Serrano Is The New York-Based Fashion Label That Should Be On Your Radar

Margarita Serrano initially studied Law in Bogotá, Colombia, and graduated as an attorney, but thanks to an epiphany (she had a vision of creating the perfect women’s jacket), and with an existing love for fashion she moved to New York and began another adventure. Here, she interned at fashion companies and bit the bullet with a move to Milan to pursue Fashion studies.

While in Italy she explored tailoring, resulting in a small collection of jackets and this would be the start of her own contemporary womenswear brand with responsibly-made garments at the heart of it.

Anchored by the love of thoughtfully made jackets, her namesake label also offers silk dresses (à la ’90s Kate Moss), oversized shirts, sleek blouses, lace adorned camis and sharp wool coats for fall. Serrano puts time and effort into sourcing the finest textiles, and so, Margarita produces pieces that will last, and can be loved forever.

Felicity Carter: What was your first fashionable memory?

Margarita Serrano: Attending a Chanel show at the Grand Palais in Paris. It was a life changing moment, long before the age of social media, when fashion shows were sort of mysterious private events. I remember this experience touched fibers of my heart that I didn’t know existed. It was beautiful.

FC. How, when, why did you get into the industry?

MS: I went to Law school in Bogotá and graduated as an attorney in 2010. Law school gave me the most wonderful friends and intellectual satisfaction, but right before finishing my studies I realized that I wanted to build a career that combined creativity and commerce, which were my two constant drives. It was then that I decided to get into the fashion industry, starting from zero as an intern for fashion companies in New York, working my way up in the path, then pursuing Fashion Management Masters studies in Milan and finally creating my own brand.

FC: How would you sum up the aesthetic?

MS: SERRANO is an empowering, minimalistic, urban, feminine brand. It embraces minimalism not only within the lines of a ‘less is more’ aesthetic but also as a lifestyle principle: wear lesser, better garments, that are made with fine materials and meant to last forever.

FC: Who is your customer?

MS: The SERRANO woman is smart, stylish and fun. There is no specific age group for the brand, as collections are timeless and versatile in their essence. She prefers day to night styles, as she transitions from work meetings during the day to a fun night out or playtime with her kids.  She can be in New York, Hong Kong, Sydney or any other city with exciting energy – we ship worldwide!

FC: What are the cornerstones of your company?

MS: Creating investment pieces with the finest materials and reaching customers directly with a transparent, direct-to-consumer business model. In this sense, cornerstone one is offering a beautiful high quality product, and two is making it accessible online at an honest price point.

Since I founded the brand in 2014, finding the right textiles and the best manufacturers has been the drive in the creation of collections. I have traveled extensively in search for manufacturers with expertise in each specific product and have visited some of the most amazing apparel manufacturers in Romania, Italy, Morocco, Colombia and China. Having the ability to make these pieces and then delivering to the doors of women around the world is fascinating.

FC: What’s the secret to offering the perfect leather jacket?

MS: The secret has three ingredients. The first is the quality of the leather: it cannot be too heavy nor too light and the body must be sharp but not rigid, it requires a perfect balance. The second is the expertise of the manufacturer: our leather jacket partner is based in New Delhi and they have been making leather garments for some of the top luxury brands for many years – we are honored to work with them. And the third is some great music! The leather jacket has this edgy, alternative musical vibe that I feel very connected to, both while designing it and wearing it.

FC: Currently, which is your favorite piece and how do you wear it?

MS: The leather jacket! it is my all year round piece. I love wearing it in the spring with slip dresses and slightly oversized with turtlenecks underneath during the fall and winter.

FC: What are the long term goals for your company?

MS: In a broad sense, growing and consolidating our e-commerce business with the best technology available to offer a seamless experience to customers. I also dream of having two flagship spaces with a true brand lifestyle experience: offering art, music and fashion all in one space. And a more specific goal is to launch and grow the brand in the Chinese market. We are actually taking a first step towards this as we are introducing SERRANO in China with TMALL Global (Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform) very soon!

See the collection on www.serranostore.com.