The summer decalogue from KAN Brand

A dress is not ever just a dress. It’s an amazing cocktail of feeling, music, images that a simple touch of fabric and the windy wave of a wide sleeve can trace back memories from the holidays, a soft smell of some lemons in a summer morning, the glimpse of a fashion icon in her glory moments, a scene from a movie that everybody loved… What are the feeling that KAN brand put in our mind and soul? The founders Denisa Cucu and Manuela Van Vloten-Sabarez brought us something from Mexican spirit. And a lot of other more… 

KAN Brand clothes could be found on… www.kan-brand.com / Instagram: @kan_brand. 

While I wear KAN brand pieces, I should…

… be in this classic movie… 

D: “Mamma mia!” – being a musical, the energy, the fun, the action that happens by the beach, makes you want to put on a spicy themed kaftan and vibrate on ABBA’s golden hits. Or “Blue Lagoon” if the director were to decide the cast should wear some clothes, I totally see our kaftans on that pristine island in the Pacific Ocean.
M: “50 first dates” – not that much of a classic maybe, but such a positive, feel-good one. And the location definitely fits our brand. Hopefully Drew’s short-term memory loss will only make her wear our kaftans over and over again. 

… hear this music… 

D: Ornella Vanoni – L’appuntamento, hoping that my date shows up. Whether you speak Italian or not, the emotion this song gives compares to the one I feel while wearing our items, knowing that beautiful hands put so much time and effort into embroidering them. 
M: A Hed Kandi album, most probably the Beach House.

… travel to… 

D: Wherever the beach is! No matter the season, there is always a perfect place on the map where you can wear a timeless piece such as a KAN kaftan.
M: The Caribbean somewhere, like charming Tulum.

… eat… 

D: Gelato.
M: Some extra hot “chilaquiles” on a lazy morning.

… smell… 

D: Limoncello & peppermint.
M: The sea, the sand and the ocean, topped with a lime bite to cool down your tequila shot.

… think of this fashion icon… 

D: Yes to Jane Birkin.
M: Eva Mendes on vacation, paired with one of her signature turbans.

… be photographed by…

D: Random Italian ragazzi so no picture looks like one another.
M: Her husband.

… remember this old school design items… 

D: Polaroid camera – I love the excitement you feel while waiting for an instant picture to show up. And a walkman so you can play „Vintage Cafe – lounge&jazz blends” all day long on a sandy beach, sipping from your favourite cocktails.
M: Tetris because KAN feels like a never-ending journey in pursuit of having everything fall into place.

… feel like… 

D: Happiness.
M: I wanna go on a relaxing holiday, sipping long Margaritas, watching the surfers tube ride the waves.

… see the life in (which colours)…  

D: Rainbow.
M: Extremely bright and bold colours, unafraid and untameable, experimental and unapologetic. 

Getting serious, here are some things that the creative duo behind KAN brand wanted to emphasise. Since the launch of their first collection…

“Firstly, our team grew. To better the quality of our products and to save production time, we are now working with a factory in Cuernavaca instead of the small atelier in Mexico City. 

After the actual sewing is done, the clothes are still being hand-embroidered by our team of Otomi artists living in the Central Plateau of Mexico, following an age-old tradition. This new production cycle helped us refine our products, so we can offer our customer a top quality one-of-a-kind item.

Secondly, we became even more of a niche brand and we’re more focused than ever. While we started as a fashion brand with handmade Mexican embroideries, now we’ve kept this heritage, but having as focal point resort wear and vacation apparel. This came as a natural transition to us, as we’re both uninspired by the cold season. Dreaming of breezy dresses, ruffled miniskirts and cropped tops, while having to design an autumn-winter collection, we felt that focusing on resort wear simply makes sense.

Thus, the birth of Eternal Summer, our latest collection, beaming with colourful kaftans and playful summer tops. The hand-embroideries give the items extra character and our customers are more and more appreciative of the fact that they’re not wearing fast-fashion, but a unique item, created by artisans who’ve dedicated their lives to perfect this artistic embroidery technique. It’s pretty special if you think about it. 

Thirdly, we’ve taken baby steps in designing our first straw bags. These ones are hand woven in the South of Mexico, in the province of Tabasco, right at the borders with Belize and Guatemala. We were extremely surprised of how fast they sold out. Some of the success should also be rightfully attributed to well-known fashion bloggers Alina Tanasa and Diana Enciu the Fabulous Muses, who’ve loved our bags and have been proactively posting amazing shots of them. At the moment, we’re almost finalising producing new inventory that we’ll be sending to Europe before mid-July. The bags are on a waiting list and interested customers can reserve theirs by sending us a message on Instagram, Facebook or via our website. 

As with every project or business, a lot happens behind the scenes, we’re very happy when we are given the opportunity to share a bit of our journey. 

Thanks Alina, for showing interest in our brand and to your readers for taking the time to read through this article. “

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