler   We're so excited to share our newest discovery in the fashion world in this installment of our Designer Spotlight - meet Caroline Hu, an emerging designer that we know you'll love as much as we do! Caroline Hu was interested in the arts from an early age, studying oil paintings eventually led to a passion for fabrics and, in adulthood, fashion design.  Caroline now has her own namesake line, with a collection of romantic dresses that quickly gained a following that included celebrities like Jemima Kirk and Julie Gilheart. Currently based in New York,...

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DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: Giannina Azar

Posted by Robyn Burnaford on

Image via HOLA! Giannina Azar has made a big impact in the time since she's emerged on the fashion scene - she followed her design dreams and graduated with a degree in fashion design and illustration from the Mercy Jacques Institute of Technology and shortly after in 2012, released her first collection - and she's been making a splash ever since!  Inspired by "the joy, music, and colors of the world‘s ethnic groups...her complex manual and artisan work made her one of the favorite Latin designers" of fashionistas and celebrities alike.  She's dressed superstars like Jennifer Lopez,  Talia and Gwen Stefani but remains family focused with...

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