It all started with textures. Ever since she was a child, Pepa Pombo was drawn to touching and feeling anything that might be pleasant against her skin.
It wasn’t long before this obsession made its way to her clothes. Pepa stood out when it came to how she dressed, because her style was nothing more than an honest reflection of her personality. For her, fabrics that any other person would have earmarked for curtains, furniture or even a quilt, were the ideal material for her creations. This is how she gradually started making a name for herself and people started asking her what to wear.
The Pombo family
Pepa Pombo has become an emblematic figure for Colombian fashion on a global stage, with boutiques in Mexico, Spain, Panama, Guatemala and the United States. But this 40-year-old brand is more than just the creative and curious mind of its founder; Pepa Pombo is a company that succeeds and continues to grow thanks to the hard work of the best labor force she could have hoped for: her family.
Her brother, José Pombo, has been her partner from day one. And now the three heads of the company are him, his wife Patricia and, of course, Pepa. Her daughter Mónica Holguín followed in her mother’s footsteps and is now the brand’s creative director, while her son Daniel heads up the brand’s activities in Mexico. There are also her nieces, Carolina, who is director of communications and Camila, who is a permanent consultant; and her nephew Sebastián, who is the assistant manager.
“Pepa Pombo keeps its essence because the people who work here are my whole family and all my people. We have a group of mothers who are heads of their households and have worked with us for a number of years; today their daughters and granddaughters also make up part of our team. There are over 120 people who all play a part in our success.”
The future is diverse
Pepa Pombo doesn’t do anything by half measures. Decades of experience and hard work have provided her with the perfect formula to successfully take on new challenges. After years of concentrating on dressing women, a list which proudly includes María Félix, Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy, the brand has diversified. It has lines in homeware and children’s clothing; and now a men’s line called ‘Señor Pombo’, headed by her nephew Sebastián, which has already begun to conquer the male market.
Colombian fashion
The ideas, which come from each and every member of the family never stop flowing, making the company a constant fashion laboratory. “Each of us has our own world, and that’s where the ideas come from. The more we create, the more ideas come to us. But our main source of ideas is the desire to be original and not copy. We don’t get carried away by anything that has already been made or created.”
That is what makes the Pepa Pombo brand so unmistakable. So much so that the designer herself is delighted when she sees people in other corners of the globe who recognize her clothing. “People don’t want to dress like everybody else, which is why we have made a difference in Colombian fashion; we have added identity. That’s why so many people shop at Pepa Pombo”, concludes the designer who has spent many years living between Mexico and Colombia.
