CREATED BY TWO LATINA ENTREPRENEURS, ESTEFANÍA LACAYO AND SAMANTHA TAMS

with the mission of elevating and enriching the Latin American fashion and design industries, aiming to make them more relevant than ever. It all began when they noticed a lack of opportunities within the region that was receiving a growing international interest. A project that once started exclusively as an annual conference is now much more than that.

Born in Nicaragua and based in Miami, Estefanía Lacayo has over eighteen years of experience in the editorial, retail and digital fronts of the fashion industry. A strong advocate for social impact and development in the region, she joined forces with like-minded Mexican co-founder, Samantha Tams, an expert in the retail sector who worked as a senior buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and specialty stores, thus becoming a fashion consultant and brand strategist.

 

Together, they are committed to developing the most important fashion platform in Latin America and proudly share the region’s greatness with the rest of the world.

  1. Estefanía is the co-founder of LAFS and TRIBU by LAFS, two platforms with the mission of elevating and enriching the Latin American fashion and design industries.
  2. Promoting inclusivity, the defense of human rights, and the empowerment of minorities are the pillars of this visionary entrepreneur, that sees no frontiers when standing up for her values and building strong communities.
  3. Estefanía began her career working at Vogue US and made a successful 20-year journey in New York working in the fashion industry.
  4. In 2010 she founded Edition01, a luxury e-commerce site that created limited editions in collaboration with firms, designers, artists, and celebrities such as Harper’s Bazaar, Goop, CFDA and Vera Wang, just to mention a few.
  5. The Nicaraguan is part of the comitee of Glasswing International, where she organizes its annual gala in Manhattan. She is also committed to the battle against human traffic as a member of the Freedom Council.
  1. Samantha is the Mexican co-founder of LAFS and TRIBU by LAFS, two long-term commitments to the growth of Latin American fashion and design.
  2. Samantha counts with 15 years of experience in the fashion industry, and through time, she has become one of Latin America’s leading voices in the industry.
  3. Although she studied Diplomacy, Samantha began her career working for over seven years as a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue in Mexico City.
  4. Nomad at heart, she has lived in Paris, London, Ecuador, USA, and Mexico, and eventually became a renowned consultant and business strategist for numerous brands and stores from all around the globe.
  5. Samantha now lives in Yucatán with her husband and two daughters, and remains a member of the National Pediatrics Institute patronage in Mexico City, a board focused on raising funds for aid ill children with scarce economic resources.