COURANT

Featured Note

The Feminine
FORM

By Jenny Starr Perez
Photography by Maria Galli

FOUR WOMEN DESIGNERS ARE SHAPING MIAMI FASHION THROUGH ART, IDENTITY, AND INNOVATION.

Miami’s fashion scene has long been defined by its bold colors, cultural mix, and tropical ease. But for the city’s most compelling independent designers, clothes are a language. “Fashion is how we tell our stories without words,” says Sigal Cohen of resortwear label SIGAL. It’s a sentiment echoed by her peers: whether it’s sculptural rope accessories by Lisu Vega, empowering silhouettes by Gussy Lopez, or the tailored fluidity of Valeria Krasavina, each collection carries meaning beyond the fabric. Together, these four women represent the spirit of Miami fashion today—artistic, intentional, and unafraid to stand apart.

PRINTS WITH A SOUL

Sigal Cohen’s art-led resortwear is designed to tell stories through color and craft.

Sigal Cohen has always seen fashion as art—though it took her a few turns to realize she was meant to build a brand around it. Growing up in Venezuela, she filled sketchbooks with ideas and collages from fashion magazines her mother collected. Years later, her career in graphic design gave way to textile design, and eventually, to launching SIGAL, a resortwear label infused with her painterly hand.

Her collections start with watercolors and ink collages she creates herself. She then translates those motifs into garments that are as versatile as they are meaningful. “Every collection is a postcard,” she says, describing her process as wearable storytelling. Miami is her muse, though her inspirations range from Georgia O’Keeffe’s desert paintings to Mediterranean coastlines.

Her latest collection captures the tension between desert heat and coastal ease, where cactus motifs brush against ombré blues. Her favorite piece, sheer voile genie pants printed with watercolor skins, embodies the effortless elegance she envisions. Sustainability is non-negotiable, from eco-conscious fabrics to women-owned production partners.

Cohen admits the greatest challenge is doing it all herself—from design to business. Yet she is proud to have built an internationally recognized label with stockists like Anthropologie and runway presence at Paraiso Swim Week. “Fashion is storytelling without words,” she reflects. And SIGAL speaks volumes.

shopsigal.com

A STRUCTURED APPROACH

Empowering collections built on strength, heritage, and presence is a signature for Gussy Lopez.

For Gussy Lopez, fashion has always been about storytelling. Her early work designing costumes for theater and television taught her how garments could bring characters to life. That realization pushed her to launch her own label, a brand defined by clean lines, thoughtful details, and a focus on empowering women.

She describes her aesthetic in three words: timeless, empowering, sustainable. Drawing on her Latin heritage, Lopez fuses modern silhouettes with cultural influences, balancing boldness with restraint. Each piece is meant to carry presence without overshadowing the wearer.

Her most recent collection, “Evolution,” celebrates resilience and transformation. The standout is a pair of signature trousers—structured yet fluid, elegant yet versatile—capturing her philosophy that fashion should support women through constant change. “I don’t design anything I wouldn’t wear,” she says, explaining how her personal style mirrors her collections.

Miami itself inspires her. From its architecture to its nightlife, the city offers contrasts that shape her work. Still, she believes Miami’s fashion industry needs more platforms for independent designers to gain visibility.

Among her proudest milestones: dressing characters for international television and presenting her work at New York Fashion Week. Looking ahead, she envisions global expansion and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Her advice to emerging Miami designers: “Stay true to your vision. Trends fade, but authenticity never does.”

gussylopez.com

THE BODY AS CANVAS

Sculptural, conceptual, and rooted in craft, Lisu Vega’s work is both art and fashion.

Lisu Vega traces her earliest memories of fashion back to sewing with her grandmother in Venezuela. That intimacy with making clothes sparked her design journey, later shaped by avant-garde figures like Alexander McQueen and Comme des Garçons.

Her brand is conceptual and conscious, centered on limitededition garments and sculptural accessories made from recycled rope. She calls her practice The Rope Project, a hybrid of textile installations and wearable art that reflects her interest in blurring boundaries between fashion and contemporary art.

For Vega, every piece is imbued with the same emotion—none outrank the others. Constructed directly on the body, her designs are deeply personal and intended to create intimate dialogue between garment and wearer. “Fashion is activism within the arts,” she explains, emphasizing how her work communicates identity and cultural context.

Challenges remain, especially her commitment to keeping production 100% local, but the results have garnered recognition. Her work has been exhibited in museums across the U.S. and abroad, and her accessories are sold in major cultural institutions.

She loves Miami’s cultural fusion and its link back to her Venezuelan roots. But she wishes for more institutional support to elevate sustainable designers. Her dream? To continue merging art and fashion through exhibitions, collaborations, and storytelling that dares to be different.

lisuvega.com

FASHION IN MOTION

Movement and modernity define Valeria Krasavina’s path as designer and artist.

Valeria Krasavina discovered her love for fashion as a way to make sense of the world. Sketches, fabrics, and textures became her visual language long before she imagined a career in design. Over time, she realized that clothes were more than garments—they were expressions of identity, mood, and culture.

Her label is rooted in empowerment, merging timeless silhouettes with bold, modern details. Inspired by Miami’s diversity and energy, Krasavina creates collections that are both versatile and refined. She views fashion as a living narrative, one that evolves with its wearer.

Her latest collection captures transformation, channeling strength and fluidity through precise tailoring and subtle movement. A favorite piece is her structured yet flowing trousers, which embody both discipline and freedom. It is this balance, she says, that defines her philosophy as a designer.

Krasavina’s milestones include showcasing at New York Fashion Week and dressing characters for international television. She’s proud of how her work bridges performance and daily life. Miami inspires her constantly, but she calls for more platforms to support independent designers and to spotlight the city as a serious global fashion hub.

What’s next? Expanding her collections internationally and pursuing collaborations across creative fields. Her advice to young designers: “Stay authentic. Fashion is identity, and identity is timeless.”

valeriakrasavina.com