Carolina López Cruz - CALA DE LA CRUZ

Driven to create her own resort wear brand by a true and vivid passion for textiles, Carolina López Cruz is the force behind Cala de la Cruz, of which she is both founder and creative director. Of Colombian origins, Carolina studied Textile Design in the US at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her focus on textile printing brought her into more direct contact with fashion leading her to continue her studies in fashion design in Italy, at Milan’s Marangoni Institute. In 2018, in partnership with her mother Liliana Cruz, Carolina gave wings to her project with her free-spirited, sustainable, mood lifting swimwear and resort wear collections which quickly conquered major retailers, from the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue to Anthropologie and Galeries Lafayette Paris. Infused with the spirit of Colombia, Carolina knew she wanted the brand’s aesthetic to go beyond the standard imprint of Latin America. The world “cala” in Spanish defines a small, rounded bay, where the sun calmly sets. Cala de la Cruz is Carolina’s vision of a warm place that promises a festive and joyful time. Merging her culture, skills, and studies she brough her brand to life creating a line of distinctive pieces which are simple but bold, fun but elegant, playful yet seductive, combining an intuitive sense of color and dynamicity in a mesmerizing mélange which is both surprising and enchanting.
Behind the designs and patterns is the beauty of the everyday: merging timeless, often retro silhouettes, with enduring elevated graphic botanicals, geometrics, and iconic prints in vibrant combinations they capture the magic of a rich and tropical land where nature abounds in a lush and glorious presence. Through Cala de la Cruz, Carolina reflects and conveys the cheerful and dynamic Latin personality in a way that sets the label apart in Latin design. And it’s not just about style and beauty, the brand also comes with a conscience: production is made locally in Cali by small family businesses and designed to last a lifetime while a made to order approach avoids overproduction. Only natural or recycled materials are used, including linen, organic cotton, recycled polyamide, Ecovero, Tencel and recycled polyester. Further, the designs are digitally printed saving millions of liters of water every year and reducing toxic waste while packaging is fully recyclable. With its big, colorful, yet simple designs Cal de la Cruz has stepped away from the Latin aesthetic as we know it, bringing its own high-spirited identity in a stylish and powerful manner.