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On Saturday, April 4, many of the hip and stylish residents of Santiago flocked to the Feria de Diseño Surreal to check out some of the least-known and most talented clothing designers in town. Under the restaurant “Santeria,” on Chucre Manzur in Bellavista, designers set up tables to sell their homemade clothing, accessories, jewelry and housewares. Fashionable insiders and potential customers perused the unique assortment of hand-crafted goods and talked with their creators.


Photo by Beth Costigan

The first thing one noticed was the prevalent use of color. Chileans are not afraid of bright reds and greens, neon hues and clashing patterns and the “Weke” table was no exception. Designer Solange Vásquez V. had laid out her assortment of colorful hand knit jewelry, including floral necklaces, Art-Deco earrings and knit ball-shaped accessories.

Photo by Beth Costigan

Moving down the rows of the 15-20 designers' tables was “Cocodrilo Bazar,” whose quirky, three-dimensional felt figurine key chains were happy and eye-catching. The table also housed bright, floral and neon patterned bags and cases, as well as felt earrings and charms.

Melissa Catalan’s “Atomica” had a wide selection of plastic sunglasses, as well as a series of large, decorative computer bags. Hanging on a nearby tree rack were printed shoulder bags big enough to use for school books or a weekend adventure.

At “Urbn Design,” racks of colorful clothing were being delicately handled. Knitted shrugs, brightly mismatched shirts and excessively designed dresses were on display, as well as printed jackets and pleather leggings.

The “Chits Accesarios” table displayed more fabric jewelry and sewn accessories. Accompanying the woolen bracelets and necklaces were beaded clusters of earrings and bracelets, all on delicate wire chains.

Yasna Farías Silva of “Vestige” accessories also was selling multi-stranded beaded bracelets. Necklaces were crocheted, adorned with shells, beaded or made with brightly colored plastic.

All in all, attitudes were positive as young men and women tried on and sampled the stylish goods, garments and accessories. Though the fair encompassed a mere slice of the products being created by independent designers in Chile, thanks to the support of fellow Chilean fashionistas, these designers now have a real shot at success right here in Santiago.

Weke email: Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla
Cocodrilo Bazar: www.cocodrilobazar.tk
Atomica: www.flickr.com/photos/atomikcool
Urba Design: www.myspace.com/urba_design
Chits Accesarios: www.flickr.com/chitstyle
Vestige: www.vestige.cl

Celina is always looking for new inspiration, be it in art classrooms at UCLA or the streets of Santiago. Her passion for fashion, art, music and journalism led her to Revolver where she is slowly learning the ropes. Born in Michigan, Celina considers herself a Californian girl at heart as she spent her youth in the beautiful sunny town of Hermosa Beach. After two years at UCLA, Celina decided to put all those advanced Spanish classes to use and study for six months at the University of Chile. She has since developed a passion for sopaipillas, reggaton and agua con gas, but she still dreams of the day she'll be reunited with her amazing family and supportive friends from home. She receives monthly packages of magazines, Cheez-its, and mix CDs from said supporters and has no idea how lucky she is.