Vogue México highlights the best of Texas
Vogue México loves Texas. Just browse the pages of the September issue, which celebrates the beauty, style and food of Houston, El Paso, Austin, Dallas and Marfa.
In honor of Texas style, Vogue México editor-in-chief Karla Martinez de Sala recently hosted a party for Houston tastemakers at Steak 48 in River Oaks District. The El Paso native was joined by Lynn Wyatt, who is featured beautifully in the magazine.
Also spotlighted in the pages: the Oscar de la Renta retrospective at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — curated by legendary Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley — the Menil Collection, The Webster, The Chinati Foundation, El Cósmico, Kick Pleat and the newly renovated Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
Martinez de Sala talked about her days working at American Vogue, the New York Times’ T magazine and W magazine and her love affair with all things Texas:
Q: You’re from El Paso, so how did you end up in Mexico City?
A: I lived in New York for 16 years and moved to Mexico City almost three years ago. I was an assistant at American Vogue many years ago, then I worked at the New York Times then at W. I resigned from W because my husband got a job offer to move back to Mexico City. He’s from there. Q: So you never lived in Mexico before?
A: My parents are from there, but I never actually lived there. It’s an adjustment. When I’m there, I love it, then when I’m here in the States, I love it, too.
Q: What is life like after the recent earthquake?
A: There are some parts that look like nothing happened, much like Houston after the hurricane. Then you go a couple of blocks over and there are buildings that have fallen or need to be torn down. It’s been hard, but we’re working on it.
Q: Why did you want to celebrate Texas now?
A: We decided to do Texas because there was a big tendency on the runways to have a Texas look. Nina Ricci did all of these cowboys, McQueen did a lot of boots, and we thought maybe we should celebrate this Western style and this Texas influence. We wanted to highlight the best of Texas.
Q: What did you learn about Houston?
A: Growing up in El Paso, we’re kind of like the black sheep of Texas. I was in Houston last year when they opened The Webster. There’s so much culture here and so much to do. People don’t talk about Houston as this big cultural place. You hear people speaking French, Spanish, etc. You have two very big industries — oil and the medical field — so you get people from all over the world. You recruit the best of everything here. Q: Let’s talk about Mexico. What are your favorite
places to visit?
A: Where do I start? Puebla, Oaxca, Taxco, San Miguel and the secret beach, La Paz. Now, the choices in Mexico are greater. Before, we used to have the problem that things were much more expensive in Mexico, but it’s not the case anymore.
Q: Some people may not know there’s Vogue México and Vogue Latin América, right?
A: Yes, we want to emphasize the region and help the local designers. There’s so many places that need to be discovered in Latin America, and there’s so many things to do. That’s the important part of Vogue México. Q: You also get a chance to highlight Latin models.
A: Our September cover is a Dominican model, Lineisy Montero. A lot of Latin girls aren’t getting covers of other major magazines, so it’s my job to support them and make sure people know they are out here. Now, in the digital space, we have followers all over the world, and it makes it easy to promote the region and promote models and help the world see who they are.
Q: What do you want people to know about Mexico?
A: There’s so much to see. People don’t know how much there is to see and do. You see 1970s architecture, Aztec culture, the pre-Colombian world and Spanish colonial history. Also, the culinary experience has been elevated to another level.
Q: Favorite designers?
A: Oscar de la Renta, of course. Carolina Herrera. I used to work for her, and I love the way she makes women feel good. Proenza Schouler, Prada, Phoebe Philo at Céline, Chloé’s designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi and Johanna Ortiz of Colombia. I save my pennies for the women designers.
Q: What to you like about working in fashion?
A: I love the discovery of opening a magazine and learning about something new that I didn’t know existed. I love finding new designers. Now with digital platforms, it’s much easier to support people. I just love content. I love putting a magazine together.