FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 1, 2012

A.Vivas-Hidalgo: Sometimes a Little Mistake can become a Signature Mark

A.Vivas-Hidalgo a line of comfort resort shoes created by upcoming designer, Andrea Vivas, makes its debut with a Spring/Summer 2013-2014 collection.

MIAMI, FL — OCT. 1, 2012 — A.Vivas-Hidalgo (‘AVH’) is a line of casual shoes designed for women. Recognizable by bright, bold and whimsical prints, the shoes’ true differentiators are original artwork designed by the creator and the use of contrasting patterns between right and left feet. Flats that will be desirable across demographics from the young shopper looking for the latest on trend design to the more mature woman looking for fun comfort. AVH made its debut to the trade at the SURF Expo in Orlando, Florida, September 6-8, and received fantastic enthusiasm from boutique buyers. Opening orders exceeded expectations.

Andrea Vivas thought she wanted to be a police officer and trained for four years as a police explorer with hopes of a career with the DEA. In the process, she realized her aspirations weren’t being met. She resigned and contemplated what to do next. Growing up she always had an eye for fashion; inspired by her parents who were in her words “fashion forward; liking things that are different and creative”. Vivas says “throughout my life I had a strong sense for fashion even predicting what would grace catwalks and magazines from an early age.”

Vivas enrolled in the Miami International University of Art & Design (‘AI’). It is here at AI that Vivas studied under the direction of Professor Amy Berkowitz who inspired Vivas to take a keen interest in shoe design. Berkowitz herself being a shoe designer, creating brands of her own and having designed for Nordstrom’s private label program, saw great promise in the young design student’s work.

Creating original print artwork also became a passion for Vivas. One day she stumbled upon an old pair of her mother’s espadrilles and inspiration struck. She envisioned her bright prints on a similar shoe style and a design was born. As a final project, prior to graduation, Vivas had to create a complete sample of a personal design. Vivas got right to work designing her conceptual shoes using two of her original prints and this is when the fateful mistake occurred. The shoe maker who performed the final assembly misunderstood Vivas and contrasted the print placement on two shoes in one pair. Upon seeing the mistake Vivas was taken aback, and then realization overwhelmed her, as she thought the simple mistake could be her signature trademark. Her ‘mismatched’ shoes came to life. Grading her final project, Berkowitz enthusiastically told Vivas that she had a superb eye for design and that the shoes were good enough to consider producing and marketing.

With the support of her entrepreneurial parents and mentoring from Berkowitz’s fashion branding business, Ready-2-Launch, LLC, Vivas created AVH. Vivas immediately designed a collection of prints and with Berkowitz’s help, collaborated on sourcing fabric, finding manufacturers and developing a full blown marketing and advertising campaign.

As a launch, SURF Expo was a great success for AVH; “we elected to debut at SURF Expo because we are marketing primarily to the resort buyer”, says Berkowitz, “several of the prints are very tropical and the comfortable shoe design lends itself to the woman on vacation.” AVH consists of five collections for S/S 2013-2014; based on 30 original prints. “We also aspire to focus on creating private label programs with large accounts using customized one-of-a-kind prints,” says Vivas, “the ability to print on demand and produce custom orders quickly minimizes inventory requirements and will be desirable by retailers”. Buyers can find AVH at the Atlanta Premiere October Market, October 11-14, or can contact AVH for a personal one-on-one sales presentation.

Future collections will expand to include similar styles for girls and men. So while Vivas’ feet may never walk the beat in a police uniform; we think her shoes will walk the streets on thousands of consumers’ feet.

About Andrea Vivas Hidalgo; a Venezuelan born, American fashion accessory designer, who graduated from Miami International University of Art and Design. As Vivas prepared for her college graduation, she stumbled upon a pair of her mother’s worn espadrille slippers and decided to reinvent them by creating her own whimsical designs and color contrasting combinations. As she searched for inspiration, she envisioned all her dreams being reflected in all the soft lines and colors of her designs, reflecting every piece of her personality. When her designs and innovation received a positive response, Vivas decided to start her business as a fashion accessory designer and with the help of her supportive parents; the A.Vivas Hidalgo brand was born.

For information: http://www.AVivasHidalgo.com