Karla López Rivera is an industrial designer with a passion for an ethical and sustainable approach to product development. Born and raised in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico she headed abroad in 2004 to complete a BFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters in Footwear Design from Italian school Polimoda. After working in the footwear industry in New York for over 9 years managing the design and production process in local and overseas factories, she moved back to Puerto Rico to launch her own brand in 2018 called Isleñas.
Isleñas is a footwear brand focusing on merging the fashion and comfort categories with the mission to create a positive social impact in Puerto Rico through their in-house manufacturing.
Karla has been selected to pitch at Animus Startup Showcase, as a panelist for the Clinton Foundation Ideas into Action ‘Going Global: Expanding Market Access for Caribbean Artisans’, and as the recipient of the Guayacán’s EnterPRize Woman Entrepreneur Award.
To be able to launch and grow her business she has been part of local mentorship and grant programs like Pre 18, Parallel 18, EnterPRize from Guayacán Foundation, Causa Local, and Kiva. She believes reviving the needle industry in Puerto Rico by adopting slow fashion practices is a way to diversify and grow fair opportunities in the creative field.
CV available upon request.
