WOMEN’S WORLD
She’s young, she’s inspired and she’s about to make her mark in Mexican fashion design.
Lia Labarthe Margolis, 27, discovered her fascination with couture at a very early age, when she would sneak into the closet of her now-late grandmother, Sonia Schweber de Margolis, and play dress-up for hours with the elegant evening gowns and suits that were the core of her family’s stately matriarch’s wardrobe.
Labarthe Margolis’ interest in garments stuck with her, and in 2009, she earned a degree in textile and fashion design from Mexico’s prestigious Centro de Diseño, Cine y Televisión.
One year later, she participated in the second edition of the Abierto Mexicano de Diseño and was a board member of Data Diseño Mexicano.
She also participated as a creative director for the “Centro Fashion Project” in collaboration with Pepe Jeans, and in 2011, she competed in the Elle México fashion contest.
Working out of a small studio apartment in downtown Mexico City and using a team of local seamstresses, Labarthe Margolis developed her own line of clothing, which she named Catrina, and began selling pieces in concept stores, local markets and on the internet.
Since that time, Labarthe Margolis has produced a collection every year, and earlier this month, she combined those garments into a larger, multifaceted collection — a hodgepodge of loosely fitted smock dresses with stark skeletal patterns, skin-hugging miniskirts that barely cover the essentials, meticulously tailored woolen pants that seem more like a throwback to the era of Audrey Hepburn, and extemporaneous tie-dyed cotton wraps — at the trendy Tenderete boutique in Roma Norte.
The expanded collection also includes a selection of oversized wool pillows with silkscreened patterns and stark white T-shirts with embroidered leaves on the shoulder.
And there are a few short evening pieces in crisp ebony tones topped with see-through, satin, floor-length overskirts.
Drawing on both her family’s Russian, German and French roots and the rich indigenous cultures of Mexico, Labarthe Margolis’ collection is geared to a younger audience, focusing on affordable casual styles and quirky designs, but there are hints in the clothing of more formal, high-end garments to come, particularly in the tailored slacks and several jet-black gowns with tiny bronze triangles stitched along the sides.
“My garments are simple, but eclectic,” she said.
“I have incorporated artisan processes into their construction and I want each item to help inspire a consciousness of time and locality.”
Labarthe Margolis told The News that she hopes to expand her portfolio to include the luxury market in a few years.
She is currently working for an irreverent low-cost Mexican label called Cuidado con el Perro.
“For now, I don’t have the resources to produce high-end items, but I think that my designs have a universal appeal and that they reflect both my personal and ethnic history,” she said.
“Mexico is becoming a major fashion hub, and I think that Mexican designers have an important role in preserving our textile and garment history.”
Every one of Labarthe Margolis’ garments is a one-of-a-kind item.
“I believe that fashion design is an art, and I want to make wearable art that everyone can assimilate into their wardrobe and mix and match to create their own style,” she said.
“Everyone likes to express themselves through the clothing they wear, and I think my designs are an expression of both Mexico and the modern world we all live in.”
More information
Lia Labarthe Margolis’ garments are available at the Tenderete boutique on the corner of Jalapa and Guanajuato in Roma Norte or through her Facebook page at hechoporcatrina.
WHAT’S NEW
Summer Glow
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Spot Free Cleanup
There is no single step more important in helping to stop acne than a twice-daily deep clean of your skin. But many popular facial cleansers have oils and/or irritants that can actually lead to more breakouts. Neutrogena’s new line of MicroClear foaming facial scrub, exfoliant and eye makeup remover are formulated without oils to keep from leaving a greasy film on skin. They contain naturally derived grapefruit extract and vitamin C to leave skin fresh and vibrant, and salicylic acid to stop further pimples in their tracks. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub is matched to the skin’s natural pH to avoid irritation and redness, and features gentle microbeads that smooth away roughness without over-drying or irritating your skin. The gentle eye makeup remover melts away even waterproof mascara so that you don’t have to scrub, and it is ophthalmologist-approved for contact-lens users.
Stepping Out in Style
The Mexican shoe and accessory design house Dione has introduced its new fall/winter line, with a wide selection of spurred jockey-style boots, platform stiletto heels and ballerina flats in exotic-looking reptile textures and black and red hair-on cowhides. There are also shiny black and burgundy patent leather pumps that are ideal for work and slick over-the-knee boots with gold-studded heels. Dione has been making women’s shoes and handbags since 1944, and while many of its leathers and other materials are imported from Italy or Spain, the craftsmanship and design are 100 percent Mexican. Pablo E. González, director general of the Guadalajara-based brand, predicts that his company’s sales will increase by between 15 and 20 percent in 2017, as more and more Mexican women opt to buy national names over imports.
THE NEWS
