Today we’d like to introduce you to Leila Autrique.
Leila, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Autrique brand is a Mexican brand born in Italy during the pandemic. We initially focused on tailoring but quickly evolved into an adaptable brand with designs accessible for any need or disability. Inspired by Japanese silhouettes, AB is distinguished by its commitment to superior quality and 100% Mexican craftsmanship.
To reduce waste, we work with limited stock, creating unique and exclusive pieces and custom-made products for our customers. Inclusion is the fundamental value of our brand, and to achieve it, we focus on various aspects. First and foremost, we care about the comfort of their AB family, offering a color palette specially designed for people with color blindness. Additionally, they use hypoallergenic fabrics to ensure maximum comfort and prevent allergic reactions.
Every day, we strive to make their garments more inclusive and accessible, ensuring that the finishes are practical and functional for people with different levels of mobility. Our goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can enjoy fashion and feel included in every aspect of the dressing experience.
Fashion is non-verbal communication, a way to express oneself. Fashion has no barriers; it is made for everyone.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting your own business is never a smooth road, especially in the fashion industry.
One of the things I still struggle with the most is positioning your brand nationally and internationally so customers trust your business and become clients. Also, having a very small group of workers brings challenges with timing, production, and finishing tasks, as well as being an entrepreneur, you work with budgets and waves to find a way to work around them to be able to produce new collections and move stock quickly.
I don’t think people open up about how hard it is to start a business and live off of it, you have to learn how to be the accountant, the designer, the social media manager, and the CEO. It’s a long and hard process but I truly believe that if you have a mission and if your business is unique and solving a problem, it’s just about time until you skyrocket.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have a degree in fashion design and accessories and I decided to focus my career and thesis on adaptive fashion, this is fashion that accommodates people with disabilities because this industry does not take into account people who have any type of struggles.
What I look forward to and am working on is to fusion both worlds and create a fashion-forward brand that also adapts to people who have a disability no matter if it is blindness, autism, or paralysis, fashion should not exclude people from wearing it.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
That hard work and perseverance pay off, and that we should all take advantage of time and work on what passions us.
You never know if this is your last day, so work on being a good person, making changes, and never regretting a thing in your life.
Pricing:
- High-quality fashion is not necessarily super expensive.
- Work of quality and not quantity.
- The quality or luxurious items can start at $200
Contact Info:
- Website: www.autriquebrand.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autrique.brand/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autriquebrand
Image Credits
David Lobo Models: Andrea Zuckerman, Michelle Ceniceros, and Ximena Ceniceros
