Contemporary Haute Couture in Buenos Aires

Since the world opened its doors again, we've been slowly adjusting to the new normal in BA and, all of a sudden, we've found ourselves attending all kinds of social events. Wedding parties, big birthday celebrations, fashion shows and so on. After two very long years, we've caught up with our social lives in the blink of an eye. As a consequence of this, haute couture designers have been experiencing a high demand for wedding and party dresses, and even those who were a bit more conservative pre-pandemic are now willing to play around with new textures and colors.

Buenos Aires offers a huge range of haute couture designers, but when it comes to a more contemporary style, you need to dig a little deeper to find something more unique. One of those hard-to-find gems in Buenos Aires is Melina Bendeyan, Founder and Creative Director of the brand Bendeyan.

Melina is a fashion designer who graduated from the prestigious University of Buenos Aires in 2014. Once she finished her studies, she continued at the same university as a professor's assistant. After this enriching experience that gave her a deeper understanding of design, she went on to study at Central Saint Martins in London and completed other business courses in Tel Aviv, Israel and Buenos Aires.

Her time to shine arrived in 2017 when she came back to Buenos Aires and, after working for a couple of local and international haute couture brands, she decided to launch her own namesake label, Bendeyan, in partnership with her brother.

Bendeyan was created to offer original, well crafted pieces, with an excellent fit (we can tell). They find inspiration for their work in music, contemporary art, industrial design and sociocultural habits, and the merging of these worlds results in a very unique and contemporary style. We can also see these influences reflected in the textures, silhouettes and colors that they use in their collections. It's most visible in their haute couture pieces in which they allow themselves to explore new textures by combining unusual materials such as tapestry or plastic. Something that also adds character to their pieces is the handmade embroidery with stones, which really takes our breath away!

Bendeyan has three lines. Number 01 Atelier: haute couture for brides, dresses for special occasions and experimental pieces made to measure for every client. Number 02 Contemporary: ready-to-wear collection, and Number 03 Seasonless: everyday basics. Pieces are produced in limited edition or made to order to avoid excess stock. They strive to create long-lasting pieces made by hand from premium natural and eco-friendly fabrics.

If you love Bendeyan's work and aspire to own one of their unique pieces then we can help you get in contact with them and assist you with everything you need to make your dream come true! And if you want to explore Buenos Aires' design and art scene then book one of our services by clicking on the Contact Us button below and live the Shop Hop Experience. We're your very own Online Personal Shopper!

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Mani Boucher.

Bespoke interior design in Buenos Aires by artist Carolina Salom

As many of you already know, one of our passions is to discover talented people in Buenos Aires. Although in the last two years many designers shut their studios (sadly), new ones also came to light bringing exciting and refreshing ideas.

At the beginning of last year we came across Carolina Salom. An interior designer who is a Colombian with an Argentine soul, who caught our eye and we’d love to share her story with you all.

After completing her studies at the University of Palermo in Buenos Aires, she started to specialize as a textile artist by taking a Master’s in weaving techniques, in particular with felt, in the city of Barcelona.

Her first project came in 2013 when she moved to the US and started to create felt rugs while getting to know the textile art world, simultaneously raising her two lovely boys.

In 2019, life brought her back to Buenos Aires again and she started leading other projects as creative director at the most important textile consultancy in Argentina. At that moment she realized how much she was yearning to being part of something larger that would allow her to connect directly with the more human side of her craft.

That is how CSALOM Atelier came to life. Initially the project was set up in a charming little atelier in the cool neighborhood of Chacarita, where she also shared the space with other great and inspiring artists and designers. Today, the project has come of age, and now Carolina has opened her atelier at her own home where her pieces, inspired by the rivers, combine with her vision of design, gastronomy and motherhood.  

Last week we had the honor of participating in one of her open showrooms and being part of this unique experience in BA. The atmosphere at her place was so peaceful, the homemade food, the music and of course the exhibition of all her pieces, all worked together to create a memorable moment in our hearts.

As design curators, we can confirm that Carolina has achieved a very personal style. Her experimental handmade pieces have character and are the kind of pieces that can also be considered as sculptures within your house. Wool, cotton and linen in a top quality are the main natural fibers and fabrics she turns into beautiful pillows, blankets, sheets, curtains and duvet covers. Everything is made-to-measure and has her own stamp of individuality.

Currently, she is working on her first exhibition that will feature a selection of textile sculptures with a poetic soul showing a new way to interpret the textile world. The exhibition will be taking place at one of our favorite places in Buenos Aires, Falena Libros. We’re really looking forward to hearing more about it!  

If you loved Carolina’s work and aspire to own one of her unique pieces, then we can help you get in contact with her and assist you with everything you need to make your dream come true! And if you want to explore Buenos Aires design & art scene, then book our services by clicking on the Contact Us button below and live the Shop Hop Experience. We're your very own Online Personal Shopper!





Posted on May 2, 2022 by Mani Boucher.

Explore Buenos Aires from the comfort of your home.

The year that has just ended was the one that changed everything and many of these new habits and lifestyles are here to stay, or at least for most of 2021.

One of the biggest changes that happened overnight was the increasing use of social media and online platforms. Even those who so far had avoided social networks had no option other than jumping into the virtual zone and getting on, which was absolutely positive and in many cases this opened a door to dialogue with customers and getting to know them better.

As experts at creating design experiences for tourism in Buenos Aires, we can’t deny that the current scenario was extremely challenging for us. But there’s always a silver lining, and now we can say that 2020 was the year for reinvention which enabled us to recreate our experiences into an entirely new way of exploring design, art & culture in Buenos Aires.

Now, grab a cup of coffee and let’s find out together how our design experiences went virtual.*

Worldwide Shipping: If you live overseas but love Argentine design or you're in Argentina and would like to send unique, made-in-Argentina pieces to friends and family overseas, then we can help you to find the items you’re looking for and ship them to any part of the world.

Online shopping Itinerary: Wanting to do some shopping from home? Then we'll design a list of online shops based on our knowledge of the latest brands on the scene and your shopping needs and send you out your customised shopping itinerary.

Gift Services: After a brief consultation to establish your budget and your recipient's tastes, we'll send you a selection of suitable gift ideas to choose from, purchase said gift and deliver it to your recipient's door.

Thinking locally and acting globally was the first step into a new way of delivering our services internationally while keeping in touch with the fashion and design world.

So, if you want to explore Buenos Aires design & art scene, then book our online services by clicking on the Contact Us button below and live the Shop Hop Experience from any part of the world. We're your very own Online Personal Shopper!

*As always, Shop Hop responds to its customers. With lockdown restrictions lifting in Buenos Aires we are offering covid-compliant personalized tours as well as the virtual services described here.

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Mani Boucher.