LAFS began in 2018 as an annual fashion conference with the mission of enriching Latin American talents through inspiring panels and workshops featuring global industry leaders, with whom they also had the chance to network and grow their businesses. The first edition was held at the magical Riviera Maya, and the second one in picturesque Cartagena de Indias, Colombia aiming to reunite the regional industry and introduce renowned international fashion leaders to Latin American professionals while promoting talent, tourism, and generating opportunities in the region.
After a virtual conference during the pandemic, early in March 2022, LAFS successfully completed its most important edition in Miami, with the mission of exporting Latin American talent to the world. Pharrell Williams, Lauren Santo Domingo, Alexandre Birman, and Aerin Lauder were some renowned names that collaborated to take this event to the next level.
Due to the significant growth of the platform, from now on, LAFS will host two big events per year. The Summit will always be in Miami, while a second experience under the name Raíces by LAFS will take place in a remote destination in the region. This last one aspires to return to the project’s roots, connect with the culture of the chosen nation, and give the LAFS community quality content and networking while discovering a new place in the region and promoting tourism. “Our event is an extraordinary source of opportunities for the host country and a great window for local talents in the fashion and design industry,” stated Estefanía Lacayo, co-founder of LAFS.
The events at Raíces by LAFS will prioritize enriching content and creating networking opportunities for Latin American entrepreneurs, especially for brands and buyers. The pop-up will be even more significant, allowing more regional designers to commercialize their products near their homes.
This year will take place in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. One of the region’s most preferred tourist destinations that invite travelers to reconnect with the origins of Latin American culture. Presented by the Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, Raíces by LAFS will host its first edition from March 13th to 15th, 2023. The event will start with a big opening ceremony and for two days, there will be panels led by industry leaders, a pop-up with a curation of Latin American design, and opportunities to connect with other professionals in the fashion industry. This project will help communicate Dominican Republic’s support to the orange economy.
Some of the keynote speakers confirmed are: Karla Martínez de Salas, Head of Editorial Content at @voguemexico & Latin America, Stacey Caldwell, Founder and Owner of Caldwell Creative, a studio focused on developing business strategies for global fashion leaders across all industry sectors, Fabricio Cárdenas is the Head of Growth at PSYKHE AI, a personalization platform that uses machine learning and psychology to hyper-personalize online options across home, furniture, travel, fashion, and beauty verticals,
Eva Hughes, the Founder, and CEO of Adira Consulting, Lisa Pomerantz, the Founder & CEO of LFP Collective, and Ramya Giangola, founder of Gogouluxe, among others.
“In the cities that it lands, LAFS generates economic opportunities, provides visibility to the destination, encourages high-net-worth tourism, promotes investment in the country, and features the destination´s cultural heritage. In only five days, LAFS generated up to $1.5MM USD in Cartagena and in Miami it multiplied to USD $2MM USD. Additionally, 85 % of the attendees have responded in our surveys that they plan their trip to the event with some extra days to explore the destination,” affirmed Samantha Tams, cofounder of LAFS.
The tickets for this unique event are now available,at this link https://www.ticketfairy.com/event/raices-by-lafs-13mar2023
Raíces by LAFS invites us to discover a whimsical destination in Latin America while we expand our network and acquire knowledge to boost own fashion business!
