Fashion Designers from Costa Rica That You Need to Know

Jennifer Lang was originally a high-powered attorney in Costa Rica, who left the corporate world to pursue her true creative passions, which involved handbags and fashion. She created her brand, J.Lang, which is a sophisticated and modern-chic bag, accessories, and jewelry company. Her designs are beautiful works of art. She uses high-end leathers and fabrics, and bold and natural color palettes. She has been featured in Vogue and InStyle magazines, as well as a part of Fashion Week in San Jose, among multiple other international recognitions.

For more than two decades, Ana Cecilia Ortega has reigned as one of the top fashion designers in Costa Rica. She is famous for her intricate and elegant silk gowns and dresses. Her main cliental for years has been beauty queens, celebrities, politicians, and high profile professionals. Her passionately designed and crafted dresses are exquisite. Ana has always been a lover of couture fashion, and designers like Oscar de la Renta have inspired her creations. Her dresses are truly one of a kind.

Daniel Moreira is a talented, high fashion couture designer. He has a natural gift for designing dresses that accentuate the natural beauty and body of the woman that the dress is custom designed for. His creations are unlike anything else out there. Some of his dresses take hundreds of hours to create and are so intricate they’ll likely make Moreira a household name in the fashion world. He often incorporates intricate beadwork, lace, and mixed fabrics into his designs, which become more than just dresses, they become works of art. Anyone wearing a Daniel Moreira dress is definitely going to turn heads and feel like a princess while doing it.

Fabrizio Berrocal takes custom men’s tailoring to an entirely new level. His designs are fresh, modern, and sometimes fabulously floral. His collections have been present at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in San Jose, Guanacaste, and Nicaragua, New York Fashion Week, Latin America’s Men’s Week in Lima, and Latin Trends in Santiago, Chile. He also dressed the Costa Rican Olympic Team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Fabrizzio Berrocal is unstoppable!

Oscar Ruiz-Schmidt is a fashion designer and the creative art director of the brand Obra Gris – a sustainable, seasonless, versatile, and contemporary clothing brand based in San Jose. The brand is so environmentally conscious that they almost create zero waste during production. The idea behind the collections is to be able to mix and match and create outfits for a variety of occasions. Ruiz-Schmidt and his brand have been featured in a number of fashion magazines and fashion shows. Ruiz-Schmidt is also the creator of the zine editorial project Cornucopia Zine.

Ana Gutierrez is a designer of wearable art. She creates rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, bags, bamboo shirts, and silk scarves. She has shared her collections at Miami, New York, and London Fashion Week, and has won the Diamond Accessories Award at Miami Fashion Week two years in a row. She is passionate about environmental preservation and socially responsible business practices. Her designs are boho chic and inspired by nature. A piece by Ana Gutierrez is timeless and will remind you of Costa Rica.

In 2014, Oscar Hernandez started the brand Toribio, which is inspired by the traditional “tico” way of life. Oscar Hernandez designs and creates luxury leather bags for men and women. He uses a mix of Costa Rican and Italian leathers, hand painted details, and beautiful tassels. His cowboy upbringing shines through in a lot of his unique designs. These high quality leather bags are a perfect blend of practicality and statement pieces. He has a workshop and store in the Prisma Business Center in Escazu.

Cuban-born and Costa Rican-raised fashion designer Jessica González created the world-recognized brand NNIA in 2009. Since then, she has been creating high end, but comfortable fashion for the modern woman. She uses a lot of light fabrics and colors, but also has some head-turning statement pieces too. Her collections have everything from beachwear and weekend getaway, to professional and party attire. This young designer’s potential is endless and her boutique studio is right outside of San José. She also has a studio in San Pedro.

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