SURFNICAWAVES

Red Hot Night Full of Fashion

By Anne de Zeeuw

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” - Coco Chanel

When I think about fashion, I think about Milan, Paris, New York, definitely not about San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua where bikinis, boardshorts and backpacks are a trend. Now the lucky ladies of San Juan have their very own fashion designer. She turns San Juan into the fashion capitol of Nicaragua and gives Issey Miyake a run for his money. Her name is Yaosca Jimenez, born and raised in Managua but now living and loving San Juan del Sur. Bringing style to this town.

Yaosca owns her very own boutique called Turquesa right across the street from the delicious bakery of Pan de Vida. Just a tip in between lines; don’t go dress hunting after eating their pastries. Turquesa boutique gets its name from one of the oldest protection amulets, also known as a symbol of wealth in many ancient cultures. If given a turquesa by a loving friend, that stone would protect the wearer from negative energy and bring good fortune. This also connects to the reason Yaosca started her boutique; friends. Her friends would come by her atelier and naturally she decided to turn it into a shop.

Where did this young elegant Nicaraguan start? And where does she get her inspiration from? Yao, as friends call her, started designing when she was a little girl. She used to design dresses for her Barbie dolls, or for school plays. When she came to San Juan del Sur eight years ago, see was seeking simplicity and good surf. In both she finds her inspiration, but one of her biggest examples is Marc Jacobs, most of his collections make references to the fashions of past decades. Which you can definitely find back in the romantic style Yao developed as a designer. She also had the opportunity to see Marc Jacobsfashion show back in 2008 spring/ summer. Her other inspiration comes from Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmainknown for sophistication and elegance, he once said that “dress making is the architecture of movement”. With flowing fabrics in Yao’s dresses, and made from such light materials, they are unique colorful pieces. Made for the modern day bold beach girl, that likes to dress up.

The other night we had the honor to visit a fashion fest in her boutique. It was a hot night, ready to rain and sweet sangria was flowing. All girls present were wearing red lipstick, to accentuate their natural beauty. That is what the Turquesa spirit is about; accentuating a girls natural beauty. Cameras were everywhere to capture all the colors and cuties. Vibes were good, as was the sangria. Everyone was enjoying the fashion and attention, it felt like a real red carpet event. All that in the middle of small San Juan! To quote our designer: “The fashion fete was a big success, girls came and had such a good time, wearing red lipstick , singing and of course wearing all the cool designs from Turquesa. I want to thank all the girls, because they rocked it that night!”

What can we expect from Turquesa in the future? With Yao’s creative mind always looking for inspiration we can expect great things for the fashion future of Nicaragua. We feel Turquesa is going to be a worldwide trendsetter. We wish Yaosca all the best from the SurfNicaWaves Family and are proud to have her clothes in our shop very soon! Showing that San Juan has good surf and style!

Check out Turquesa collection online www.turquesatrends.com.

Pictures of the fashion night are on our SNW Facebook.