: a project that is not yet finished : a concerted effort to make things better, brighter and more beautiful : our weekly updates on retail to detail and everything in between
Fashion may be aspirational, but it’s ultimately reflective of the times we live in. The way we dress, both as individuals and as a community, inevitably evolves as we ourselves grow. With so much to accomplish in-store and in the world, there is hardly time to rest on one’s laurels. Like all things, it takes concerted effort to move the bar forward.
Summer is in full swing in Santa Fe and so too are the stores. Our social calendar is booked for the next two months, including four trunk shows and a birthday party. In the second week of July, we will be hosting The 8th Annual Mieko Mintz Trunk Show, on display in Santa Fe Dry Goods the weekend of International Folk Art Market. Mieko will be in-store to showcase her one-of-a-kind kantha pieces from July 10th through July 12th. Joining Mieko with their own special trunk shows will be Yaser Shaw and Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin. It will be a very fun and craft-forward weekend–we would love to see you there!
Come August, Todd and Debra Pownell of TAP by Todd Pownell will come to Santa Fe to share a full selection of their diamond works on Friday, August 8th, and Saturday, August 9th. That weekend will culminate with a celebration of Santa Fe Dry Goods’ 40th birthday on the evening of Saturday, August 9th. If you are in Santa Fe during July and August, we would love to have you join us for any and all of these events. What a treat it will be to toast four decades alongside you all!
During our latest stint on the buy, we were struck by the beauty not only of our surroundings, but of the people who inhabit them. Social countries, such as Italy, foster a sense of community by creating what sociologists refer to as a “third space,” a place to spend time that isn’t your home, work or school.
Arriving in Bologna at nearly midnight, we walked past Piazza Maggiore to find quite the scene: a movie screen, a projector and what felt like the entire city sitting together to eat ice cream and watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It was an incredible sight of community, with people of all ages, genders and ethnicities mingling in the crowd. Teenagers canoodled beneath the 15th-century archways, smiled at by 85 year-old grandmothers shuffling through the crowd. Scores of families scattered the piazza, kids and toddlers playing on picnic blankets while their parents enjoyed the film. To us, this was the best of the Italian lifestyle: slow, intergenerational living that puts an emphasis on the moment and togetherness.
There is a levity that accompanies settings like this, an opportunity we don’t take advantage of in the States nearly as often as we should. The Santa Fe Plaza is a great example of a rare third space, and at its best, the retail around it can be an extension of that feeling. Regardless of whether you are with us to buy, we hope you can come in-store to take a moment to enjoy the fabric, feel inspired by a new artist or just share a laugh with us.
Designers such as Kaval not only concept their pieces, but make them from the ground up–buttons, fabric and all. This tiny Japanese studio does not adhere to a typical fashion calendar, opting to ship in small batches as they are finished.
Is there anything as dreamy as a day on the water? In bright colors and clean silhouettes, studios such as Amblẽme and Officine Creative push classic summer accessories to their highest potential through fun colors and fresh presentations for the season.
Our newest addition to Santa Fe Dry Goods takes a different beat for summer. Rich in glamour and sophistication, Jason Wu’s Pre-Fall 2025 has cocktail hour written all over it.
In addition to Jason’s alternative interpretation of classical silhouettes, fascinating plays of texture define this first collection to the stores. Crinkled satin, brushed cotton canvas and asymmetrically cut mini-pleats create a delivery as pleasant to touch as it is to see.
After meeting with Bergfabel in nearby Lucca, we travelled back to Bologna to write our orders in a little bistro down the street from our hotel. While there we ate the best tortellini, prepared from scratch in the open kitchen in front of us. Through bites of hand-tossed noodles and cheese we pondered: what is food’s relationship to fashion?
When thinking of food and fashion, perhaps your mind conjures the cliché of exquisitely dressed but paper-thin models turning down a cube of cheese. But really, the relationship between these two worlds is long and storied—especially in the realm of slow making. Regardless of medium, the intention is to create a beautiful experience for others—made all the more special when it’s crafted by hand. We started carrying home goods in support of this lifestyle vision—something that came full circle this week when the latest batch of Bertozzi’s porcelain tableware arrived to Wild Life and made the perfect complement to Daniela Gregis’ summer prints.
This summer, we are all about community. How lucky we have been to spend forty years on the Santa Fe Plaza, not only for the opportunities this location affords us but for the dozens, hundreds, thousands of wonderful people we have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. We are reminded of this every time we get closer to summer—suddenly the Plaza is full, thriving and every bit as colorful as the people who love it. We hope to savor this feeling of community deeply over the next weeks, taking it in, counting our blessings and perhaps lingering just a bit longer to chat over a touch of Bertozzi espresso.
