Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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confident enough to wear her body-conscious designs, she says, "I am big on support for women who have curves. Sexy is great, but you need some support, so we always spend extra time making sure that, with every piece, you can wear some kind of undergarment that will make you feel safe, if you choose." Corte plays it a little less safe with her swim line, which features tantalizing tassels on bikini bottoms that, while offering a little more coverage than those in her 2011 Latin-inspired collection, still run shy of the traditional American cut. This resolve to stay true to her "Southern" roots has served her well: For the past two years, her styles have been featured in Sports Illustrated. In addition, Corte continues to flesh out the collection with cover-ups and dresses. This year her swim collection features sugarcoated colors of muted pink and green, which was a last-minute decision made in a Buenos Aires taxi. She and Ricardo Rodriguez, her Colombian-born creative director, changed the entire collection based on a shared love of the delicately hued pastries they enjoyed while growing up in South America. Corte credits Rodriguez with helping her streamline her business over the past two years, making it feasible for her to create a swim and resort line as well as open the doors of her chic garden-level storefront at 211 Newbury Street in 2011. The scent of Jurassic Flower by Frederic Malle greets a surprising mix of foot traffic, from the international guests of the Mandarin Oriental a block away to mothers and daughters seeking the polka-dot print inspired by a marker creation by Corte's 7-year-old. "The store gives me a lot of insight," Corte says. "People that I never thought would shop here, shop here. I see Boston evolving. They want something different." While Corte strives to provide dramatically different looks from one season to the next, this self-admitted textile snob says top-quality fabrications are always a given. Case in point: her Spring 2013 collection. Subtly echoing the lines and colors in a photo of a friend's boat, the new collection offers fine cotton lined with premium silk, double georgettes, and white Italian leather and lace. Extravagant yet edgy exposed zippers are carried over from previous seasons, with one taffeta A-line skirt featuring a zipper edged with silk. One Stress release: could say Corte's affinity for fine fabrics is "Working out is a priority. It's my genetic: In Argentina her father designed therapy. If I don't do it, ties for the country's VIPs and diplomats, a I'm not happy." business he developed from the ground up. Favorite beach: "I grew up going to the factories with my "Punta del Este in father, choosing silk, going to people's South America. That's houses, and measuring and fitting clients," where I grew up, and I spend some of my she recalls. "So my formal training is actusummers there." ally in men's." She moved to the United Style icons: Audrey States at age 19, took classes at Boston's Hepburn, Raquel School of Fashion Design, and vowed that Welch she'd one day create a women's ready-toInspiration: "Textiles— wear line bearing her name. But it is possible I can create a whole Corte will return to her roots. With a hint of collection if I'm in love irony, she contends, "Nothing's better than with a specific textile." a well-dressed man." BC Daniela Corte's Newbury Street boutique attracts international and local fashion lovers alike. "People that I never thought would shop here, shop here. I see Boston evolving. They want something different." —DANIELA CORTE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELEVIN STUDIOS (RACK), REBECCA SAHN (BATHING SUIT) INSIGHT Rambla one-piece ($195) 078-079_BC_SS_StyleSetter_Spring13.indd 79 Leggings are a linchpin of Daniela Corte's collection. 2/12/13 10:51 AM