Jacqueline Fumero

Born in Havana, Cuba, Jacqueline Fumero began her career in fashion with a collection of swimsuits launched in 2003. Since then, her handmade lifestyle brand spanning swimwear collections, beachwear and evening wear has been showcased at fashion weeks in Cuba and abroad.

Given her mission to preserve and promote Cuba's cultural legacy through her designs, in 2011 Fumero received the prestigious award from Cuba's International Craft Fair (FIART) for her commitment to craftsmanship and tradition.

Her effortlessly glamorous designs are versatile pieces that go from beach to city, inspired by the natural beauty of the island, the climate and the innate elegance and sensuality of Cuban women.

Jacqueline Fumero was not a fashion designer, she was not an artist, she was not an entrepreneur, she was, simply, a visionary who 15 years ago found in art a way to express herself and transmit what she felt and who she was, her love for the beautiful and the useful, for the elegant.

We all know she was a great person, capable of giving more than she could, capable of showing an affable smile and sacrificing much for everyone. We know her through her designs, watching her make them was a true spectacle, nothing escaped her, she cared for everything from the fabric to the interfacing, the seams and above all the finishing. She was subtle, but relentless when it came to work.

We all also know her love for Café del Ángel, a place she built from scratch, dedicating her efforts, days and nights so that it would be a living image of her vision, of the best of Cuban and international gastronomy. A place as eclectic as the plaza, as Havana, as she was herself.

Now she will not be here physically, at 56 years old, on Wednesday, May 18th, she left us as a result of cancer against which she also fought much and tenaciously.

But Jacqueline Fumero did not leave altogether, she stayed forever in Cuban fashion, in her Café del Ángel, in the hundreds of people with whom she worked and to whom she gave so much love, wisdom, advice. She remains, forever, as part of that intangible heritage of those of us who, above all things, admired her greatly, from any place, in any situation or enterprise she undertook.

Jacqueline Fumero was, ultimately and as her brand portrays, a strong dragonfly, resilient, mature, full of light and creativity, that will live forever.

During her childhood, while other girls played with dolls, Jacqueline had them as models to devise creative outfits and although, in her youth she chose medical studies by family tradition, manual skills and innate aptitude, led her to the path of fashion, design and elegance.

"When we talk about looking good it doesn't necessarily mean that we are in heels and suits 24 hours a day. It also represents cleanliness and hair care," warned the professional at that time, whose pieces regularly decorated spaces such as the National Craft Fair (Fiart).

From the first collection, her daughter was the featured image, "without her I am not me; when she tells me she likes it, I'm already at peace," and she gave her work a timeless character, the continuous inclusion of new styles and her intuition about trends, prints and tones.

"I don't have time to sit down and create. My muses awaken to the urgency of organizing runways and stands for various events such as Art Fashion and Fashion Week in Lion. People and life inspire me," the versatile creator said then.

In her textile pieces and costume jewelry, distinction, modernity and simplicity were constant. "My Cuban robes and my guayaberas are contemporary designs. I break with stereotypes and predetermined concepts to avoid monotony. There are colors that are always present: white, black, red and turquoise," she assured.

Jacqueline Fumero believed that the main quality of a designer was their ability to dream and the desire to conceive, even if only with the essentials.

"An artist is a dreamer. For example, my projection is that Cuba reaches a top place in international fashion, at the level of countries like Italy, France and the United Kingdom. There are very capable professionals to achieve it," Fumero expressed, a defender of that art until her last days.

In her view, her work was aimed at the Cuban woman: "she has always been very distinguished, careful and becomes a pattern for the rest of women in the world. For me the best compliment is that at foreign events, attendees know that I was born on this island," she concluded.