Cuyana cofounders Karla Gallardo and Shilpa Shah hosted a dinner celebrating “Nuestras Raices,” meaning “our roots,” on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
“We’re thrilled to host our Nuestras Raices dinner alongside such an incredible group of Latina women,” Gallardo told WWD before the event. “It means the world to have their support as we celebrate the renaming of a true style icon, the Ecuador hat. This is a full-circle moment for Cuyana and for me personally, having grown up in Ecuador. For too long now, the true origin of these hats has been masked by a misnomer. As a brand rooted in heritage, our hope is that Cuyana’s official name change will not only raise consumer awareness, but encourage other fashion labels to give credit where it’s due. We couldn’t be more excited to have the support of such incredible Latina changemakers in sharing the Ecuador hat story and celebrating with us in L.A.”
Getty Images for Cuyana/Stefanie Keenan
Cuyana wants to make it known that the accessory, commonly known as the Panama hat, originates from Ecuador. Last year the brand unveiled a “This Is Not a Panama Hat” campaign.
With cohosts for the evening — actors Gina Rodriguez-LoCicero, María Elisa Camargo, Nathalie Kelley and This Is About Humanity cofounder Elsa Collins — guests enjoyed a Peruvian-inspired dinner at Cabra, on the rooftop of Hoxton Hotel in downtown L.A. The event brought out Christian Serratos; Jessica Marie Garcia; Emeraude Toubia; Julissa Calderon; Daniela Villegas; Bricia Lopez; Ellen Marie Bennett; Evelynn Escobar; Lauren Rodriguez; Patty Rodriguez; Grasie Mercedes, and Julissa Prado.