Sheila Vicens

FASHION DESIGNER, FOUNDER OF VICENS

Fashion was Sheila Vicens’ first dream. Born in Puerto Rico, raised in Miami, and now living in Coral Gables, she put that aspiration aside for a life that included teaching kindergarten, raising three children, and working in medical sales. But at 50, Vicens returned to her dream, launching the couture label that now bears her name. A self-taught designer, Vicens works primarily with repurposed vintage textiles, drawn to older garments for the quality of their fabrics and the possibility of turning them into something new. Silk, velvet, linen, and organza are taken apart and reworked by hand into made-to-order pieces. In a moment dominated by fast fashion, her work is rooted in material, fit, and longevity. The Vicens label took shape after she started making pieces for herself and for family occasions, including her brother’s and then her daughter’s weddings. Fast forward to last year, when she was invited to show at New York Fashion Week, followed by Miami Swim Week, LA Fashion Week and then Paris Fashion Week. Vicens, whose creations have now appeared in Vogue and Vanity Fair, works out of her Coral Gables home studio with one seamstress, meeting clients by appointment and creating garments for future runway shows.

LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT

Vicens is currently preparing for shows in Milan and Paris while promoting a short documentary focused on women reinventing themselves later in life, “The Woman Who Dared to Begin Again,” with the goal of entering it into the Cannes Film Festival.

WHAT SHE SAYS

“It’s never too late to reinvent yourself, to do what you always dreamt of doing,” says Vicens. “It doesn’t matter the age. It doesn’t matter if it’s 30, 40, 50, or 60. If the light bulb turns on at 70, then 70 it is, because age is just a number at the end of the day, right? It’s how we feel inside… Ever since I decided that this was what I was going to do, I’ve been checking things off the list.”