Panamania! - Embracing Ethnic Roots into Fashion

The NY Times ranked Panama as the #1 travel destination in 2012. National Geographic and Forbes also mentioned Panama as a top travel destination, and the U.S Ambassador of Panama launched a campaign called "Panama esta de moda". So is it any wonder that Panamanians have a sense of national pride that we are now seeing cascade into all aspects of fashion, art and design?

For years tourists have traveled to Panama and fallen in love with the ethnic prints, jewelry and handicrafts from Panama's indigenous communities including Kuna, Embera-Wounaan, Nôbe-Buglé, Guaymi, Talamanca, and the Bokata.
 
Panamanians are very patriotic about their homeland and in the last few years we have seen a shift in their perceptions towards their ethnic roots. As the world is visiting and embracing their style, Panamanians are now also beginning to incorporate elements of their culture into their fashion and lifestyle.

Designers that have embraced this growing trend include Annie Chajin, Helene Breebart, Annabell Quintero, Alessandra Grau and Fernanda Quiros. This year, in Fashion Week Panama FWP2012 we watched national designers incorporate more local ethnic inspirations into their designs with growing sense of national pride.

Photos by Miss Moss, Antoinette Jolie and Eventos Top - Durgan and Sabbi Durgan.

Miss Moss ♥s Vintage & Thrift

Most people in international fashion destinations around the globe embrace second-hand stores and see the value and uniqueness in purchasing vintage items. However, in more developing/conservative countries like Panama, although there are a select few 'fashion forward' people here that love vintage, there is still somewhat of a stigma attached to the concept of buying other people's second-hand and vintage items. If only more people bought into the concept and contributed to it, there would be the opportunity to find more unique and high-end pieces at incredible prices. 

Street Pepper - thriftedandmodern.com/blog

Vanessa Jackman - thriftedandmodern.com/blog

Trend-a-porter: Fall 2012

For Fall 2012 designers proposed bolder ideas such as androgyny, oversized outerwear, prints, gothic, military and baroque trends. From the XVII century to contemporary styles, there are a lot of options for mix-and-match. Innovative souls will trigger the trends and the rest will be coming on board. Will you take a step on the ship or sink underwater? Here is the Miss Moss trend-a-porter for Fall 2012...

Miss Moss Welcomes Laura Díaz

Laura Díaz has a passionate soul that's in love with life. She believes life's not black and
white and her personal mantra is "only those who dare truly live" (Ruth Freedman).

Art, style and culture are her passions. Laura is a University of Louisville communication graduate with a minor in business. Her strongest fields of study were creative writing and advertising. She has interned at Stratego Communications and Creative Alliance; assisted at Couture magazine - for Fashion Week Panama (FWP) and written for The Louisville Cardinal, Lou Magazine, Ellas, IT Now and now she is the latest member of the Miss Moss team. 

Photo by Alain Jiménez.

PLASTIC PARADISE - MELISSA POP UP STORE

Plastic Paradise was a unique shopping experience for international shoe brand Melissa at the new Panamericana Hostel in Casco Viejo, Panama. Here it is unveiled for you with an exclusive behind the scenes exposé.

Plastic Paradise was an event that aimed to consolidate Melissa’s brand values which promoted design and plastic, with the goal of bringing awareness of fashion, art, recycling and music in a candy store inspired theme, blending an exciting artistic and shopping experience. 

Travelling tips - What to pack and still look stylish

When I told resident stylist Liz Moreno I was going on a trip to New York and then on to London, I asked her for some advice on what I should pack as I wanted to look stylish, but still have enough room in my case that I could fill it with all the shopping I knew I would end up buying! 

Here are some of Liz's top travel packing tips:

"When packing for a trip try to think about all the places that you are going to visit, and most importantly make sure you are taking the right clothes depending on the weather, it doesn't matter if it's Summer, Spring, Autumn, or Winter, we all know places can experience many seasons in a day so it is always best to be versatile and well prepared for every kind of weather behavior.
There is nothing worse than packing summer dresses and bikini's and finding out its the worst summer on record in London ;) The best policy is to pack clothing that can be worn layered. Lightweight, easily layered clothing is convenient because layers can be added or removed as necessary depending on conditions."

On the Creative Campaign Track - Our latest Inspirations

The best creative communication campaigns should bring about unique and unforgettable experiences for the target demographic. A current trend in campaigns is that the brand not only seeks to define and over-expose the image of a product, but to make the masses feel identified with it and with the whole lifestyle it represents. The identity and personality of a product say everything about its target consumer, and can even define it.

Converse Color Barcelona Campaign 

This campaign created a hype through guerrilla street-marketing actions in the most emblematic areas of Barcelona, allowing people to keep painted items in the Converse colors as a souvenir of the Campaign. 300 bikes were painted with the colors from the new collection and spread in key places in the Catalan capital.This action consisted in doing something very altruistic like leaving bikes in the street, that people could try and go away with, for free. It was possible to locate the bikes through the Converse profile on Facebook, thus also exploiting the power of social media. At the end of the party, a mosaic with the Converse colors was created with beach accessories (sunshades, mats, balls and beach bags). Like the bikes, all those elements were given to those who found the beach.