New Bogotá fashion brand blends culture with craftsmanship

LATELIER founder Andrea Jaramillo. (Photo credit: Sarah C. Diaz )

Inspired and enchanted by Colombia and its culture, L.A. native Andrea Jaramillo came to Bogotá to re-live fond childhood memories of exploring the country with her Colombian grandfather. Three years and a few hard lessons later, she’s set to launch LATELIER, a concept fashion brand that blends her love of Latin American cultures with the finest craftsmanship on the continent.

Andrea is also a contributor to the recently published travel anthology, Alone Together: Tales of Sisterhood and Solitude in Latin America (Bogotá International Press).

What’s your connection to Colombia?

My brothers and I were all born and raised in Los Angeles, but I’ve always been immersed in Colombian culture through my extended family. My dad is Colombian, and it was really important to my grandfather to show us the country. We’d come here every summer for a road trip. I’ve kept exploring now that I’ve moved here.

What made you decide to move here long-term?

I’d always had a really soft spot for Colombia because I remembered the family holidays, the food, and the parties we had growing up. In 2015 I was living in Boulder, Colorado, but hadn’t yet made any commitments or set down roots. So one day I just packed my bags and came down.

I expected to continue the life I remembered, but that wasn’t the reality. I wasn’t on holiday anymore, I didn’t have a job, and all my friends were back in the States. That was a curveball I wasn’t expecting.

Breaking into social circles here is difficult. As an extranjera (foreigner) you’re the shiny new toy that everyone’s interested in, but that wears off after a while. It happened to my foreign friends as well.

If you live here long enough you need to feel like you’re at home.

It’s tough, because if you live here long enough you need to feel like you’re at home. About eight months in I really felt like leaving again. Luckily, I found a job and a great group of friends. Those helped life here feel more permanent.

Do you feel Colombian now? Still American? Somewhere in between?

I definitely feel in between the two. When I was in the States, I felt proud to be Colombian and shared the traditions I could with my friends. Here, I definitely feel more American. I don’t feel alienated, but your home traits really shine when you’re an outsider.

Tell me about LATELIER. What is it? Where did the name come from?

LATELIER is a concept fashion brand. It came about from my interest in slow fashion; Colombia’s emergence as a fashion hub, and my desire to desire to share cultures.

Courtesy LATELIER

The core idea is that each collection will bring in new elements from cultures throughout Latin America. Right now we’re focusing on women’s jackets with molas made by women of the Kuna culture. The next collection may feature hand-woven designs done by women in Chiapas, Mexico.

I wanted the name to reflect the craftsmanship that you see throughout Latin America. I also speak French, and l’atelier is French for studio. So I removed the apostrophe to get a combination of Latin America and atelier.

What spurred you to launch a fashion brand?

I’d always had dreams of working very deeply in fashion. But I also knew that behind the scenes the industry can be incredibly wasteful. A lot of big brands discard merchandise that doesn’t sell. They just tear it up and throw it away. That’s not ethically sustainable. I wanted to be part of a different direction.

Before I started LATELIER I was working in brand management and digital marketing. I thought, “If I’m going to work this hard, I want to work on something that I’m creating and that I really believe in.”

If I’m going to work this hard, I want to work on something that I’m creating and that I really believe in.

I’d also been watching the evolution of fashion in Colombia. Bogotá is actually becoming a regional fashion hub. For example: when Vogue Latin America expanded outside Mexico, it opened offices here, not in Buenos Aires. That’s incredible.

Handwoven mochilas are a common sight in Bogotá. (Delaney Turner)

A lot of designers have come out of Colombia in the last two years. My first job was with a woman named Laura Chica, of Chila Bags. She designs beautiful bags with Wayuu women. Johanna Ortiz is from Cali and has shown in Paris and New York. Even Pepa Pombo, who’s been working for 40 years, is enjoying a renaissance among a younger demographic.

There’s strong artisanal element to Colombian designers’ work. At the same time, they’re influenced by what’s happening in London and New York and they’re bringing their own ideas into the world. It’s fascinating to see how your country’s culture can be blended into this wave of high fashion.

It’s fascinating to see how your country’s culture can be blended into high fashion.

I also wanted to tell the stories of the people and places I’m exploring. I’d been doing this for two years with my blog AndreAbroad.com, but then I thought, “What if I could tell those stories through a product?”

There are amazingly beautiful cultures within Colombia and throughout Latin America. I wanted to find a community that was wasn’t well-known and that was willing to work with me to share their work and traditions. Most Colombians are familiar with the mochilas. Few are familiar with molas.

Tell me more about molas.

A Kuna woman on the San Blas islands of Panama. (Wikimedia Commons)

A mola is handmade artifact that’s part of the traditional Kuna (or Guna) peoples’ clothing. It’s made with a reverse appliqué stitching technique using layers of fabric. A simple mola uses three layers; a more complex one can use up to seven. The more experienced the maker, the more sophisticated the design.

Only women are allowed to create molas. This comes from the belief that of the original seven Kuna shamans who ventured into the earth, only the one woman could see them and understand their stories. The techniques are passed down through generations and girls start stitching as young as seven.

What if I could tell stories through a product?

Molas typically use geometric or animal forms. Geometric forms represent earth and nature. Animal forms generally reflect changes that have happened in a community’s culture over time – the introduction of Catholicism, for example, or the evolution of its political system. Molas use lots of vibrant colors, but also a lot of black. Black is the considered the ultimate color – it represents the light of the womb before you’re born.

You can really find them everywhere – on purses, on shoes. The problem is that most of them are bought and sold in bulk and people don’t understand what they mean or the stories they’re telling. Or people cut them, which should never happen. I learned that the hard way.

A mola representing the olazu, a traditional nose ring worn by the Kuna peoples.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Molas are more than beautiful pieces of fabric. They’re complex cultural artifacts. You need to respect their integrity. I buy mine from a traditional community in Antioquia and I design my jackets around them. Each jacket comes with a card that explains the meaning of the mola that’s on the back. The interior lining has a silk-screened explanation of LATELIER.

Molas are more than beautiful pieces of fabric. They’re complex cultural artifacts.

When I explained my plans for the molas to the Kuna women in Antioquia, they were excited for the opportunity to share their work and to tell their stories in this way. There’s so much I still need to learn, but there’s hardly any written history about this culture. Women tell their stories through molas.

Who do you see as the market for LATELIER pieces? 

Fashion-forward consumers who understand that there are cultures outside their own that need to be respected. Also the conscious shopper. Slow fashion prioritizes environmentally sustainable production methods. All my jackets use chrome-free Colombian leather.

I’m on a mission to show the richness of Latin American cultures to people who don’t yet know about them.

I plan to sell the jackets here, but I also aim to sell outside Colombia. I’m on a mission to show the richness of Latin American cultures to people who don’t yet know about them. I also want to show the world the craftsmanship that’s available here. You don’t have to go to Paris or London to have a jacket made. Mine are hand-made by women in a studio here in Bogotá.

Where do you see the Bogotá fashion scene in five years? 

Some people think I’m crazy, but I believe that Bogotá will be the next Paris, at least for Latin America. Fashion tastemakers outside Latin America are bringing Colombian designers into larger stores and featuring them in Vogue. They’re inviting them to show during fashion weeks in New York and Paris. I think we’re going to see huge growth because of the designers we have here.

I believe that Bogotá will be the next Paris, at least for Latin America.

In 10 years, I see LATELIER as a network of artisans from throughout Latin America working on collections to tell their stories and share their cultures.

Where do you see yourself in that time frame?

I see more opportunity for myself and for LATELIER here now than I did a year ago, so I would love to split my time between Bogotá and L.A. Many communities that were previously excluded are becoming part of the known broader Colombian culture and society. I always wanted to be part of this wave, and now that I’ve found what I want to do, I’m even more excited to be right in the middle of it.