Agua Bendita

God bless them wonderful designers Catalina Álvarez and Mariana Hinestroza! The geniuses of Agua Bendita (in translation, “Holy water”) succeeded in leaving the entire audience breathless and craving for a tan after their presentation… Definitely the highlight of the Colombia Fashion Week 2011, the swimsuit parade was an absolute manifestation of extravaganza and a veritable explosion of color. The brand put on a hell of a show once more, managing to raise the temperature of the room by quite a few degrees! Aztec patterns, neon leopard prints, beads and feathers, summer boots, all showcased by the wildest amazon goddesses; who could ask for more?

A brief history of Agua Bendita and how the international swimwear madness began: two friends, one afternoon of boredom, a huge pile of cloth leftovers and patches, and an acute shortage of cute bathing suits in the shops of Medellin, Colombia. At that time, Carolina and Mariana were colleagues in the Fashion Design section at the Colegiatura Colombiana University Institution; hence, when they came up with the idea of creating a line of bathing suits, they weren’t exactly clueless… On the contrary, they took the project very seriously and proved to be extremely focused from the beginning. They set out to make the absolute most of the patches they had, so they decided to make use of all special embellishments they could find in order to add a playful twist to the items. Luckily, as we all know, Latin American countries do not lack colorful fabrics, exquisite patterns and prints, beads, sequins and other decorations. Consequently, the result was a collection more colorful, happy, funky and fresh than all others available on the local market. And it made quite an impact on the buyers too… In less than one day, all items designed by Carolina and Mariana were sold out! And here we are, 7 years after their breakthrough, applauding frantically at the rainbow-covered runway, desperately wishing to get our hands on one of those fabulous swimsuits.

It’s hard to describe the collection as a whole as each piece was truly unique. All items are handmade, crafted with extreme care and passion, embroidered with the finest threads and adorned with the best quality beads. The fabrics used are not only of the highest level of refinery, but also provide absolute comfort and sustenance. All this, combined with the flashy colors and designs, result in a fabulous collection. Aside from the fantastic swimsuits, which come in absolutely all shapes and sizes, the designers exhibited a few pieces of beachwear as well. Maxi dresses in hypnotic prints, fine tunics and wondrous harem pants were paired up with funky, oversized totes and backpacks; the designers thought it all through! Aside from these, the accessories’ line just as impressive as the swimsuits’ one… All shapes and colors of necklaces, extra-long earrings, feathers, cool hats and sexy summer boots complete the ensembles.

see the whole collection here

Without further ado, we invite you to feast your eyes on the collection itself.