Every product starts from an original design, a design with its own accent

In July 1997, the young  designer Mariana Meier graduated in Fashion Design at Senai Cetiqt Rio de Janeiro, one of the pioneering schools of Fashion in Brazil, which is sponsored by the Brazilian Textile Industry. She was keen to gain experience in accessories making and joined Brazilian luxury brand Maria Bonita, where she worked for a seven-month period before making a big decision: to study abroad.

Mariana headed to Florence, the heart and jewel of Italy, to commit herself to two and half years of intensive study and to gain invaluable skills in the art of making shoes and handbags. She was privileged to live in Florence’s historic centre, only a few steps away from the city’s major monuments, which would make her sigh of enchantment, every time she passed by, enriched by culture and inspired by art.

At the prestigious Centro di Formazione Professionale, Mariana learned the traditional craftsmanship involved in the making of an accessory: drawing, pattern cutting, sewing and handcrafting handbags, shoes, belts and small accessories. Besides the creation and production processes, Mariana also learned the business aspects and marketing strategies for this particular industry.
 
Whilst studying in Florence, her work was featured on new talents’ articles by European magazines specialized in accessories such as Moda Pelle Styling, Masters Idea Pelle and Impuls. She was referred to as the “one to watch”, the future promise of Italian’s fashion and design. Mariana’s creations were exhibited at the International Leather Accessories and Trends Fair Linea Pelle in Bologna in 1998 and 1999.

During the studies in Florence, Mariana offered consultancy to Brazilian leather companies providing research, product development and acting as a contact person for the European market.

After graduating, Mariana experienced living in Zurich, Madrid and Basel, where she continued to create and develop exclusive ranges of handbags and shoes for a very special and selected public, “her family and friends”, who always supported and applauded her creative endeavours.

In 2001, back in Switzerland and based in the beautiful and idyllic city of Lugano, Mariana joined Swiss brand Bally, notorious for its luxurious handcrafted accessories, as assistant designer, where she successfully collaborated on creating handbags and product development.

On a quest to make her dream come true, Mariana decided to embark on a creative journey investing in her own accessories range for women. Accent Designs was born in 2003. The philosophy behind it was, and still is today, to combine quality, design and comfort with uniqueness. The brand’s name reflects this philosophy and says it all: an accent is individual, personal and intimate. Likewise, Mariana’s creations “personify” the accent of each client according to colours, models, materials and combinations that they can pick themselves.

Mariana Meier is behind every step of the process: from the design and development to the shop floor. The original collections aim for longevity. Handbags and shoes can be enjoyed for many years because they do not follow fashion trends and fads and are made with the best quality materials in the most enticing colour palettes.  The collections are created in limited editions and run in small quantities to maintain the brand’s mantra: to offer exclusive and high quality designs with an excellent level of costumer service. The personal touch is Accent Designs’ signature.

Accent’s first shop opened in Lugano in 2005, a charming and contemporary space on an idyllic cobbled stone street in a picturesque part of the Swiss town, where Mariana daily welcomed her clientele with a big smile and, personally, introduced them to her beautiful designs. The store’s ambience was intentionally close and personal. She listened carefully to her loyal clients to create individual pieces especially tailored for them.
Later in 2005, Accent introduced a line of handcrafted shoes and accessories for men.
                                          
In the pursuit of creative collaboration, Mariana Meier accepted an invitation by British label Modernist to develop the killer heels that helped the designer duo, Abdul Koroma and Andrew Jones, to guarantee the second place at Fashion Fringe 2005 – competition created by British journalist Colin McDowell and supported by the Sunday Times.

In 2007, Mariana was invited by Memória Visual, the publisher of  “46 Livros De Moda Que Você Não Pode Deixar De Ler” to participate on this exciting project writing the text “Calçando História” (“Wearing History”), which was a pleasurable experience and a new challenge in her professional life.

The brand has reached global distribution with its new transactional website to enable style-savvy shoppers all over the world to purchase online.