Desigual collaborates with Esteban Cortázar

Spanish retailer Desigual is collaborating with Columbian designer Esteban Cortázar on a capsule collection for summer 2021.

The sustainable spring/summer capsule, entitled ‘Cada día es para siempre’ (Everyday is forever), is inspired by the designer’s childhood in South Beach, Miami, during the 1990s and will go on sale for Desigual on May 20.

Commenting on his debut collection for the brand, Cortázar, said in a statement: “For my first collaboration with Desigual I wanted to create something really personal, so I took inspiration from my childhood, growing up in the ‘Glory Days’ of South Beach, Miami, in the 90s. Around the News Café, I could see how the creative renaissance that at the time singled out this part of Miami Beach came about. A melting pot of fashion, music, art and Latin heat, with an eclectic mix of incredible people. From artists and eccentric retirees to the buzzing gay culture, drag queens, supermodels, iconic photographers, the nightclub scene and the incredible Latin culture.

“The collaboration celebrates endless summer days, sunset kisses and the spirit of youth and diversity that marked a highly iconic, spontaneous and liberating era as seen through the eyes of a precocious child. A collection inspired by the past, designed for today and to be remembered forever.”

The collection is based on “versatile, timeless and unisex pieces with graphic prints and patchwork,” explains Desigual, and will be a “celebration of joie de vivre, summer and colour”.

In addition, the capsule will also feature a collaboration with artist Valentino Cortázar, father of the designer, whose piece ‘El Beso’, a graphic expression of love through brushstrokes in pure colours created in Miami during this period, is the centrepiece of much of the collection.

Other pieces feature a photographic patchwork of images taken by the iconic Andy Sweet in South Beach during the 70s.

Desigual x Esteban Cortázar launches on May 20.