The Carmen Busquets Foundation is devoted to advancing fashion as a force for sustainable development.
Building on Carmen’s lifelong dedication to the fashion industry and her award-winning leadership in fashion for development, the Foundation celebrates and funds projects that promote craftsmanship, couture, circularity, upcycling, inclusivity and culture through a series of meaningful prizes.
The Foundation operates in a targeted, high-impact niche that empowers creatives and preserves cultural legacy. It is especially focused on supporting those from underrepresented regions – such as Latin America and Africa – to recognize the vital role they play in shaping the future of global fashion and design.
Each year, a series of prizes will be awarded to couturiers whose work integrates heritage craft traditions with innovative production techniques and sustainable materials whilst supporting the employment of local artisans and seamstresses. Established businesses will be able to apply for loans to scale projects that match this criteria.
The Foundation is an advocate of couture, made-to-order and slow fashion, it encourages collaborations between the fashion and the art worlds with a commitment to inclusivity firmly placed at the heart of its mission.
A series of strategic partnerships are in development with high profile organizations and media titles to amplify the Foundation’s reach.
Whilst Carmen will continue to support humanitarian causes such as Glasswing International and WWF through personal donations, the Carmen Busquets Foundation’s core mission is to build a unique and lasting legacy where fashion, craftsmanship and cultural expression are recognized and rewarded as essential agents of change.
From the avant-garde luxury fashion boutique Cabus in Caracas, to her launch of CoutureLab a boutique, e-commerce and content platform with a focus on selling one-off handcrafted pieces and promoting fashion-transcending trends, Carmen has always chosen to uplift creative companies and founders that value artisan craftsmanship and cultural heritage as much as innovative technologies.
Having practiced the mind and body disciplines of mindfulness and meditation from an early age, Carmen advocates for the benefits of balancing material life with spiritual well being, a set of practices she believes to be inherently linked to her business success.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
In addition to her investments in the luxury fashion, lifestyle and technology sectors, Carmen leverages her entrepreneurial expertise to help non-profit organizations engaged in the conservation of the earth’s natural resources, in sustainable economic development, and in providing education and human rights for all.
The Carmen Busquets Couture Prize x Latin American Fashion Awards
The Carmen Busquets Couture Prize x Latin American Fashion Awards honors the cultural and artistic merits of haute couture in an inclusive and culturally rooted way.
The creation of custom-made and hand-crafted garments relies on the expertise of skilled artisans and seamstresses whose technical mastery and craftsmanship are steeped in tradition and cultural heritage.
Couture is the highest form of fashion design, which allows designers complete freedom of expression and the Carmen Busquets Couture Prize x Latin American Fashion Awards is intent on supporting established Latin American talent which has been recognised globally for their couture skills.