“I AM AN INCA INDIGENOUS PERSON FROM OTAVALO, ECUADOR, WHO GREW UP IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO. TWO COUNTRIES RICH IN TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, COLORS, AND FOLKLORE THAT, WHILE DISTINCT, SHARE MANY SIMILARITIES. BOTH OF MY PARENTS WERE BORN IN OTAVALO, ECUADOR, AND BELONG TO THE INDIGENOUS INCA CULTURE, IN A COMMUNITY THAT IS WELL KNOWN FOR BEING ‘NOMADIC.’ MY MOTHER DEDICATED 20 YEARS OF HER LIFE TO TRAVELING TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WITH A GROUP OF MUSICIANS AND ARTISANS, PROMOTING THEIR CRAFT. WHEN I WAS BORN, SHE SETTLED IN MEXICO AND OPENED A CLOTHING STORE WHERE SHE NOT ONLY PROMOTED ECUADORIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP BUT ALSO THAT OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF MEXICO. I GREW UP LISTENING TO MY MOTHER’S ADVENTURES, AND, AS ALWAYS, SHE PRESSED FORWARD, FIGHTING FOR HER DREAMS. SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY INSPIRATION, AND IT IS THAT PIECE OF MY HEART THAT CONNECTS ME TO ALL THE ROOTS FROM WHICH I COME.

AS A CHILD, I WAS IMMERSED IN MYTHS AND LEGENDS, AS MY GRANDFATHER WAS A SHAMAN. I WAS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY HIS WISDOM. BUT BEYOND HIM, THE WOMEN IN MY FAMILY CARRIED A LEGACY JUST AS POWERFUL. MY GRANDMOTHERS WERE MIDWIVES, GUARDIANS OF LIFE, GUIDING OTHERS THROUGH THE SACRED ACT OF BIRTH WITH THE SAME CARE AND INTUITION THAT SHAPED OUR COMMUNITY. THEIR HANDS NOT ONLY BROUGHT NEW LIFE INTO THE WORLD BUT ALSO WOVE TOGETHER THE FABRIC OF OUR TRADITIONS, PASSING DOWN KNOWLEDGE, STRENGTH, AND AN UNWAVERING SENSE OF BELONGING. THIS DEEP CONNECTION TO WOMANHOOD, TO CREATION, AND TO THE IDEA THAT LIFE ITSELF IS NURTURED WITHIN A COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING I CARRY INTO MY WORK. IT IS REFLECTED IN THE WAY I SEE CRAFTSMANSHIP. NOT JUST AS AN ART FORM, BUT AS A LANGUAGE OF CARE, RESILIENCE, AND SHARED HISTORY.

THANKS TO MY TRADITIONS, MY CURIOSITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM HAS ONLY GROWN OVER THE YEARS. THIS, IN TURN, SPARKED IN ME A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR HANDICRAFTS AND THE BEAUTY THEY CARRY. AND THAT, IN A WAY, MARKED THE BEGINNING OF THE BRAND.”

FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, NEITHAN RUIZ

“I WAS RAISED BY AN INDIGENOUS MOTHER, WHO, IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY, TAUGHT ME TRADITIONS THAT CELEBRATE THE INNUMERABLE PRETEXTS OF LIFE AND DEATH. I WAS SHOWN LOVE AND RESPECT FOR NATURE AND TAUGHT THE VALUE OF WORKING TOGETHER AS A UNITED COMMUNITY. RITUALS PROVIDED THE FRAMEWORK TO LIVE AS A FREE SPIRIT. THAT’S WHY I CHOSE TO DIG INTO THE DIARY OF ALL THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS FROM MY MIX OF CULTURES, REINTERPRETING THEM IN MY OWN WAY.”

BORN IN ECUADOR AND RAISED IN MEXICO, NEITHAN ATTENDED THE ISTITUTO EUROPEO DI DESIGN SCHOOL, WHERE HE BECAME PART OF THE DESIGN TEAM OF PITTI UOMO SUSTAINABLE MENSWEAR AND WORKED ON DEVELOPING HIS OWN BRAND, DOING FREELANCE PROJECTS FOR ITALIAN ARTISTS AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAREER. AFTER GRADUATING IN 2020, HE DEBUTED HIS FIRST COLLECTION DURING MILAN FASHION WEEK. NEITHAN RETURNED TO SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE IN 2021 TO LAUNCH HIS EPONYMOUS LABEL.

NOSTALGIA & ROMANCE

EMBRACING HIS ROOTS, FEMININITY, AND ROMANCE, NEITHAN FOCUSES ON THE DECONSTRUCTION OF TRADITIONAL SILHOUETTES, BLENDING THEM WITH CRAFT TECHNIQUES TO TAKE THE PAST AND GIVE IT A MODERN TWIST. TRADITIONS AND MYTHS ALSO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE COLLECTIONS, CONNECTING WITH PRE-HISPANIC CULTURES. NOSTALGIA AND EMOTION BREATHE LIFE INTO THE SILHOUETTES.

CO-FOUNDER ANGA RUIZ

"SHE WEAVES INTENTION INTO EVERY THREAD OF OUR JOURNEY, GROUNDING OUR VISION IN THE PAST WHILE LIFTING IT INTO THE FUTURE."

GRADUATING WITH HONORS, SUMMA CUM LAUDE, IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND BUSINESS FROM TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, ANGA’S PATH HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTERTWINED WITH PURPOSE. HER THESIS, FOCUSED ON EMPOWERING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, REFLECTS A PROFOUND CONNECTION TO HERITAGE AND HUMANITY. NOW, AS CO-FOUNDER, HER EXPERTISE IN ADMINISTRATION AND HUMAN RELATIONS ANCHORS EVERYTHING WE CREATE. SHE IS THE QUIET ARCHITECT, ENSURING THE DREAM WE ONCE SHARED AS CHILDREN GROWS INTO SOMETHING LASTING. WHERE TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION, AND EVERY DECISION CARRIES INTENTION.

THE UNIQUELY FEMININE AND MYSTIC UNIVERSE OF NEITHAN EMOTION MIXES TRADITION WITH ROMANCE. EACH GARMENT IS A PIECE OF HISTORY, DRAWN FROM OUR MEMORIES, TRADITIONS, EMOTIONS, COMMUNITY, AND NATURE, CARRYING THE KNOWLEDGE PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS THAT HAS MADE US PART OF NOT JUST ONE CULTURE. IT IS A TRIBUTE TO THE PERSON WHO GAVE US LIFE (OUR MOTHER) AND TO ALL THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WORK DAY BY DAY TO PRESERVE THEIR DIVERSITY IN A SOCIETY THAT IS GRADUALLY LOSING THESE TRADITIONS.

THE MAIN INSPIRATION CAME FROM THE CURIOSITY TO EXPLORE OUR ROOTS. THE MUSE OF THIS BRAND WAS A NOMAD, SO THE CLOTHES ARE DESIGNED WITH WOMEN IN MIND IN A NEW WAY, ATTUNED TO HER LIFE. THESE ARE CLOTHES MADE FOR MOVEMENT, HANDCRAFTED WITH MASTERY OF THE OLD WAYS, BRINGING THE INTRICATE DETAILS OF COUTURE INTO EVERYDAY LIFE.

"IT’S ABOUT BLENDING TIMELESS HERITAGE WITH RAW, AUTHENTIC ELEMENTS TO CRAFT SOMETHING NEW AND BOLD."

LOCAL MADE

DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE LOCAL CRAFTSMANSHIP OF LATIN AMERICA, NEITHAN HERBERT BLENDS TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES WITH CONTEMPORARY DESIGN. THE BRAND COLLABORATES CLOSELY WITH ARTISANS FROM VARIOUS COMMUNITIES TO DEVELOP THE MATERIALS USED IN EACH GARMENT, AND MANUFACTURES EVERYTHING LOCALLY IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, INCORPORATING THEIR TIME-HONORED SKILLS INTO EVERY PIECE. NEITHAN HERBERT PRIORITIZES SUSTAINABILITY BY SOURCING MATERIALS LOCALLY, ENSURING FAIR COMPENSATION FOR ARTISANS, AND CREATING LIMITED-RUN COLLECTIONS THAT CELEBRATE HERITAGE. THE BRAND’S COMMITMENT TO PRESERVING AND PROMOTING LOCAL TRADITIONS WHILE EMPOWERING ARTISANS IS AT THE CORE OF ITS MISSION, CREATING FASHION THAT IS BOTH CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT AND ETHICALLY PRODUCED.