Angel Sanchez, brings his Spring/Summer Collection to Houston for first time in five years….here for Elizabeth Anthony and Heart of Fashion Opening Night
When I met with Angel ‘the day after’ his runway show for Heart of Fashion, the Venezuelan-native shared many details of his philosophies on fashion as art, what brought him to the U.S. and exactly what inspired this beautiful collection of evening gowns.
First about this collection….which he affectionately took his inspiration from a flower from Venezuela called the Cayena or Hibiscus as we know it. He felt that women were wanting beautiful, feminine, colorful dresses for evening (particularly Houston women, he noted!) and so he headed back to his Latin roots and named this Collection, Tropical Couture. He spoke of his Mom in his country who was an expert seamstress, ran the most well-known, highest quality Atelier which gave him a great appreciation for couture. It is that appreciation that drove this collection, which you feel when you see the pieces on the runway.
A brief history: He became very well-known in his homeland but wanted to come to America to sew his competitive oats, literally. He opened his showroom in NYC in 1998 in the garment district where even today all of his garments are made, as he feels ‘control’ of his garments are key to his success as he produces approximately 40 garments for each collection, 5 times a year. Three evening and two bridal. As I had just left my first visit to the bridal market, we had a sidebar on Bridal and his love for that arm of his business. He has even recently launched a Bridal Jewelry collection of primarily engagement rings for the Kay/Jared collection of jewels.
At Elizabeth Anthony the ‘Day after’ for a very busy Trunk Show and a little time for chatter!
At Elizabeth Anthony, the day after, the store was all abuzz with many customers of his that came in just to see him and his collection….I was loving his attention to details to make each customer happy as he whispered to me that he loved that part of what he does…..making women feel beautiful in his dresses! He did just that as I watched him work with Bobbie Nau, a well known Houstonian and owner of his dresses….it was great fun to watch!
photos courtesy of Jill Faucetta/Gray Bertuccio, Roz Pactor and Angel Sanchez