It is like entering an oasis of peace and harmony in the heart of the city. This is how you feel when you enter the Cortana store in Palma, a renovated space, clean and serene, with the scent of fresh figs. As soon as you cross a small courtyard with trees, away from the hustle and bustle, between white walls, the elegant pieces of the Mallorcan company take over the place in an organic composition that makes you think that it was always destined to be here.
Timeless and fluid, the garments speak for themselves: they demand time and claim craftsmanship. This has been, in fact, Rosa Esteva's vision since she started her own fashion brand in 2001 after studying in Barcelona. The designer, who was born in Son Servera, began her journey with "very defined values that have been maintained over the years," explains Angela Anessi, the brand's communications director.
That vision still dictates the timing of each collection: Esteva's watercolors inspire the prints of garments that are first prototyped in the tailoring workshop in Barcelona, 'a way of refining the design', and then reproduced thanks to the work of a network of producers, small workshops that 'have no more than three people on staff'.
'It is a very artisanal process' says Ángela, who recalls the difficulties the company faced at the time. Her dream was to create a very Mallorcan company, but it is true that at the production level it was impossible to do everything here'. Today, 24 years later, the company employs 50 people, 46 of whom are women. People who work on each piece with natural fibers such as silk, linen, wool and cotton made from 'honesty'.
'There are many studies that show that the use of natural materials on our skin benefits us on a health and organic level'.
Behind every Cortana garment there are faces and eyes, people with families and stories, from design to marketing, through production and printing,' she says. And that is, at the end of the day, 'generating honest and sustainable wealth, the kind that really matters'.
Far from trends, Cortana is not interested in temporary fashions. What prevails in each collection is that classic look that makes a garment always fashionable, the durability of the materials and that the women who wear them feel comfortable with them. There are many studies that show that the use of natural materials on our skin benefits us on a health and organic level'.
'Sustainability has to do with people and with the production processes being as local as possible'.
Cortana's own universe - which also includes an acclaimed line of wedding dresses - expanded even further in 2022 with a proposal of accessories, jewelry, cosmetics and home that communicates with the brand's principles and makes us reflect on the infinite layers that exist behind the label of 'sustainable'. Sustainability has to do with people', reflects Ángela, 'that the production processes are as local as possible because we know that when a T-shirt costs five euros, there is human suffering behind it'.
On an island where, until two decades ago, the footwear and leather goods industry was as lush as it was brilliant, today garment workshops are scarce. This reality has forced the company to turn to small, reliable artisan companies located on the other side of the Mediterranean: part of its shoe production takes place in Mallorca and the other in Alicante, and its bags are made in high quality Spanish and Italian workshops.
The house line, on the other hand, is developed from start to finish on the island. Precious and delicate ceramics, obliquely blown glassware, wooden tables and cutlery and monolithic candles give life to a catalogue of objects desirable for their shapes, colors and textures. Rich and natural, essentially relaxed. 'The glass pieces are produced in Gordiola, but all the designs are by Rosa,' says Angela, and the candles are made from organic soy grown in Spain.
Tireless and always on the move, Cortana is a living brand that evolves in terms of growth, 'but does not change its philosophy' thanks to an entrepreneur who 'always has the next step in mind'. In fact, for the last three years, the company has been working with Mallorca Preservation on the recovery of the island's hemp plantation. A plant with endless properties.
The seeds are rich in nutrients; the slash can be used to make a powerful insulator for the construction industry, and the fiber can be used to make fabrics that end up as clothing, rags, and ropes. In addition, Angela adds to its benefits, it has a high CO2 absorption capacity. It is a project of both innovation and recovery".
So it is, too, the signature of Rosa Esteva: a proposal that looks back to the roots of the island, retakes the essential, extols craftsmanship and raises the know-how of slowness and awareness through creativity, art and respect. Pure sensibility made fashion.
