EXCLUSIVE: Fashionkind Opens First Retail Location
Ethical e-tailer Fashionkind is headed to Mexico, celebrating its first physical retail location.
Located about 10 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, the luxury retailer will showcase a smattering of artisan wares and locally sourced fashion designs — and for the first time men’s and children’s clothes are in the mix. The ethical retailer was formally cofounded by Nina Farran and Sophia Bush in 2019, though a blog of the same name existed years earlier.
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In homage to more conscious shopping, customers can browse goods by category (clothing, jewelry and the like) or opt to shop by impact, in what Fashionkind has categorized as value — including artisan craft, women’s empowerment and zero waste — or region. Additionally, every item in the store has a QR code sharing info and the underlying sustainability credentials per Fashionkind’s “Kind Code” vetting criteria.
“Aesthetically, we wanted to mimic the sense of discovery we feel when we meet designers whose wares can’t be found elsewhere,” Farran told WWD. “And we wanted to create a destination for anyone visiting the area, which meant introducing two new categories to Fashionkind: men’s and children’s.”
Fashionkind’s opening assortment highlights 17 up-and-coming Latin American designers in the store.
“Some of these are from our existing Fashionkind family, such as Francesca Miranda, Magnetic Midnight and Verdi,” added cofounder Sophia Bush. “Some are new designers in our Fashionkind family that we partnered with here in Mexico, such as Denisse Kuri, Jonne Amaya and Yakampot. And some are new designers in our Fashionkind family that we have brought onto the platform from other LatAm countries, such as Eugenia Fernandez and Susana Vega.”
The 744-square-foot stand-alone store at the Auberge-owned luxury resort Susurros Del Corazón in Punta De Mita, Mexico, features furniture, from clothing racks to chandeliers, that was all made in Mexico.
“The grand statement piece of our store — the stunning chandelier — was built in a north-Central Mexico workshop,” shared Bush. “There, a group of female artisans handcrafted the piece from raw cotton and textile that would have otherwise gone to waste, a process that took 21 days to complete. Directly under the chandelier is a large center table, which was crafted by a group of three artisans outside of Tulum. The base is solid jabin [a specialty type of hardwood] and cedar wood that were sourced locally from the Yucatán region and were certified by the National Forestry Commission of Mexico. Just like each piece you find on Fashionkind.com, everything in the store has a story, from product to racks to furniture, and beyond.”
For Fashionkind, the success is measured in “taking the guesswork out of conscious purchasing,” and positive impact on the local economy, per the cofounders.
