About – MAZ Manuela Alvarez

WE ARE A SLOW
FASHION BRAND

We are multicultural and high contemporary.

Founded in 2013, it is a brand that arises from a deeply introspective process made tangible through tailoring, hence creating an aesthetic that empowers women in their daily lives by means of their clothing and the essence within it. We operate under a slow fashion and an inherently sustainable model, as 90% of our pieces are made by artisan hands. Our team is made up of women heads of household, as well as of indigenous and artisan communities in Colombia.

One of our main purposes is to support and empower vulnerable ethnic groups; we work to offer them the tools to grow and thrive while becoming a platform for them to share their intricate culture and talent with the rest of the world. The brand has become an agent for change in Colombia. By co-creating fine conceptual pieces with communities from different regions in the country, we also promote fair labor and the preservation of Colom-bia’s ancient crafts and culture. We are artists in constant textile exploration, delving into mindful creations of original pieces by producing our own textiles and base materials with looms, knits, and embroideries.

The timelessness of our silhouettes, the originality of our textiles, and the ar tisanal traits and intricacy, make each MAZ garment a heirloom; differential and unique. Similarly, the blend between cultural richness as inspiration, the skill and mastery of our ar tisans, and the contemporary nature of our brand concept, generate a powerful fusion that oscillates between universal sophistication and the mysticism of ancestral knowledge.

MANUELA

The Creative Director

Manuela Álvarez is the founder and creative director at MAZ. She studied fashion design at Instituto Marangoni in Milan, where she discovered a high interest in contemporary tailoring, finding her own voice and creativity on the practice.

Returning to Colombia, Manuela started working for different names at the local fashion scene, such as Johanna Ortiz, Olga Piedrahita and others.

In 2013, after she acquired enough experience, Manuela made the decision to start her own fashion label MAZ Manuela Álva-rez, which was born from the purpose to combine her love for classic artisanal tailoring with her curiosity to discover and learn from her Colombian indigenous roots and their an-cestral knowledge and technics, through textile exploration and co-creation practices.

Sagrario Mora

Sagrario started her hand knitting journey in the textile industry 35 years ago. Later she bought her own sewing machine, and started working by herself in her sewing workshop, specializing in handcrafted knitwear. For Sagrario the most important thing is to achieve our creative director’s goals and transmit her love in every piece of MAZ she makes, in order for it to be successful.

Consuelo Campos Rivera

Consuelo's journey as a clothes manufacturer started 36 years ago. It transformed into professional and intellectual learning process, these experiences have shaped Consuelo’s creativity and assertiveness in creating pieces that involve artisanal elaborations. She believes MAZ has given her the opportunity to evolve her skills, making her feel fulfilled and gratified.

Nora Cecilia Rojas Rodriguez

Nohora has been in handcrafted clothes manufacturing since 42 years ago. She started with the elaboration of blouses, dresses and pants for MAZ, but then specialized in working with the indigenous artisan elaborations in Guanga vertical loom “Chumbes” and “Sayos”.

Deisy Santafé Rodríguez

Deisy works in costume industry since 26 years ago, specializing in leather and suede. Every handmade piece she makes is caracterized by her handmade work: embroidery, perforations, knitwear and artisanal details. Daisy loves art, she believes that the human body is a canvas, so she tries to make every single person that wears MAZ, feel like a work of art.

Floralba Salazar

Floralba has been working in the industry for 45 years. Her work is full of love and she transmits the emotions she feels into her embroidering pieces. She owns her sewing workshop since 30 years ago, where she embroiders all types of garments, every handcrafted piece she creates is a different world for her.

Sofía Valenzuela

Commercial Leader. My main role is to act as the essential link between the brand's products and its customers. My mission is to establish and maintain strong relationships with distributors, boutiques, and potential points of sale, identifying market opportunities, negotiating agreements, and ensuring the brand's presence and visibility both nationally and internationally.