Behind the Seams
Agua Bendita x Maisonette
Here comes the sun! Maisonette and the cult favorite swim brand Agua Bendita have joined forces on an adorable and exclusive collection for littles, with a few mommy and me styles thrown in for good measure. To celebrate, we caught up with co-founder Catalina Alvarez on running a growing business, the inspiration behind the collection and how their designs empower the women of Colombia.
Tell us a bit about how Agua Bendita came to be and how it has grown?
Agua Bendita was created in 2003, when Mariana and I were just two Fashion Design students in Medellin. After visiting a clothing factory, we asked to keep a bag of remnants of fabric; what was essentially unwanted scraps to us was a box full of possibilities. Using our grandmother’s sewing machine we turned the scraps into bathing suits which we sold to our friends and family. It was almost a game at first but, little by little, it turned into a business. And so we poured our lives into Agua Bendita. Today, our main line is present in over fifty countries around the world. This includes thirty stores nation-wide −which makes us a leading brand in Colombia. As a result of our desire to introduce our label to luxury retailers, in 2018 we launched Agua by Agua Bendita together with Sí Collective. At the heart of Agua by Agua Bendita lies our work with female artisans. This has been essential to our company since its inception and it has become even more central to Agua by Agua Bendita.
How do your designs reflect the Colombian culture?
When Mariana and I began Agua Bendita we did everything ourselves and we quickly understood that we needed helping hands, in the most literal sense. Through our mothers, who worked with rural and underprivileged communities bordering our hometown of Medellín. We found that many of the women they worked with were not only unemployed but also could not leave their homes as they had to take care of their families. We soon discovered that these women were also immensely talented because they had inherited the tradition of hand-sewing from their grandparents. So they became our helping hands. Today, these women represent our AB Hearts program, which is comprised of women from different communities in Antioquia. To this day, the women continue to work from home so they can look after their children, and provide them with the care and education they need to thrive. Hopefully, also passing down their knowledge and traditions. In this sense, Colombian culture is not only present in our designs’ colourful prints, but also in the craftsmanship behind each piece.
Agua Bendita was created in 2003, when Mariana and I were just two Fashion Design students in Medellin. After visiting a clothing factory, we asked to keep a bag of remnants of fabric; what was essentially unwanted scraps to us was a box full of possibilities. Using our grandmother’s sewing machine we turned the scraps into bathing suits which we sold to our friends and family. It was almost a game at first but, little by little, it turned into a business. And so we poured our lives into Agua Bendita. Today, our main line is present in over fifty countries around the world. This includes thirty stores nation-wide −which makes us a leading brand in Colombia. As a result of our desire to introduce our label to luxury retailers, in 2018 we launched Agua by Agua Bendita together with Sí Collective. At the heart of Agua by Agua Bendita lies our work with female artisans. This has been essential to our company since its inception and it has become even more central to Agua by Agua Bendita.
How do your designs reflect the Colombian culture?
When Mariana and I began Agua Bendita we did everything ourselves and we quickly understood that we needed helping hands, in the most literal sense. Through our mothers, who worked with rural and underprivileged communities bordering our hometown of Medellín. We found that many of the women they worked with were not only unemployed but also could not leave their homes as they had to take care of their families. We soon discovered that these women were also immensely talented because they had inherited the tradition of hand-sewing from their grandparents. So they became our helping hands. Today, these women represent our AB Hearts program, which is comprised of women from different communities in Antioquia. To this day, the women continue to work from home so they can look after their children, and provide them with the care and education they need to thrive. Hopefully, also passing down their knowledge and traditions. In this sense, Colombian culture is not only present in our designs’ colourful prints, but also in the craftsmanship behind each piece.
How does it feel to be a company that empowers women and provides jobs for hundreds of female artisans?
This is our greatest challenge and, at the same time, the most gratifying part of what we do. We don't wish to be the designers of Agua Bendita, we want to be two women who created a brand −now a luxury label− that reflects the talent of Colombian women and introduces their artisan work to the world. We don’t work day in and day out for our own success; our true reward is striving for the success of these two labels which honour our country and display the talent and exuberance that it has to offer. Each one of our designs represents the essence of Colombia.
And how did the collaboration with Maisonette come to be?
Mariana and I are both mothers and creating a collection our children could wear felt completely natural. When you work with these bathing suits and dresses everyday and see their beauty and detail, it naturally makes you wish your kids could wear them as well. As a mother, I know how wonderful it feels when you see a part of yourself reflected in your children, and what better way than through matching bathing suits and dresses? The same thing happens to many women who wear and love Agua: they want to dress their kids just like them. So why not make it possible for them? And finding a platform like Maisonette, with which we identify so much, was the perfect excuse to finally take that step and launch this line. As is the case with Agua Bendita, Maisonette was founded by two strong working mothers who, like us, are also proud to be Latin American. We identify with the values behind Maisonette and believe they are perfectly aligned with our own. Like Agua by Agua Bendita, Maisonette advocates for the added value of handmade and consciously crafted products.
Can you tell us a bit about the prints and styles features in this exclusive collection? What was the inspiration behind the prints?
The Colombian universe is always at the center of our inspiration, from García Márquez to the botanical expeditions of past centuries. We live in an exotic and exuberant country with beautiful and truly diverse fauna and flora. We wake up everyday in a place where you can listen to the songs of birds, to the sound of waterfalls and the soft blowing breeze. We are lucky enough to have all that magic as part of our ordinary lives. And that is what we want to introduce to the world through our botanic, floral and tropical prints, always staying true to the brand’s DNA.
This is our greatest challenge and, at the same time, the most gratifying part of what we do. We don't wish to be the designers of Agua Bendita, we want to be two women who created a brand −now a luxury label− that reflects the talent of Colombian women and introduces their artisan work to the world. We don’t work day in and day out for our own success; our true reward is striving for the success of these two labels which honour our country and display the talent and exuberance that it has to offer. Each one of our designs represents the essence of Colombia.
And how did the collaboration with Maisonette come to be?
Mariana and I are both mothers and creating a collection our children could wear felt completely natural. When you work with these bathing suits and dresses everyday and see their beauty and detail, it naturally makes you wish your kids could wear them as well. As a mother, I know how wonderful it feels when you see a part of yourself reflected in your children, and what better way than through matching bathing suits and dresses? The same thing happens to many women who wear and love Agua: they want to dress their kids just like them. So why not make it possible for them? And finding a platform like Maisonette, with which we identify so much, was the perfect excuse to finally take that step and launch this line. As is the case with Agua Bendita, Maisonette was founded by two strong working mothers who, like us, are also proud to be Latin American. We identify with the values behind Maisonette and believe they are perfectly aligned with our own. Like Agua by Agua Bendita, Maisonette advocates for the added value of handmade and consciously crafted products.
Can you tell us a bit about the prints and styles features in this exclusive collection? What was the inspiration behind the prints?
The Colombian universe is always at the center of our inspiration, from García Márquez to the botanical expeditions of past centuries. We live in an exotic and exuberant country with beautiful and truly diverse fauna and flora. We wake up everyday in a place where you can listen to the songs of birds, to the sound of waterfalls and the soft blowing breeze. We are lucky enough to have all that magic as part of our ordinary lives. And that is what we want to introduce to the world through our botanic, floral and tropical prints, always staying true to the brand’s DNA.
Can you speak to the colors and fabrics used?
We have a really great pallette, very balanced. For example, there’s the slightly more ornate antique stamps print −a tribute to all the countries that once formed the Gran Colombia during colonial times. Then we have the dragonfly print over white or yellow; it’s more intense, yet sober. And, finally, the acuarela and riviera prints in a classic combination of white and blue. As for the fabrics, the dresses are all made of linen, a natural fiber; using organic materials is very important for us. For the bathing suits we use recycled plastic. It’s essential for us to help create environmental awareness, and what better way to do it than in a collection made for kids; this way they can start to understand from an early age the importance of using recycled garments.
What are you most excited about with this collection?
Just looking at the campaign photos and, most of all, seeing pictures of other mothers in their matching outfits with their kids has been amazing. It’s also very exciting to see our own children wearing them! We are excited to dress all these beautiful kids around the world and we hope this helps instill in them the importance of using recycled materials. Also, we couldn't be happier about seeing our Agua line in Maisonette, a retailer we love and where we shop all the time. That our own designs are now available there is fantastic!
We have a really great pallette, very balanced. For example, there’s the slightly more ornate antique stamps print −a tribute to all the countries that once formed the Gran Colombia during colonial times. Then we have the dragonfly print over white or yellow; it’s more intense, yet sober. And, finally, the acuarela and riviera prints in a classic combination of white and blue. As for the fabrics, the dresses are all made of linen, a natural fiber; using organic materials is very important for us. For the bathing suits we use recycled plastic. It’s essential for us to help create environmental awareness, and what better way to do it than in a collection made for kids; this way they can start to understand from an early age the importance of using recycled garments.
What are you most excited about with this collection?
Just looking at the campaign photos and, most of all, seeing pictures of other mothers in their matching outfits with their kids has been amazing. It’s also very exciting to see our own children wearing them! We are excited to dress all these beautiful kids around the world and we hope this helps instill in them the importance of using recycled materials. Also, we couldn't be happier about seeing our Agua line in Maisonette, a retailer we love and where we shop all the time. That our own designs are now available there is fantastic!