Mercedes Castillo: The Woman Who Shaped Me
In this Stand With Her series, we ask the designers who’ve contributed to our exclusive capsule collection to share the female role models who have inspired, shaped and motivated them. Here, Mercedes Castillo—founder and creative director of her eponymous shoe brand—discusses the huge impact her mother’s creative spirit has had on her outlook.
Mercedes Castillo: The Woman Who Shaped Me
In this Stand With Her series, we ask the designers who’ve contributed to our exclusive capsule collection to share the female role models who have inspired, shaped and motivated them. Here, Mercedes Castillo—founder and creative director of her eponymous shoe brand—discusses the huge impact her mother’s creative spirit has had on her outlook.
Mercedes Castillo: The Woman Who Shaped Me
In this Stand With Her series, we ask the designers who’ve contributed to our exclusive capsule collection to share the female role models who have inspired, shaped and motivated them. Here, Mercedes Castillo—founder and creative director of her eponymous shoe brand—discusses the huge impact her mother’s creative spirit has had on her outlook
I am around ten years old, busy playing with my younger siblings in the Royal Botanical Gardens near our home. My mother keeps an eye on us from a bench close by, while she makes charcoal sketches of her surroundings. She quietly renders the sculptures and the fountains in the pond where we are feeding the goldfish excitedly…
My mom has a modern outlook. She is naturally talented and creatively driven. She never pursued a formal arts career, but simply applied her vision and aesthetic sensibility to everything around her—how she dressed, how she clothed us children, our home, her paintings and her eager appreciation of art and fashion.
My mom has a modern outlook. She is naturally talented and creatively driven. She never pursued a formal arts career, but simply applied her vision and aesthetic sensibility to everything around her—how she dressed, how she clothed us children, our home, her paintings and her eager appreciation of art and fashion.
My mom has a modern outlook. She is naturally talented and creatively driven. She never pursued a formal arts career, but simply applied her vision and aesthetic sensibility to everything around her—how she dressed, how she clothed us children, our home, her paintings and her eager appreciation of art and fashion.
Her personal style is somewhat classic, yet intuitive, relaxed and always elegant. Observing her closely, I notice the importance of precise fit, I learn about different types of fabrics and come to appreciate the virtue of design and impeccable tailoring. I notice how she carefully turns clothing inside out to understand its underlying structure, just the way a “maker” does.
While my mother’s friends enjoy their afternoons at the country club, she spends her hours visiting the saddler to attach brass studs to the sandals that she is designing. She works with a local artisan, crafting espadrilles with a swatch of silk, weaving unique basket shapes and making stylish sun hats. Her creativity sparks my fascination.
While my mother’s friends enjoy their afternoons at the country club, she spends her hours visiting the saddler to attach brass studs to the sandals that she is designing. She works with a local artisan, crafting espadrilles with a swatch of silk, weaving unique basket shapes and making stylish sun hats. Her creativity sparks my fascination.
While my mother’s friends enjoy their afternoons at the country club, she spends her hours visiting the saddler to attach brass studs to the sandals that she is designing. She works with a local artisan, crafting espadrilles with a swatch of silk, weaving unique basket shapes and making stylish sun hats. Her creativity sparks my fascination.
As years pass, I realize how profoundly my mother’s creativity has shaped me. But there is something more powerful and infectious. It’s her positive energy and remarkable optimism that empowers her to effortlessly transform the seemingly ordinary into something that is stylish, special and memorable.
We are now sitting with the Mediterranean stretched out before us, enjoying a late afternoon vermouth together. Years have passed and I reflect warmly on the profound influence that she has had on me. I sense complete joy sharing my ideas and designs with her that in so many ways are the creation of our intuitive dialogue and wondrous mother-daughter collaboration.
Stand With Her
Mercedes Castillo exclusives
Just in time for summer, two colorful raffia Mercedes Castillo styles are part of our exclusive Stand With Her capsule collection. The best part is that with each purchase 20% of the proceeds supports cause partners at the forefront of the female empowerment movement.
Stand With Her
Mercedes Castillo exclusives
Just in time for summer, two colorful raffia Mercedes Castillo styles are part of our exclusive Stand With Her capsule collection. The best part is that with each purchase 20% of the proceeds supports cause partners at the forefront of the female empowerment movement.
Stand With Her
Mercedes Castillo exclusives
Just in time for summer, two colorful raffia Mercedes Castillo styles are part of our exclusive Stand With Her capsule collection. The best part is that with each purchase 20% of the proceeds supports cause partners at the forefront of the female empowerment movement.
