Born in the city of Morelia, Mexico, ANTONIO ORTEGA was the youngest of 15 children, and a surreptitious user of his mother’s sewing machine since age 8. Fast forward to this Montréal-based designer’s first Antonio Ortega Couture runway collection in 2015, beginning his journey to the esteem he enjoys today as a unique haute couturier. Bringing his talents to this year’s Cashmere Collection, Antonio’s exquisitely crafted garments feature intricate embellishments, luxury fabrics and often, high-contrast texture combinations such as satin with suede, or leather with silk. His hallmark is a certain urban, gender-fluid audacity that might, for instance, propose black neoprene and lace for men. 

ANTONIO ORTEGA laughs that his masseuse was crucial to his completion of his extraordinary NEW Belle Époque gown. Hours of precision cutting and assembly yielded the myriad of peony-inspired blossoms along the bolero jacket’s collar. 15-20 layers of Cashmere Bathroom Tissue were fused, then hand-punched to create the disc trim that decorates the sleeves and torso of the strapless dress. Even more concentrated effort produced the lace-effect “fabric” used throughout, to bring this stunning vision to life. 

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