THE BRAND
Isleñas is a footwear and accessories brand based and designed in Puerto Rico and manufactured in Puerto Rico and Latin America. Launching with espadrilles in 2019, we have simple goals: look good, feel good, do good.
THE FOUNDER
Karla López Rivera is an industrial designer with 10+ years of experience in the footwear field, she moved from New York back to Puerto Rico in 2018 upon receiving a grant to start Isleñas. Karla has a BFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters in Footwear Design from Polimoda in Florence, IT. She is the grand-daughter of a Puerto Rican seamstress and because of her upbringing, she believes modernizing the sewing industry with slow fashion practices can be a tool that creates a positive impact in Puerto Rico. You can see more of Karla's recent work here.
OUR MISSION
is to revive the local needle industry with conscientious manufacturing practices. Isleñas is actively building a slow fashion infrastructure in Puerto Rico through partnerships and community.
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- Our office is our factory! Our local manufacturing is made-to-order and/or small batch production.
- We train our team members at Isleñas from scratch and support their growth in the industry.
- Isleñas is co-founder of Modo Consciente, a collective of Puerto Rican designers championing sustainable design through events and education.
Community
Non- profit and educational organizations we've collaborated with:
- Centro Sor Isolina Ferré
- Mumas Renaciendo
- Connecting Paths
- Escuela Arquitectura Universidad de Puerto Rico Fablab
- Universidad Ana G Mendez Fablab
- Universidad Sagrado Corazón
- Bernardy Studio
Accelerators and business programs alumni:
- Pre 18
- Paralell 18
- Causa Local + Kiva
- Guayacán Foundation, EnterPRize
OUR PRODUCT
If we could define it in three words: comfort, color, identity. We aim to always merge interesting details, proportions, and textures with comfort features.
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Color
In good representation of our cultural values, our styles will always be colorful and our approach bright and warm. Wherever you are from, if you connect with our styles, colors, story and/or mission, welcome to the Isleñas fam :)
Comfort
We use a generous memory foam in all of our insoles. Sourced from the US with antimicrobial properties, this insole provides sneaker-level comfort.
Identity
At Isleñas we don't follow the traditional fashion calendar or the latest trends. We believe in creating an identifiable style that tells a story and hope to become a staple in your own personal and unique style.
Responsibility
Always learning how to make our practices better for people and planet. We will keep you udated with small and big changes as we are able to apply them.
- Small batch productions and made- to-order strategy is meant to minimize waste and only use the resources required by the demand.
- Scraps are donated or upcycled for smaller objects like our dog collars, belts, and keychains.
- Leathers are a secondary product to the meat industry.
- We are constantly learning about and sourcing new material. Including leather alternative and natural fibers. Recently adding Hemp Canvas to our selection.
- Our studio and team's skills have been a resource for testing C-Combinator's seaweed based alternative leather.
- Our studio is VOC free. We use only water-based glues.
- Isleñas packaging includes a dust bag only. We eliminated the shoe box (unless shipping to a major retailer).
- Isleñas repair program aims to extend their lifespan as much as possible.
- All orders are treated with a non-toxic water and dirt repellent so shoes are minty for longer.
- We travel to meet our manufacturing partners in person to make sure we align in values.
Our Manufacturing
As we diversify our offering beyond espadrilles we aim to both grow our slow fashion infrastructure in Puerto Rico and continue partnering with factories in Latin America.
Currently (2024) all of our espadrilles (shoes with jute sole) and small goods are designed and made in Puerto Rico. Espadrilles are our local specialty.
All of our rubber(only) sole shoes are designed and prototyped in Puerto Rico by the founder and creative lead and made in Colombia.
We meet our factories in person, select them according to our values, and visit them once a year.
We will keep updating this information as we keep moving forward with new partnerships and products :)