“It’s kind of like I’m organizing a wedding,” says Nicolas Martin Garcia, founder of brand Garcias, speaking on Zoom a week out from the brand’s Milan Fashion Week debut. It’s his first-ever fashion show, and rather than play it safe, the designer has gone for an ambitious concept that fuses his Colombian roots with his Italian upbringing.

The show will take place on June 20 in a constructed Colombian neighborhood, complete with façades of a barber shop and a flower market. “I never do simple things,” he says with a smile. “When I think about the collection, when I think about my clothes, I see them in a very specific scenario. Colombia is something that you cannot explain, you know? I have to show the clothes, but I have to show the vibe, and what I feel when I go there.”

Garcia, who was born in Bogotá and moved to Italy aged four, never intended to launch his own label. After graduating from Italy’s Accademia Costume & Moda in 2013, the designer cut his teeth at Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, where he worked in design from 2016 to 2023. His ambition was always to be a creative director of a big house. But in 2022, inspiration struck on a trip home to Colombia, when he visited Comuna 13, a famous neighborhood in Medellin once racked by crime and ruled by Pablo Escobar but now rich with street art, music, and subcultures. Garcia envisioned his own fashion show there, and made the decision to start his own label, one that celebrates his Colombian culture.

He flew back to Italy and got planning. “The first thing that I did was sit down and prepare a document about how I see the brand in five years, including positioning, product strategy, communication, and marketing,” Garcia says. Despite his years of experience, the designer knew the risks of striking out on your own. “Putting your face on something and controlling everything — the production, the wholesale relationships — it’s very different to working at a [house].” Months later, he resigned from Cavalli and launched his label in 2023, using income generated from consultancy work and creative direction projects for other fashion brands like DSquared2 and New Arrivals. He gained traction designing the opening look of Karol G’s Puerto Rican tour in 2023, and has since partnered with Latino stars like Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

The launch of Garcias comes at a “hot moment” for Latin American culture, Garcia says. From Grammy-winning musicians like Bad Bunny to award-winning Mexican American designer Willy Chavarria, global audiences are more excited than ever by Latin creatives.

Garcias is built on the foundation of streetwear. The brand’s first product, like many contemporary labels, was a T-shirt (today, they retail for around €140). But the designer is keen to transcend being a “T-shirt and hoodie brand”. More formal shirts are becoming his signature, crafted in fine silks to represent his Italian side, or embellished for a touch of Colombian style that Garcia calls “Latin maximalism”, blending a bright Colombian color palette and bold graphics with Italian neutrals and refined silhouettes. “There are a lot of brands happening. So I wanted to do something that’s not repeating. I have a unique background between Colombia and Italy, plus lots of influence from America, growing up listening to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. That’s what inspires my brand.” He wants 70% of his business to come from those special, embellished pieces, with 30% made up of T-shirts, hoodies and basics, Garcia says. The brand manufactures across Italy, Portugal, and Türkiye.

Today, Garcias is a modest business, but gradually growing. The business receives some financial support and mentoring from the AFRO Fashion Association, the organization founded and led by Michelle Ngonmo, which advocates for BIPOC professionals within the Italian and international fashion industries. The association helped Garcias secure PR for the show.

Brand revenues hit €120,000 in 2025, two years post-launch, and the brand currently has 11 stockists, including Nubian and GR8 in Tokyo, The Room Concept Store in Venice, and Opener in South Korea. Sales grew 243% from €35,000 in 2024 to €120,000 in 2025, showing a strong direction of travel. Garcia is hoping this runway show will be a watershed moment that brings “wholesale expansion and international visibility”, he says. The designer was weighing up whether to show in Milan or Paris, but felt that Milan offered more schedule space, as well as a better chance of being discovered by new press and buyers. It’s true that new talent is quite rare on the Milan men’s runway schedule, and so governing body Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) shouts about newcomers in press conferences and announcements.

The main challenge is cutting through the noise with the public and breaking out in a saturated landscape. “The world is changing completely, and what works on social media today won’t work in two weeks,” Garcia says. “So I have to constantly [update] my social strategy and positioning.”

Right now, the business is majority wholesale, representing 70% of sales, which is Garcia’s comfort zone having worked at major brands that also prioritized the multi-brand model. But his goal is to invest in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business over time. “The market is changing,” he says. “Many stores are closing or delaying payments, and online offers better margins, so it’s important to do.” In the beginning, the brand targeted Latin American consumers, Garcia says, with a bolder aesthetic. But he was surprised to find that it resonated in Japan and in Korea, too. “The buyer from Nubian, which is one of the coolest stores in Tokyo, came to our showroom in Paris wearing our clothes, and I was so surprised.”

From Saturday’s show, the designer is hoping to secure more wholesale clients, and is excited that “many big buyers” will be in attendance. “I’ve dressed celebrities, but doing a show is another league,” he says. Garcia hopes to receive feedback from those who attend the show, both positive and negative, to help develop the brand.

Looking ahead, Garcia’s ambition is to scale without losing the soul behind his label. “If I take someone like Amiri, I really respect what he does,” he says. “I respect his values, and how he’s built his business. So maybe I’d like to be the Colombian Amiri,” he says with a smile. Eventually, he’s hoping to imbue his spirituality into new categories, with homeware, or even a café “where people can get their tarot read”.

It’s a long road ahead. “I know there are hurdles in front of me. I will need to manage my finances, and understand what is and what’s not working,” he says. “But I think it’s the right timing for me to try. I’m quite happy that I’m still [independent]. I hope many things after the show will start to change, but I’ve done a lot of learning already.”