Many finalists give back to the local community by working with artisans. Johanna Ortiz, who was nominated for designer of the year, built an atelier in her hometown, Cali, Colombia, where 78 per cent of the workforce is female, offering training programmes and upskilling opportunities to reach couture-level seamstress and embroidery skills through Escuela Johanna Ortiz. “Through fashion, we empower our people, providing high-quality jobs and offering training. Our mission is to improve their quality of life and give them the tools to be personally empowered and find new life opportunities both inside and outside of Johanna Ortiz. To date, 110 people have benefited from the program, 94 per cent comprised of vulnerable women, mostly victims of violence.
Furthermore, we collaborate with over 23 local artisan communities in Colombia to provide economic independence to more than 260 women artisans,” she says.
Many of the finalists and jury members — who were staying in the same two hotels — became friends over the three-day trip, mingling at the pool and restaurants and rooting for each other on the awards day. “Everyone’s so happy and supportive, so it’s nice to be part of something so inclusive,” sustainability activist Marina Testino, who was nominated for Influencer of the Year, tells Vogue Business by the beach at the Westin Hotel.
“[The Latin American community] can be really separate sometimes, but when you give us the space and opportunity to really form connections with networking and bring each other up, it opens up this feeling of community,” adds LA-based Mexican model Valentine, who was nominated for Model of the Year.
For Etro, the sense of unity is key to promoting Latin American talent globally. “Being Latin American in Europe, I found it was an asset. We have a different energy,” she says. “We have to celebrate the diversity of Latin America because there’s a lot of voices that could use some help to be amplified.”
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