Antonia Jean wears a perfect mix on the catwalk
Fashion, identity, and Latin American culture
Venice celebrates the fifth edition of CMIV
The Venice International Fashion Concert is an annual event dedicated to Latin American fashion and culture, held in Venice. Born in 2022 from an idea by Antonia Jean and officially incorporated into the City of Venice’s “Le Città in Festa” program, CMIV has grown year after year as a multidisciplinary platform offering fashion shows, conferences, art, and opportunities for international networking. With the support of the Rome-based law firm Branchicella, the event annually brings together in Venice the most prominent figures in Latin American fashion, from established designers to emerging talents, always combining profound reflections on identity, immigration, the role of women, and intercultural dialogue between Europe and Latin America.
The fifth edition of the Venice International Fashion Concert, a showcase of Latin fashion in the city of canals, has just concluded at the Rialto Market in Venice. Thanks to the support of the Rialto Mio Association, Antonia Jean, the event’s creator, organized this event, considered one of the most creative and original on the European calendar, paying homage to Latin fashion in Europe. This past weekend, numerous international personalities, influencers, and fashion professionals, such as Enzo Miccio, gathered.
During the concert, the private institutional Investiture Ceremony of the Order of the Knights of Malta took place at the Scuola Grande dei Carmine, presided over by the Grand Master, who attended the international fashion show held at the Rialto Fish Market last Saturday.
The guest country at this edition was Ecuador. Antonia Jean brought together more than 20 Ecuadorian artisans to showcase a millennia-old craft, made exclusively by hand with natural fibers and without chemical processes. Giemme Montecristi’s creations were presented at Milan Design Week 2025 as part of a project dedicated to the dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design.
La Serenissima tells the story of South America through clothing and accessories
Fashion and accessories were the stars of the first night on the runway. Several collections were presented in the evocative setting of the Rialto Market.
Michelle Ferrer (Panama), an internationally renowned jewelry designer and winner of the 2023 and 2024 editions of the Panama Fashion Forum competition, was among those present. For two consecutive years, 2023 and 2024, she was named one of the 50 most influential women in Panama by Factor de Éxito magazine. The first Panamanian jewelry designer and the first Panamanian brand to present its collection at Dubai Fashion Week, in 2025 she received recognition at the Orion Star Awards in Cannes and was named Jewelry Designer of the Year in Marbella. Alongside her,
For the Vizcarra brand (Colombia), Katty Vizcarra, founder and creative director of By Vizcarra, brings Colombian craftsmanship to international stages in Paris, New York, and Venice. Her creations, handmade jewelry with Swarovski and Preciosa crystals, conceived as contemporary talismans, embody a new vision of Latin American luxury: sophisticated, distinctive, and global.
Gladys Rosado (Ecuador), an Italian-Ecuadorian businesswoman and cultural manager based in Rome, is the CEO of Giemme Montecristi Ecuadorian Hats, a brand dedicated to promoting toquilla straw hats, an art form recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012. Through a network of more than 20 Ecuadorian artisans, she brings to Italy an ancient craft made exclusively by hand, a contemporary take on the guayabera, the Cuban national garment and symbol of diplomatic ceremonies, through creative recycling, textile reuse, and zero waste. Liberty is also the creator and performer of the artistic show that accompanies the fashion show, fusing fashion, dance, and Caribbean cultural identity into a unique visual narrative.
Elizabeth Almonte, from the Dominican Republic, is the founder of the Venetian handbag brand Eliem Venice. Based in Veneto since 2009, the Eliem brand is rooted in the rich traditions of the Brenta Riviera, while remaining true to its Dominican roots. Each piece is entirely handcrafted by local master artisans, using fine leathers and gold-plated hardware. The heart of the project is the AGATA bag, whose design embodies artisanal beauty, feminine identity, and the Venetian spirit.
Liberty Martínez (Cuba), founder and creative director of FIBRA, a Cuban sustainable fashion brand that has participated in previous editions of the Venice CMIV, will present her collection “The Embrace of the Guayabera” at the 2026 Venice International Fashion Festival. This collection reinterprets the guayabera, Cuba’s national garment and a symbol of diplomatic ceremonies, in a contemporary way through creative recycling, textile recycling, and zero waste. Liberty is also the creator and performer of the artistic performance that accompanies the show, fusing fashion, dance, and Caribbean cultural identity into a unique visual narrative.
Ecuador tells its story: “women in concert” and “inside”
The “Women in Concert” conference, held the day after the show, featured some of the most prominent voices in the contemporary scene, including María Elena Rudolf Ruiz de Olmedo, Global Ambassador for Culture, Human Connections, and Creative Diplomacy; Elizabeth Almonte, from the Dominican Republic and founder of the Venetian handbag brand Eliem Venice, and Daniela Bessia, an Argentinian artist and television presenter recognized throughout China for her work, participated in the event. Also present was Dr. Maurizia Campobasso, director of the Giudecca women’s prison. The moderator was the Italian-Spanish journalist Estefanie Baldeon. The event focused on sharing the stories of migrant women and their difficult struggle to establish themselves in foreign lands, and how fashion can be a tool for self-affirmation.
“Fashion, therefore, is not only a stage for showcasing art, but also and above all an opportunity for redemption,” Antonia Jean explained, reinforcing the spirit and main objective of the Venice International Fashion Concert. “An opportunity to exhibit extraordinary creations, but above all to share stories of social and cultural redemption that are sometimes hidden behind high-quality garments.”
