Laredo Fashion Week showcases the work of international designers

Three of the featured designers were a menswear designer, a young brother-sister couple who had recently started their own company, and a young woman trying to make women realize their beauty with minimal designs. .

Men’s clothing

Gabriel Honorato is the owner and fashion designer of HonoratoMX based in Jalisco, Guadalajara.

Originally from Colima, Honorato moved to Guadalajara to study the marketing side of the industry as he began to develop his own styles and create his own collections.

“My collection is divided by who I am, because you’ll see a lot of jumpers and other models are mostly the same color, while many of my looks are just one color.” Honorato said. Full red or full black or yellow to show a strong color and strong structure as well as only one color.

“Personally, what inspires me to make the designs I do is to go look at my materials and then start working with what I have. As a designer, I like to look at random materials and pieces of clothing and imagine what I can do with them. For others to enjoy in 3-D.

When he started showing his clothes, Honorato invited him to teach fashion design at the University of Guadalajara, and he took his passion for the industry and created new clothing lines for men.

Although the pandemic has affected his business, he said he continues to work with private models and make clothes for individuals. That ultimately helped him ensure that his business thrived in such difficult times.

“My main focus has always been menswear and I make sure that every piece I make is suitable for any occasion or event and fits any type of model,” he said. “The clothes are good for any event or any trip, and I also make clothes for men. I just want them to stand out from the rest.

Two siblings

Some of the youngest fashion designers are a 22-year-old sister and a 25-year-old brother, and the siblings started entering the world of fashion design a year ago.

“All the clothes we show are made of 100% linen and they are all different colors, and I believe it adds a lot of life to the work we do,” said Maribel Galvez, owner of Mentica. Mexico.

Galvez says that her creative ideas are built from things she randomly thinks about every day.

“Creatively, what inspires me are simply spontaneous ideas,” said Maribel. “If there’s something I like or start thinking about, I’ll obsess over it until I bring it to life.”

Maribel’s brother, a friend of hers, started looking for the brand when he saw that she had a lot of potential with her designs.

“Our company first started when I saw that my sister was designing, and I started getting involved and helping her with the business side of the branding,” said David Galvez, the other owner of Mentica Mexico. “At that time … that’s how we decided to make the brand a reality a year ago and hopefully it’s the first year of many.

We hope to continue to get these creative ideas to help the brand grow.

Although it’s normal for siblings to fight, Maribel says working together is always “challenging” but she finds it effective because they support each other.

“All we have to do to work things out is figure out which part is his and which part is mine, and ultimately having each other’s backs is a big help,” Maribel said. From the creative side of things, sometimes you get a little nervous about what you’re doing, but having someone who supports you 100% by your side — whether it’s a brother or a team member — is the same. It’s important, because other people’s knowledge is something you can use to grow your business and your ideas.

Showing the beauty of a woman

Monica Armas — owner of her eponymous company in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico — said she began studying industrial design later in life when she became interested in the fashion industry.

Armas is a man who loves to dress well and any woman can never look ugly if she dresses well. In fact, she says that all her designs are made with this philosophy in mind.

“I’m very minimalistic when it comes to my styles because I feel that women don’t need much in the way of trying to show off their beauty,” Armas said. “So, I dedicate myself to showing you how to look good in the most understated styles.”

Armas believes that the cottons and linens from Mexico are some of the best in the world, so all of her collections are dedicated to the full use of Mexican products and Mexican textiles. She said she wants to see how people outside of Mexico can create beautiful clothing using only 100% Mexican products.

Unlike most Mexican designers, she says that when using Mexican products, she doesn’t focus on the patriotic and historical aspects, but instead uses Mexican architecture, color and geography as inspiration.

A key detail in her clothing designs was the scorpion embedded in the belts of her clothes, which she said was meant to show the culture embedded in her clothes and to show modernity and simplicity in a new way.

“A woman does not need much in the effort to show her beauty, such as a simple great cut, texture in the dress and a good face with courage, not beauty, then the woman can show their identity fully,” she said. “That alone makes any woman special.”

What fashion designers hope to accomplish in Laredo

All of the fashion designers said they hoped the event would allow them to show their pieces, and many brought their work on display because the pandemic had a major impact on what they could offer.

“This event helped me re-examine what I do and bring it back to light,” Honorato said.

David Galvez said the main goal of being a part of the fashion show was “to allow the brand to be recognized and position themselves in the industry, and hopefully one day maybe, with other fashion designers and brands.” Join them.” I hope that the gathering of many designers is not seen as a competition, but as a space for support and cooperation, and that young fashion designers can all work together.

Armas simply wanted to show what Mexico is through her designs.

“I know there are a lot of Mexican people here in Laredo or Mexican-American, and as Mexicans living in Mexico, I want to show them that we can convey Mexico and what lives in the country through these designs through clothing,” Armas said.

Fashion show

Laredo Fashion Week will be held on Friday, August 19 before the Designers Fashion Show on August 20. The models who are part of the show are from Avanti Model School and Agency and 13 international fashion designers have presented. Their works that show their models. The 13 fashion designers are in the city to present their new collection at the runway.

There were three different shows for Saturday’s fashion show: children’s designers; Fashion Shows Ready to Wear Designers and Haute Couture Designers. Each show hosted a different category of designers and was separated by time slots.

Honorato’s work can be followed on Instagram at @HonoratoMx and Pinterest at @Honorato and can be reached by email at honoratomx@gmail.com. Galvez’s brand Mayorca México can be found on Instagram at @Mayorca.Mx and Armas can be followed on Instagram at @moarmas.