RAQUEL BALENCIA, BORN IN SAN SEBASTIAN, IN THE SPANISH BASQUE REGION, IS A DETERMINED YOUNG WOMAN.
INFLUENCED BY HER GRANDMOTHER, A SKILLED DRESSMAKER, AND BEING PASSIONATE ABOUT DESIGN FROM AN EARLY AGE, RAQUEL WAS NATURALLY DRAWN TO THE WORLD OF FASHION.
FIRST, AS A MODEL, WORKING FOR LEADING FASHION HOUSES, HER CAREER TOOK HER FROM ASIA TO AFRICA AND FROM THE UNITED STATES TO THE MIDDLE EAST, THROUGHOUT EUROPE, AND MORE PARTICULARLY, ITALY.
FROM THIS PERIOD, SHE RECALLS VIBRANT COLOURS, VOLUPTUOUS CURVES AND HER ADMIRATION FOR WOMEN WHO KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEMSELVES.
AFTER HER YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND WITH A MORE FOCUSED VISION OF THE WORLD, RAQUEL DECIDED TO LAUNCH HER OWN DEBUT COLLECTION, THAT, WITH FLOWING GOWNS, EMBROIDERIES, DELICATE NUANCES, GILDED FABRICS AND FLORAL PRINTS, WOULD HIGHLIGHT THE UTMOST IN FEMININITY.
“I WAS LUCKY TO GROW UP IN SAN SEBASTIAN, ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST ELEGANT CITIES AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE DESIGNER CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA. AS A YOUNG GIRL, I SPENT HOURS DREAMING OF CREATING MY OWN CLOTHES AND IMAGINING THE EVENTS WHERE I COULD WEAR THEM.”
RAQUEL DRAWS HER INSPIRATION FROM HER SURROUNDINGS AND PASSION FOR DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, GLOBAL CULTURES AND STYLES. HER CREATIONS REFLECT THE STRENGTH OF THE WOMEN OF HER CHILDHOOD, THE WOMEN SHE ENCOUNTERED ON HER TRAVELS
AND THE MANY FACES AND THE BEAUTY OF WOMEN TODAY.
”I TOOK MY BACKGOUND ON TO A NEXT STAGE, TRYING TO KEEP THE FINE BALANCE BETWEEN BEING A NEW MOTHER AND CREATING A BRAND. BOTH ARE INTRINSICALLY LINKED FOR ME AND AS ALL MY PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FEELINGS, THEY ENRICHED MY DESIGNS.
I WAS BROUGHT UP BY INSPIRATIONAL, RESILIENT WOMEN WHO IN SPITE OF LIFE’S TRIBULATIONS NEVER LOST THEIR POSITIVE ATTITUDE. MY UNIVERSE IS FULL OF THOSE WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN MARKED BY THEIR PAST BUT, DESPITE ALL, FOUND THE STRENGTH TO SHINE AGAIN.
THEY REPRESENT FOR ME REAL BEAUTY, WHICH I FIND EVEN MORE STRIKING THAN THE GLOW OF YOUTH.
THEREFORE, I BELIEVE ALL MY CREATIONS TELL A STORY, THE UNIQUE STORY OF EACH WOMAN WHO WEARS THEM.”