It’s story telling time for Pineda Covalín. “We are showing something different,” Ricardo Covalín, cofounder and designer of the Mexican accessories brand, told WWD. “With the collection, we are telling a cultural story, and at the same time it’s in style. We are not just into stripes or colors. Whether it’s a silk scarf or a tie, there will always be a story, inspired by pre-Hispanic Mexico, traditions, the Mayans or the Aztecs, nature or an endangered species.”
Pineda Covalín tiptoed into the U.S. with boutique openings in Manhattan’s SoHo and in Coconut Grove in Miami over the past couple of years. But Covalín says he’s seeking to wholesale to multibrand stores in the U.S. and possibly open a boutique in Las Vegas. He’s also planning an exhibit at El Museo del Barrio. Pineda Covalín has held numerous exhibits, at the New Museum, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, The Natural History Museum of New York, Museum d’Orsay, the Louvre, Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Textile Museum of Canada, among others. Products are typically exhibited and separately sold in the gift shop.
Pineda Covalín is also sold at airport and hotel shops, and at the company’s 40 stores, which are primarily in Mexico. Tonight, Pineda Covalín, which was created in 1996 by Covalín and his partner Cristina Pineda, will have a press party at The Doubles Club in Manhattan “to show a little bit of our brand so people in the U.S. will start knowing us,” Covalín said. “Our most popular items are the silk scarves and shawls,” retailing from $200 to $400. Silk ties, priced $100, are also top sellers, as are the silk blouses and silk ponchos, priced at about $400. The array also includes eyewear, handbags, wallets, cuff links, handkerchiefs, leathers, sportswear and silver.