Agua by Agua Bendita is a craft house first. The Colombian label has spent more than twenty years putting hand embroidery and hand-painted prints onto resort wear, and that focus is the thing you feel when you pick a piece up. The embroidery has weight. The prints look painted, because they were.

From a borrowed sewing machine to a global house

Catalina Álvarez and Mariana Hinestroza started Agua Bendita in Medellín in 2003. Their first swimsuits were made from fabric offcuts collected at a local factory, sewn on a machine that belonged to Catalina’s grandmother. The pieces sold to friends, then to friends of friends, and by 2007 the label had become one of the first Colombian fashion brands to export abroad. Agua by Agua Bendita is the elevated ready-to-wear and resort line that grew out of that start, and it still carries the same handmade character.

Why the craft matters

The handwork is the point. Embroidery is done by hand by Colombian artisans, often dense enough to cover a whole bodice and run along a hem, and the prints are painted rather than printed off a screen, tropical scenes and botanicals laid onto linen, cotton, and silk. One embroidered piece can take a long time to finish, which is why these are clothes the house expects you to keep. Handle an Agua by Agua Bendita dress and the work is the first thing you notice.

What the house makes

Swimwear is still the heart of it, from hand embroidered bikinis to sculpted one-piece swimsuits in recycled fabric. Around that sits a full resort wardrobe: pareos that double as skirts, embroidered maxi and midi dresses, kaftans, fluid trousers, and cropped sets that move from the beach to a terrace dinner. The colour runs from clean ivory and black through to golden yellow florals and blue botanical prints, so there are quiet pieces and pieces that lead a whole look.

How to wear it

Let the craft lead and keep the rest calm. A printed pareo works over matching swim with a straw tote and flat leather sandals for the shoreline. An embroidered maxi dress takes a heeled mule, gold jewellery, and a woven clutch into the evening. When a piece is solid rather than printed, lean into texture with natural stone and woven leather instead of more pattern. The cuts are relaxed and lettered, so they sit easily and pack well.

Shop Agua by Agua Bendita at Luxury Shoes

Luxury Handbags carries the High Summer and resort arrivals, each piece authenticated and shipped worldwide. Explore the full Agua by Agua Bendita collection, browse designer beachwear and resort dresses, and see how it sits next to Zimmermann and Alémais in the resort edit.