KANOMI IS A SWIMWEAR AND DESTINATION WEAR LABEL THAT REIMAGINES LUXURY THROUGH THE LENS OF VENEZUELA’S NATURAL WONDERS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. FOUNDED BY MARÍA DOMÉNICA ATENCIO IN 1999, THE BRAND’S NAME KANOMI TRANSLATES TO GUAVA (GUAYABA) IN SPANISH, DERIVED FROM PEMÓN, THE LANGUAGE OF THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY NATIVE TO THE GRAN SABANA IN SOUTHERN VENEZUELA. EACH PIECE CARRIES A NAME AND SPIRIT THAT ECHOES THE SOUL OF ITS SOUTH AMERICAN ROOTS.
HANDCRAFTED IN CARACAS, KANOMI UNVEILS SEASONAL CAPSULES IN CONSCIOUS, LIMITED BATCHES GUIDED BY A ZERO-WASTE PHILOSOPHY. THE ARTISTRY OF THE MANOS KANOMI, PAIRED WITH EXCEPTIONAL FABRICS AND REFINED TECHNIQUES, RESULTS IN GARMENTS WITH SUBTLY DISTINCT QUALITIES AN IMPRINT OF THEIR HANDCRAFTED ORIGIN AND ELEVATED PROVENANCE.
THROUGH SCULPTURAL SILHOUETTES, THOUGHTFUL VOLUMES, AND PRECISION FITS, THE BRAND EXPLORES A VISION OF MODERN TROPICAL SLEEKNESS DESIGN THAT TRANSCENDS WATER AND SUN, FLEETING TRENDS AND SEASONS. KANOMI EMBODIES A BOLD HARMONY BETWEEN THE VITALITY OF NATURE AND THE STRENGTH, GRACE, AND VERSATILITY OF THE CONTEMPORARY WOMAN.
MADE IN VENEZUELA SINCE 1999
FOUNDED BY MARÍA DOMÉNICA ATENCIO, KANOMI WAS ESTABLISHED IN CARACAS IN 1999, DEBUTING WITH JUST THREE SWIMWEAR DESIGNS. WHAT BEGAN AS A PERSONAL EXPLORATION QUICKLY EVOLVED INTO A LASTING CREATIVE JOURNEY, WHERE ATENCIO’S ARTISTIC VISION AND LOVE FOR DESIGN MERGED WITH A DEEP-ROOTED PRIDE IN HER VENEZUELAN AND LATIN AMERICAN HERITAGE.
FROM THESE EARLY BEGINNINGS EMERGED MANOS KANOMI, A DEDICATED TEAM OF SKILLED ARTISANS, AND A STUDIO THAT WOULD DEVELOP INTO A SPACE FOR BOTH CURATED COLLECTIONS AND BESPOKE CRAFTSMANSHIP.
AS VENEZUELA PRESENTED ITS OPPORTUNITIES, THE LABEL’S STORY GREW. IN 2006, KANOMI OPENED ITS FIRST SHOP IN PASEO LAS MERCEDES, FOLLOWED BY A SECOND STUDIO IN 2013. IN 2018, IT FOUND ITS CURRENT HOME A MID-CENTURY MODERN SPACE NESTLED IN THE SAN ROMÁN NEIGHBORHOOD OF CARACAS. IT IS HERE THAT THE BRAND’S VISION CONTINUES TO DEVELOP.
THROUGH YEARS OF ORGANIC GROWTH AND DEDICATED CRAFT, THE ORIGINAL SPARK THAT IGNITED KANOMI STILL GUIDES THE LABEL, ROOTED IN HERITAGE, ELEVATED BY INTENTION, AND LOCALLY MADE IN VENEZUELA.
PHILOSOPHY
KANOMI CHANNELS ITS REUSE PHILOSOPHY THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF ARTISTIC COLLABORATION.
OVER THE YEARS, THE LABEL HAS DEVELOPED AN ONGOING CREATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH CLEMENCIA LABIN, A VENEZUELAN VISUAL ARTIST BASED IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, WHO BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO FABRIC REMNANTS THROUGH HER EMOTIONALLY CHARGED, SENSORIAL WORK. LABIN’S PRACTICE EXPLORES FORM, COLOR, TEMPERATURE, AND SENSATION, DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE MEMORY OF HER BIRTHPLACE, MARACAIBO, IN THE VIBRANT STATE OF ZULIA. THE STRIKING CONTRASTS OF ITS LANDSCAPES, ITS CHROMATIC RICHNESS, THE LAYERED SOUNDS AND SCENTS OF THE REGION, THESE IMPRESSIONS LIVE ON IN HER WORK.
IN 2009, A VISIT TO THE KANOMI STUDIO IN CARACAS BECAME THE CATALYST FOR A SHARED VISION. IT MARKED AN EARLY EXPRESSION OF THE BRAND’S ZERO-WASTE ETHOS, WITH CLEMENCIA BECOMING A COLLABORATOR IN KANOMI'S USE OF DISCARDED MATERIALS. SINCE THEN, THE BRAND HAS DONATED FABRIC SCRAPS FROM PAST COLLECTIONS, WHICH LABIN REIMAGINES INTO SCULPTURAL ABSTRACTIONS PIECES THAT EXTEND THE LIFE OF OUR RESOURCES AND REINTERPRET WASTE AS LASTING BEAUTY.
LABIN’S WORK AFFIRMS WHAT THE LUXURY LABEL BELIEVES: MODERNITY MAY BE REFLECTED IN HOW WE LIVE, BUT IT IS DEFINED BY HOW WE THINK.
— CLEMENCIA LABIN, IN HER HAMBURG STUDIO, SURROUNDED BY KANOMI FABRIC SCRAPS AND SELECTED WORKS FROM HER “PIÑATAS Y TRUNCAS” SERIES. PHOTOGRAPHED BY AXEL MARTINS.
