Fino – Cool Mix of Edgy Clothing and Accessories
When you walk into Fino, you are transported to a fresh and attractive boutique which houses couture, resort wear, ready to wear and accessories from an array of international designers. The cool mix of edgy labels and well established brands makes Fino a must stop shop while in Los Cabos. Owner, Marsha La Tessa, takes you on a visual voyage travelling the globe from New York, Paris, Italy, Nepal, Mexico and more. After noticing a large gap in the market here for resort and ready to wear, Marsha set out to close that gap. Her background was in manufacturing of handbags and jewelry in the early 90’s. She was also a real estate person who developed luxury condos in Manhattan. Her love for interior design, beautiful objects and clothes is evident everywhere you look.
Marsha took me on a tour of the store and gave me a little insight into each of the designers and their collections.
Carla Fernandez has gained international recognition for her precise approach to documenting and preserving the rich textile heritage of Mexico’s indigenous communities by transforming it into abstract contemporary clothing and proving tradition is anything but static. Carla has developed a successful enterprise where the fashion industry and the hand-made crafts of Mexico become compatible. It consists in paying artisans not only for the hand labour but also for intellectual property of their designs. The brand has been recognized simultaneously by two strengths: being at the forefront of design and a business model for its social vision. Fino carries hand loomed designs from Carla’s collections.
Carla Fernandez Courtesy of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Sandra Weil is a Peruvian designer who started with bridal and still does weddings but now she has moved to couture and ready to wear. Sandra Weil Couture was founded in 2008 with a vision to create high quality, beautiful handmade garments with special attention to details and finishes. The designs are classic yet unconventional with impeccable fit, wearable silhouettes, streamlined color palettes, and signature accents. Sandra Weil Couture is based in Mexico City where Sandra can continue to develop creatively and professionally while staying close to her Latin roots. 2015 saw the opening of the first Flagship store in the Cosmopolitan Polanco borough. www.sandraweil.com
Sandra Weil
Whit is the brainchild of Whitney Pozgay. Whit is fairly new to the market and has been around for just a couple of seasons. She designs in New York and the production facility is across the street. Marsha describes this line as “Urban Girly.”
Whit
Mona Thalmhier lost her hearing before her first birthday. She relied on her senses of sight and touch to inform her world. Having designed complete collections for many years, Mona has now focused all of her attention on an American classic, the shirt and by extension the shirtdress. Forever in style and never out of fashion – day or night – shirt happens!
Mona Thalmheir
Seilenna Swimwear by Annelies de Rouck.
Seilenna (the designer’s name spelled backward, pronounced “say-LEN-na”), founded by De Rouck in 2012, is a swimwear line that emphasizes fit and consistency and combines the world’s most luxurious technical fabrics with innovative design to create flattering silhouettes. The designer and her team devoted much of their time working with what De Rouck calls “the Rolls-Royce of swimwear fabric mills in Italy,” to ensure the delivery of high-quality designs. The fabrics of her swimwear are soft and luxurious, don’t pill or snatch, and retain their color. Seilenna’s focus is fit and she has a secret weapon – her pattern maker worked for years developing lingerie corsetry for Dior. Seilenna offers clean and sophisticated swimwear, cover-ups and accessories for stylish city girls who don’t want to give up their sharp sense of style on the beach. The collection is mix-and-match and all tops and bottoms are sold separately. The pattern making and sampling is done in the South of France and production is in Mauritius. rich solid colors as well as feminine and playful hand-drawn prints created in collaboration with Parisian fashion illustrator Coco. Her motto is: “It is always summer somewhere sometime.” Her suits and cover ups come with travel and makeup bags with the same motif.
Seilenna
Loup Charmant is a collection of diaphanous, feminine pieces for every day, all day wear inspired by the fuss-free appeal of beach dressing, Edwards set out to offer that sensibility to women, year-round. Each Loup Charmant piece has a timeless versatility. Intimates, including bralettes, camisoles and slips provide the seasonless foundations of the line, as perfectly suited for bed and beach as they are for layering under the brand’s tops and dresses. Loup Charmant’s soft pastels are mixed with more saturated, but equally dreamy colors like dusty blues, sunset and desert colors, making the brand’s color palette as covetable as its silhouettes.
Joseph Carini is one of the best rug makers in the world and he has recently added cashmere shawls to his collection. This tissue weight shawl is made from special ayurvedic botanical dye. Light as air and perfect for a summer day or it can also be used as a warm scarf when bunched up. The emphasis of the company, Carini Lang, is focused on exploring the use of unusual natural dyes., natural fibers, and authentic traditional weaving techniques. The colors used are connected with healing plants and rooted in Ayurvedic science. How color effects our emotional and physical life are questions which have informed his work from the beginning. By preserving traditional processes and fusing them with visionary design, Joe brings the magic from the past into the contemporary world in which we live. Cashmere Shawls
Fino also carries: Cynthia Rowley wet suits, Flagpole swimwear, Mysso – Alejandra Labrija swimwear, Sleepy Jones sleepwear, Ishi Jewelry, Christina Lehr tee shirts, basic belts, sunglasses, natural cosmetics and finger nail polish, candles, smokeless incense, bags and hats.
When I first entered the modern and bright new boutique, Fino, my heart skipped a beat – this is the shopping experience that has been missing in Los Cabos. As I learned more about Marsha and the designers she handpicked, I have real admiration for what she has accomplished. She has a sense of reverence from this group of talented artists. This is only the beginning as new objects of art and clothing continue to arrive.
Fino is located in the Shoppes at Palmilla, San Jose’ del Cabo
Tel: 624 104 0103
U.S.: +001 52 624 104 0103
