"Europe Has The Best Fashion" Hmm But Have You Been to Latin America?

Notes and thoughts from this year's Latin American Fashion Summit.

Latin American talent has always been a prominent force in the American fashion industry. Actually, several of the most notable and recognized American fashion designers are of Latin American descent. Like Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta and Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera. And, the designer behind one of the most iconic pieces of American fashion, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s wedding gown, Cuban-American Narciso Rodriguez.

But as present as Latin American influence might be in American fashion today, Latin American brands and talent are still underrepresented in the global high-fashion landscape. The majority of fashion’s top creative director positions are held by white, non-Latin American men. And, what the high-fashion world considers to be its most important runways are mostly displayed across Europe and in New York. Plus, independent Latin American brands still face significant roadblocks when scaling across the United States or elsewhere, from supply chain constraints to heightened import costs.

So, there’s quite a lot of potential out there the greater fashion world could be missing out on. Let’s talk about it.