May 22, 2013

Style and Design

Emerging Designers

Five students and recent grads are already making their mark in the world of fashion and design.

Lori Capullo | 11/1/2010

Adriana Castro
2007 graduate, Miami International University of Art & Design, Miami

ACCESSORY DESIGN

Juliana Costa

Adriana Castro [Photo: Omar Cruz]

Adriana Castro's career aspiration — to design crocodile handbags — can be traced back to her childhood and her father's crocodile farm in South America.

Castro prepared for entrepreneurship by earning an economics degree at Purdue, then studying accessory design. In 2007, she won the GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion Award for accessory design and launched her eponymous company, which posted revenue in the "mid-seven figures" last year and has 22 employees. In 2009, she won the Independent Handbag Designer Award for Audience Fan Favorite. But perhaps the most exciting of Castro's accomplishments is having celebrity style icons like Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria carry her bags on the red carpet.

Castro relies on the sights of south Florida to fuel her passion. "South Florida is color," she says. "I am in love with color. Miami is present in each of my collections."


Above, and at right, purses and clutches by Adriana Castro.

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