“It’s kind of like I’m organizing a wedding,” says Nicolas Martin Garcia, founder of brand Garcias, speaking on Zoom a week out from the brand’s Milan Fashion Week debut. It’s his first-ever fashion show, and rather than play it safe, the designer has gone for an ambitious concept that fuses his Colombian roots with his Italian upbringing.
The show will take place on June 20 in a constructed Colombian neighborhood, complete with façades of a barber shop and a flower market. “I never do simple things,” he says with a smile. “When I think about the collection, when I think about my clothes, I see them in a very specific scenario. Colombia is something that you cannot explain, you know? I have to show the clothes, but I have to show the vibe, and what I feel when I go there.”
Garcia, who was born in Bogotá and moved to Italy aged four, never intended to launch his own label. After graduating from Italy’s Accademia Costume & Moda in 2013, the designer cut his teeth at Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, where he worked in design from 2016 to 2023. His ambition was always to be a creative director of a big house. But in 2022, inspiration struck on a trip home to Colombia, when he visited Comuna 13, a famous neighborhood in Medellin once racked by crime and ruled by Pablo Escobar but now rich with street art, music, and subcultures. Garcia envisioned his own fashion show there, and made the decision to start his own label, one that celebrates his Colombian culture.
He flew back to Italy and got planning. “The first thing that I did was sit down and prepare a document about how I see the brand in five years, including positioning, product strategy, communication, and marketing,” Garcia says. Despite his years of experience, the designer knew the risks of striking out on your own. “Putting your face on something and controlling everything — the production, the wholesale relationships — it’s very different to working at a [house].” Months later, he resigned from Cavalli and launched his label in 2023, using income generated from consultancy work and creative direction projects for other fashion brands like DSquared2 and New Arrivals. He gained traction designing the opening look of Karol G’s Puerto Rican tour in 2023, and has since partnered with Latino stars like Bad Bunny and J Balvin.
The launch of Garcias comes at a “hot moment” for Latin American culture, Garcia says. From Grammy-winning musicians like Bad Bunny to award-winning Mexican American designer Willy Chavarria, global audiences are more excited than ever by Latin creatives.
Garcias is built on the foundation of streetwear. The brand’s first product, like many contemporary labels, was a T-shirt (today, they retail for around €140). But the designer is keen to transcend being a “T-shirt and hoodie brand”. More formal shirts are becoming his signature, crafted in fine silks to represent his Italian side, or embellished for a touch of Colombian style that Garcia calls “Latin maximalism”, blending a bright Colombian color palette and bold graphics with Italian neutrals and refined silhouettes. “There are a lot of brands happening. So I wanted to do something that’s not repeating. I have a unique background between Colombia and Italy, plus lots of influence from America, growing up listening to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. That’s what inspires my brand.” He wants 70% of his business to come from those special, embellished pieces, with 30% made up of T-shirts, hoodies and basics, Garcia says. The brand manufactures across Italy, Portugal, and Türkiye.
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