Ferway Designs: Hello Nicaragua!

Ferway Designs is an exceptional web-boutique that provides a platform in Europe for Nicaraguan ethical fashion brands. The brands showcased in this online platform are both designed and handcrafted in Nicaragua under fair working conditions. Ferway Designs’ vision is “to make ethical the standard within the fashion industry”, something that they consider “far from a modest goal”. Nonetheless, they are hopeful that “through e-commerce and B2B (business-to-business) distribution in Europe [they] are able to showcase the world that ethics and fashion can go hand-in-hand.”

Fernando Argüello, the company’s founder, was born in the Netherlands to a Nicaraguan family. He discovered his passion for ethical fashion after watching “Bitter Seeds”, a documentary questioning the human cost of genetically-modified agriculture. According to the company’s website, Fernando visits all the production sites and suppliers whenever possible to ensure that they are up to ethical manufacturing standards.

All Ferway Designs products are handmade with a strong focus on detail and quality. Some of the designs that the company showcases are truly one-of-a-kind unique pieces: the designer only makes one individual item.

One of the brands that Ferway Designs showcases on their webshop is, ESTEFAN, a fashion brand created by Estefania Lacayo, a Nicaraguan designer with a focus on fair handmade leather bags and shoes. ESTEFAN products are handmade in the brand’s own leather workshop by three leather craftsman in Masaya, Nicaragua. This brand has a strong focus on slow fashion and durability, with a passion for mixing modern design with traditional craftsmanship. Most of the ESTEFAN bag designs have a textile interior (see the above photo) that has been weaved by a social enterprise in Nindirí, Nicaragua. This enterprise works with troubled youths to create colourful textiles for the brand’s designs. An important ESTEFAN trait is that the bags are named with men’s names, as opposed to the common tradition to name women’s products with female names. According to Fernando Argüello, Estefania believes that there is an over-usage of female names for fashion accessories, and that “men can be accessories too”. Names of her bags include Esteban, Mateo, and Celestino!

Check out this video made by Ferway Designs, where Estefania talks about her brand!

This gorgeous Celestino is ideal for a day to night transition. With a detachable strap you can either wear him across your body, rested on your shoulder, or as chic hand accessory.

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