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ABOUT

YOSUZI, IS A LIFESTYLE BRAND CELEBRATING THE NATIVE MYTHS AND CULTURES OF SOUTH AMERICAN TRIBES.

BORN AND RAISED IN VENEZUELA, YOSUZI, WHICH MEANS “CACTUS FLOWER” IN THE GUAJIRO NATIVE DIALECT, SPENT HER CHILDHOOD IMMERSED IN THE TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES, STORIES AND ARTISANAL CRAFTS OF HER ANCESTRAL GUAJIRO HERITAGE. STORIES OF HER GREAT GRANDFATHER, CHIEF YAJAIRA, AND OF HER GRANDMOTHER, FLOR EMMANUEL, WINNER OF THE FIRST MISS VENEZUELA COMPETITION IN 1946, INSTILLED IN YOSUZI A STRONG EMOTIONAL TIE TO HER NATIVE ROOTS.

AFTER RECEIVING HER B.A. FROM BOSTON UNIVERSITY IN SOCIOLOGY, YOSUZI SPENT THE NEXT DECADE OF HER CAREER AT THE INTERSECTION OF FILM, FASHION AND ADVERTISING AS A CREATIVE IN NEW YORK, LA AND LONDON WHERE SHE IS NOW BASED.

IN 2015, SHE EMBARKED ON AN EXPEDITION WITH HER MOTHER, IRUNU, TO RECONNECT WITH HER FAMILY’S NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE. OVER SEVERAL TRIPS TO THE GUAJIRA DESERT IN VENEZUELA, IRUNU, WHO IS FLUENT IN THE GUAJIRO NATIVE DIALECT, HELPED FORGE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY LEADERS OF THE TRIBE, WHO MADE INTRODUCTIONS TO THE LOCAL CRAFTSMEN. THESE CRAFTSMEN HAND-WEAVE HATS KNOWN AS ‘WOMA’. YOSUZI WORKED WITH THE CRAFTSMEN TO ADAPT THE HATS TO HER CUSTOMERS’ SPECS.

THE HATS ARE MADE OF 100% IRAKA PALM STRAW, HARVESTED FROM THE IRAKA PALM, AND FINISHED WITH WHIMSICAL, HANDWOVEN TRIMMINGS. EACH HAT TAKES ABOUT EIGHT HOURS TO WEAVE. MADE WITH A DIAGONAL WEAVING TECHNIQUE UNIQUE TO THE TRIBE, THE HATS’ PATTERNS AND SYMBOLS REPRESENT THE SPIRITUAL WISDOM OF YOSUZI’S ANCESTORS.

SINCE ITS DEBUT, THE LINE HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE STRAW BAGS AND HATS MADE IN ECUADOR, COLOMBIA AND BRITISH-MADE FEDORAS, WHILE ITS POPULAR STRAW HATS CONTINUE TO BE SPOTTED ATOP THE HEADS OF CELEBRITIES SUCH AS ANNA DELLO RUSSO, EMMA ROBERTS, GIGI HADID, BEYONCE AND KATY PERRY.
HER EYE-CATCHING DESIGNS HAVE GRACED THE PAGES OF KEY ONLINE AND PRINT TITLES INCLUDING GRAZIA, ELLE, VOGUE, VANITY FAIR, GLAMOUR, THE TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN AND INSTYLE TO NAME A FEW.

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