Feature: Try Coketta’s Stylish and Colorful Crochet Beachwear That Enhances Your Silhouette

1 Shares

Coketta was founded by Barbara Price in 2013 to provide high-end, individually hand-crafted crochet items. Coketta is inspired by all women who want to enhance their silhouette at the beach, pool or resort. For the new SS17 collection, Barbara has designed and created a unique and colorful line of crochet beachwear using only the highest quality yarns, presenting a variety of crochet beach cover-ups, including dresses, kimonos, skirts, shorts, pants, tops, bikinis, and ponchos; all with new stitching and designs.

Coketta works with several artisans and craftswomen from the Bio-Bio region of Chile to produce these custom handmade crochet and knit pieces. In this region, there is a large community of craftswomen who learn the local customs of crocheting and knitting at an early age. Many women in this traditional culture are stay-at-home mothers who dedicate their free time to crafting knit and crochet items to sell for extra household income. One of Coketta’s business goals is to help this community grow through increased opportunities for work and expand via innovative design ideas for crochet and knitwear. All Coketta items are 100% fair trade made by hand in Chile with Chilean products and imported to the US. Coketta is available at select boutiques and our online shop.

We had the wonderful opportunity to interview Barbara! The models are amazing! Check it out below.

Hi, Barbara! What inspired you to start designing?

I am inspired by all women. I wanted to create crochet designs for women to enhance their silhouette at the beach, pool, or resort.

I founded Coketta in 2013 to fill a need I saw in the luxury beachwear market for individually hand-crafted high-end crochet items. There was a lot of crochet on the market, but did not fit well or was poorly made. I met with women in my native country of Chile to go about bringing my ideas to life. I had to learn a lot about yarns and construction of the pieces in the beginning.

I work with several artisans from the Bio-Bio region of Chile to produce these custom handmade crochet and knit pieces. In this region, there is a large community of craftswomen who learn the local customs of crocheting and knitting at an early age. Many women in this traditional culture are stay-at-home mothers who dedicate their free time to crafting knit and crochet items to sell for extra household income.

For the SS18 collection, I created a unique and colorful line of crochet beachwear with new stitching and designs using only the highest quality yarns. Coketta is presenting a variety of crochet beach cover-ups, including dresses, kimonos, kaftans, skirts, shorts, pants, tops, bikinis, and ponchos.

All Coketta items are 100% fair trade made by hand in Chile with Chilean products and imported to the US. Coketta is available at select boutiques and our online shop.

What is most rewarding about designing clothing?

I love the whole process of designing. From coming up with the ideas and the sketching process to working together with the artisans to define the patterns, then picking out the yarns and colors.

Ultimately, to experience the creation of a piece of apparel from inception to fruition. To capture an idea from my imagination on the sketch board, work out the pattern and construction. To see the idea come to life on the models at the photo shoot, and finally to see happy women wearing the design.

We definitely see a vintage twist in your designs. What inspires you to create this style?

I do draw inspiration from classic looks because I want women to feel sensual in our beachwear. The vintage twist in the Coketta style also comes from my memories of my life growing up in Chile.

I like to design crochet pieces that accentuate women’s curves, by putting certain crochet patterns and stitches in strategic areas of the body; like the waist, hips and cleavage. I also like to select patterns that elongate the women’s figure.

Do you work with any particular materials?

I like to use cottons, acrylic blends, viscose, lurex, and linen. We only use high quality

Chilean-made yarn. Getting the right yarn for each design is so important, but I admit that I love choosing all the colors!

I use a wide range of gold colors, earth tones, black, white, nude; and always include a couple of bright colors to begin the spring-summer season feeling happy.

Describe your design process.

First, I look at the trends for inspiration. Then, I try to define my vision for the season and the ideas that I like in a brainstorming session. The sketching process comes next to get everything down on paper and sharpen the vision. After sketching, we go to the prototype stage which might entail going back and forth with the knitter getting the details right including deciding on which yarns would be appropriate for each piece. We then have a discussion about the patterns and crochet stitches to make the piece fit well and accentuate the women’s figure. Finally, the samples are produced by our team and we have fittings with the models before we go into production.

Do you find handmade over commercial manufacturing in high-demand?

I do think there is a high demand for handmade over commercial currently and I think this trend will continue. It is a sign of the times. Handmade items are inherently one-of-a-kind and customers want clothes that are unique. It is a more exclusive market because a higher price per unit reflects the higher value of handmade apparel. The higher value is directly associated with the input that goes into crafting each piece.

Is there anyone in the industry that you admire most?

I have great admiration for my late grandmother, my Nona. Her parents were in manufacturing and as an adult, she acquired some knitting machines and began designing, producing, and retailing knitwear in boutiques in Chile. My mother is my other inspiration because I grew up around apparel and fashion in her boutique, “Shopping Guy’s”. We are a family that has loved fashion for generations.

Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the fashion industry?

The best experience is to see a woman’s face light up when she tries on the pieces in the boutique and sees how great she looks. I have been working with select boutiques in New York and in SoCal and hearing about the overwhelmingly positive responses to our beachwear has been fantastic.

Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?

We have another photoshoot coming up so be on the lookout for new pieces coming this summer. They will be available in select boutiques and via Coketta’s website, Amazon and Etsy stores.

Complete this sentence, if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would do ___________.

If I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would love to one day see Coketta featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition!

My goals this year include exhibiting Coketta at Miami Swim Week and creating connections with buyers for nationwide beachwear boutiques. Another dream would be to work with celebrities to gain more recognition for the brand and have my pieces seen on a TV show and films.

One of my business goals is to help the community of Chilean craftswomen grow through increased opportunities for work and expansion via innovative design ideas for crochet and knitwear.

Connect with Coketta:

Website: www.coketta.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cokettafashion/