The name Mexchic is derived from a play on words.
“Mexica” in Nahuatl: Mēxihkah, is the autochthonous name for the Aztec civilization.
The way it rolls off one’s tongue sounds similar to Mex + chic hence our invention of a new word, Mexchic.
Founded in 2006, Mexchic is a female owned and run business which crafts objects with integrity, hovering in the realm of conceptual and artistic. Each piece we create is designed, cut, sewn and at times naturally dyed and hand woven in our atelier by a team of local women, trained in-house on couture sewing techniques. Sustainability, innovation, craft and ethical labor standards are the pillars we have built our small business upon while collaborating with Mexican artisans and artists, using centuries old techniques, playfully merging tradition with the contemporary and personal.
Mexchic’s collections are research-based which merge designer Christina Hattler’s aesthetics, love of archeology, anthropology and textiles with her personal experiences from having lived and worked in Mexico since the early 2000’s. Christina studied Fashion Design at Pratt Art Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Through the aughts, she wrote restaurant reviews at an early internet start up on South Beach, learned about the world of interior design at House & Garden Magazine Conde Nast, 4 Times Square while also hand-making one-of-a-kind dresses created from repurposed vintage and antique textiles. She currently lives and works in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico, runs Mexchic and her personal fiber & textile research/art project Christina Hattler Studio.
We Deeply Care About:
Sustainable Luxury: We create classic pieces with an extremely high quality of finishings and sewing, made with the intention that they will last. We liken our methods and quality to contemporary couture. The textiles we work with are chosen with this idea in mind as well. Frequently purchasing new clothing is irresponsible in this day and age nor is it a proper way to care for the earth for future generations. Instead we believe that investing in fewer, higher quality items, which are exquisitely made is the future of fashion and manufacturing. Creating instead extremely special productions, one-of-a-kind delights and made-to-order beauties.
Being a Female Owned, Led & Run Business: Mexchic is owned and led by a woman, it is also run by women. All of our production is sewn in house, by a female team made up of local women from our surrounding community. We choose to collaborate primarily with female artisans and artists whenever possible. As a single parent, It is important for me to work with women whenever possible as women are the true pillars of the community and family unit in the communities in which we work.
Design & Innovation: We design our own textiles, clothing and products. We do not resell already designed or manufactured items. Innovation is a core principle at Mexchic, creating a classic but interesting product range, one which will tranced time and trends is and always has been at the forefront of our ethos.
Biodegradable: We source only natural fibers to create our textiles, home goods and clothing. Cotton, silk, linen, wool, pochote fiber, agave, hennequin, Ixtle, san severia, cashmere and baby alpaca amongst many other less common natural fibers are incorporated into our productions. Over the last few years we have slowly begun to transition to using only natural dyes. Biodegradable means that the object in question would be able to be returned to the earth and composted.
Natural Dyes/Botanical Dyes: These are dyes which are sourced from plants and animals, locally procured from markets, growers, and responsibly foraged. We have a dye kitchen in our studio and the process of dying our fibers, textiles and garments happens here.
Recycle, Up-cycle and Zero Waste: We incorporate vintage and antique textiles from Christina’s personal colleciton into our productions. We do not throw away scraps, instead whenever possible we reincorporate them into our productions, donate them to local artists and also use them as stuffing for pillows and poufs.
Knowledge Exchange & Collaborations: We collaborate with friends, local artists and talented Mexican artisans to create our pieces. We think it is extremely important to reinvest time and money back into our community in which we work and live, perpetually finding ways to learn and teach along the way. Collaborating with farming communities and foundations supporting regenerative and fiber shed types of relationships with the earth are also extremely important to us and for the future of the planet.
Made-to-order: We all have a responsibility to cut down on waste. Creating many items made-to-order instead of holding a large supply of stock each season is a very sustainable way of doing business. It is slower of course, but worthwhile as you will receive an item specially made for you and not for the masses. Since we live and work where we produce our textiles and sew our productions, we can offer an unusually quick turn around time of 2-6 weeks depending on the order and type or product.