Pineda Covalín

Pineda Covalín is a 100% Mexican fashion design company which uses traditional patterns, figures and images from native Mexican cultures such as Mayan and Aztec. This company was created by two young designers, Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covalín. The brand has expanded itself to many countries of the American continent and some in Asia as well such as Japan. The most recent and famous creation of this brand is the figure of a xoloitzcuintli, a native Mexican dog which has been called the mascot of Mexico.

History of the Brand

Pineda Covalin was created by Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covalín in 1995, the company started by making cuds and ties for corporates such as VW and Coca Cola, by doing this they financed their own projects. The secret of this company has been to use elements of the pre-Hispanic tradition to integrate them in clothes and accessories, most of them have Huichol, Mayan and zapoteco artistic designs. The unique clothing and accessories models sell in boutiques owned by the brand, departmental shops, commercial areas of airports and museums of Mexico, The United States, Canada, France, Spain, Japan, El Salvador and Dominican Republic.

Initially, products began to sell in the Museum of Anthropology and History, Bellas Artes and the Museum of Modern Art, but due to the success of the articles and the demand for national and foreign tourists, parts opened new channels such as Four Seasons, Marriott, Nikko, Sheraton hotels and at major tourist centres of the country.

Also sites where you can find Pineda Covalin products are Phoenix Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Mexico Tourism Board, Museum of Latin American Art, Reyna Sophia Museum, Smithsonian Museum Stores, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Textile Museum of Canada.

Not happy with this, Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covalín sought other spaces where to sell their products, and thanks to them now have eight own stores and have a presence in all the El Palacio de Hierro and corners in Polanco, Coyoacán, Perisur, Santa Fe.

Since the company was created, it manages to integrate and to link the ideas of several Mexican designers, and important institutions such as the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Fonart, the Advice of Tourist Promotion, and companies like José Cuervo, Corona, Sanborn's, Devlyn, and Swarovski, helping with this work to spread the cultural heritage of Mexico.

It created an exclusive collection for the company Sanborn's, a traditional house that for more than one century is been kept tied to the traditions, legends and anecdotes that form a part of the popular history of Mexico. These new designs combine the flavor and the recollections of an important period of time, with the development of integral concepts of design for all the lines of products that Sanborn's handles in its boutiques.

Some of the principal achievements of this company are collections of accessories inspired by the art, the participation in national and international exhibitions, the presentation of the line of Contemporary Painters, the export of its products to the North American market, which are present in some of the most important art museums, such as The Chicago Museum, The Harvard Museum of Boston and The Natural History Museum of New York, Museum d Orsay, Louvre, musée du quai Branly in Paris, as well as in museums of Latin America.

The brand has won several awards such as the “Estrella de Plata” award given by Fashion Group Mexico in 2002 for their work in Mexican designs as well as an award for the event “Mexico Esta de Moda” in 2003. The company was named representative of Fashion in Global Fashion Local in Europe, August 2005 and representative of Mexican fashion in the United Nations’ head quarters in New York in 2006.

Creators

This brand was created by Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covalín. Cristina Pineda has a bachelor in textile design from the Iberoamericana University with a special recognition for her thesis work. She also counts with a masters in art history from the Anahuac University, and graduate studies in managing strategies from the ITESM.

Cristina Pineda is a member of the directors of the Fashion Club Mexico, and is part of the designing section of the national dress industry. She works together with Kadenza developing furniture for hotels nationally and internationally. She also is a consultant for works taking place in indigenous communities in Mexico. Her latest project is called “Les Origines” which is a collection AbOUT the origin of civilization, working together with the National Museum Association of Paris.

Globalize Mexican Culture

With a very precise approach employers say that they want to globalize Mexican designs and make collections for many different countries. For example, currently collaborate in Spain with Aldeasa in bullfighting and flamenco-themed airport shops and prepare a collection to South America.

Respect to the stores they have two in Mexico City, one in Miami and one in Madrid, having presence in the English Court of Spain.

The company collections are inspired in the pre-Hispanic Mexico, traditions, history and nature and a collection of Mexican painters: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Luis Cuevas, Rafael Cauduro, David Correa, and Heriberto Juárez, among others.

The success of the company lies in the deployment of color that comes from the cultural heritage, as well as in the search for new generations by rescuing the roots both in the country and abroad.

Catalogue

The 2010 catalogue contains many products such as : bags , long scarves , shawls , ties , jewellery , eyewear , home interiors , scarves , other , garments , shoes , carteras and Bicentennial.

Bicentennial Ties: the limited edition "Bicentennial Angel" is a collection that was created just for the commemoration of the independence bicentennial and revolution centennial of Mexico. It includes images and names of the heroes that gave Mexico his independence. Is in many colors such as red , blue , yellow and pink.

Bags: Tha collection of bags that Pineda and Covalin are presenting are based in Prehispanic names such as Kabah , Ixchel , Teotihuacan , Tajin and Chaak. This bags are made of leather and silk . The colors and designs gave this bags the feeling of adventure that only the owner can feel when he visit Mexcico.

Eyewear: Pineda Covalin doesn't sell only sunglasses and fashion eyewear. They care about health and comfort to , for that people that requires to use and ophthalmic glasses they have designed a complete collection that includes rectangular , irregular , oval and square glasses.

Shoes : There are two big collections , men and women. In the men's one all the shoes are made of leather. But the woman shoes are divided in Swedish , Calado , Buckles , Rope Sandal , Closed , Moño and Tiras.

Bicentennial Collection

The fashion brand Pineda Covalín presented a special collection for the Bicentennial in the Estate of San Antonio, Comala, Colima. Here there were presented truly Mexican inspirations that evoke to the celebration of the Bicentennial. From May 21 to 23 the Estate of San Antonio in Comala, became the headquarters for the presentation of the collection autumn - winter of Pineda Covalín that inspires itself by the feasts of the Centenary and the Bicentennial. The designs that they presented are inspired in: Mexican toys, pre-Hispanic instruments, the map of the bicentennial, Tehuantepec, the Centenary of the Revolution, decorated mud pottery and the Bicentennial itself.

This collection is composed by 32 clothe changes that are inspired in the gown of the first decade of the 19th and 20th century. The collection counts with empire style dresses, short skirts, dresses to the waist, trousers, skirts, blouses, coats, percheras and sacks where the silk recreates movements that simulate the course of life. Textiles as gasas, chiffón and jacquard made out of silk, satín, crepes of wool, casimires, piqué of cotton, velvet and corduroy were used to make this collection complemented by the handcrafted jeweler's shop of Marcia Rodríguez's silver; portfolios of leather with application of silk in it and Brantano's footwear, brand of Mexican footwear founded 25 years ago, with presence in the principal cities of the country. The colors of the season are the black, silver, purple, red, blue, coffee and beige. The Estate of San Antonio appears in the world of tourism formally and announces through the event its attractions for the national and international tourism. The estate that is found at the foot of Colima's Volcano, is located at less than two hours of the International Airport of mManzanillo and at 2 hours and a half of the city of Guadalajara, while Colima is only 30 minutes of distance.

Xico

Xico is the latest and most famous creation by Pineda Covalin, it is a figure of a xoloitzcuintle, a native Mexican dog which was venerated as a god by Aztecs and other Mexican cultures. The name Xico has the same origin as Mexico's name and it comes from the Aztec mythology which guided it's master's soul and helped him to overcome obstacles to reach his final destination.

This figure created by Pineda Covalin is shown in art museums in several places outside Mexico such as Cuba and Shanghai, sharing expositions with pieces of famous artists like Auguste Rodin, Rabarama, Pierre Matt and the Chinese Zeng Chenggang.

Fashion Shows

The last Fashion Shows that Pineda Covalin presented , Summer Spring Collection 2009 and 2010 , have both started with a traditional and beautiful Aztec Dance with real antique instruments. After a 15 minutes dance the announcer said that the presentation is about to begin . They began with some electronic music and then , when the models walked they changed the music into Mexican traditional songs.

References

www.luxuryavenue.com/boutiques/pineda_covalin.php www.univision.com/content/content.jhtml?cid. www.pinedacovalinmiami.com www.cristinapineda.com/...pineda/pineda-covalin http://www.pinedacovalin.com/