Cultural Roots to Cultural Expansion: How Mexico’s Cultural Plant Influenced the Fashion Industry

Written by Ithiel E. Alvarado  

Hi my stars!!! These words will take you into another dimension that you never knew would be possible in this decade... go ahead and read on to bring imagination into real life! 

All the major luxury brands are known to be created with high-quality materials that represent exclusion, modernism, sophistication, and visualization that the fashion designers set standards for to differentiate themselves from other brands. Each brand has set a reputation that makes them unique; Gucci delivers quiet luxury with elegance and commitment to tradition, Louis Vuitton offers exclusivity and timeless clothing pieces that can stay relevant years later, and Prada designs composed of simplicity and minimalism, etc.  

Now think about their textiles for a second! The one thing that you probably did not think about is that these brands that I had just mentioned are not known to make plant-based material. Many individuals may be attracted by these designer brands for their looks, but do you ever think about the kind of materials the clothes and accessories are composed of? They may provide some plant product into their item piece, but plant material is not dominant to their collection most of the time. Can you imagine wearing a jacket that is made from plants? The possibility of that thought is now a reality! I introduce to you the number one world’s fashion brand company to create cactus-leather clothes and accessories, Desserto! Their reputation is to deliver eco-friendly, high strict quality, plant-made fashion pieces to society.  

Sentient x Desserto Coat

Desserto is an eco-friendly fashion company that keeps clothes and accessories grown and fabricated in Zacatecas, Mexico. The quality of the material is developed with cruelty-free, sustainable cactus leather from cactus with no chemicals/toxins. Cactus leather is so durable that it has a lifespan of nearly ten years! That’s the beauty of high-quality standards. Before the company came into existence, the two entrepreneurs, Adrain Velarde and Marte Duarte, studied abroad in Taiwan to invest more in international business. They both met and talked about how the fashion industry has an ongoing situation with contaminations affecting the environment and how it can be improved. Especially when fast fashion contributes a major issue to the environmental crisis these days, that was the start of a change.  

Everlene x Desserto Bag Collections)

Their innovations gained more recognition after the brand became the finalist for the LVMH Innovation Award 2020. The cactus innovation appeared through collections of big fashion brands: Karl Lagerfeld, Adidas, Fossil, Balenciaga, Hublot, Givenchy, H&M, and more coming up this year. Interestingly, H&M collaborated with a plant-based fashion company due to the criticism that H&M faced with its fast fashion stakes (that is for another story), but this collaboration may prove that H&M is improving more on sustainability practices and chemical-free materials. This is an example of the goals of a fashion brand influencing others to practice for the better for the present and future of the industry.  

Desserto Cacti leather material based in Mexico 

Ever since the designer, Karl Lagerfeld, joined the Fashion Pact (non-profit organization include the fashion brands to  aim in sustainability by improving climate change, supporting biodiversity, and protecting the ocean, etc.)in 2019; Karl Lagerfeld made a collab with Desserto in 2021 for its plant-based cactus leather, along with a second collab, Amber Valleta, a sustainability ambassador of Karl Lagerfeld. This collection is called the “K/Kushion bag.” It takes only one idea to become widespread to lead top corporate businesses to step up their game and jump on the same boat, thanks to Desserto. 

Desserto sets an example of how a fashion brand can function without using harmful practices that can negatively affect the environment/climate. There are many ways to transform one plant or object into something magical. Not only has Desserto made their inventions shine, but also puts the spotlight on Mexico, bringing in more recognition on what Mexico can bring to the world. 

Thank you for reading, hopefully you learned that anything that looks like an imagination can be a reality! Stay alert for more!