Carla Fernández, a Mexican Designer Who Combines Tradition with Forward Thinking Fashion.

You’d hardly think that this slender, shorthaired young woman could have the credentials of a fashion heavyweight, and yet she does. Founder of Taller Flora, a fashion label and mobile laboratory that moves among the indigenous communities of Mexico specialized in handmade textiles; Carla Fernández is a force to be reckoned with. She was awarded the “International Young Fashion Entrepreneur Award” by the British Council in 2008, has given textile workshops at Harvard, and was awarded the Silver Star by the Mexican chapter of Fashion Group International. In 2010, she was named one of the 50 most influential people who move México, by Quien magazine

Taller Flora has developed a unique style that combines contemporary geometrics with traditional Mexican textiles, styled to satisfy the way of dress of sophisticated urban fashionistas.  Taller Flora also supports fair-trade and environmental policies, encouraging responsible practices in the fashion industry. Rough woolens and silky rebozo fabrics, coupled with imported textiles, are converted into sophisticated designs. For this summer, Carla chose the molinillo, a highly decorated wooden hand mill used to froth chocolate milk, as her inspirational theme. The molinillo became a print on cotton fabrics for tunics, long pants, short dresses, bangles, earrings and the highest of heels, all revealed to the sound of the tropical rhythms at the Mexican coast of Guerrero on the spring 2012 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week México runway.

Carla Fernández has opened up shop at the boutique hotel Habita Downtown (Isabel la Católica 30, México D.F.), where jewelry designers and art galleries have gathered to form part of the revival of Mexico City’s colonial Centro as a place for local and international trendsetters.

www.carlafernandez.com