With versatile garments that meet the needs of both amateur and professional dancers, this brand from Ibaguer has been working hard since 2018 to respond not only to the local but also to the international market.
La Petite Marie is a family business, which from its name and concept pays tribute to the union of ideas and talents. It translates from French 'Little Maria', which according to its creator, also refers to the fact that her mother, her sister and she bear that name.
This is María Alejandra González Florez, an Ibaguer who from an early age became interested in dancing, in dance; and since then, she embarked on a path that today has her in addition to leading this endeavor, training as a Bachelor of Contemporary Dance at the University of Guadalajara, in Mexico.
She “she was born out of the city's need for not having a store specializing in garments and accessories for dance training; I have been a dancer since I was 11 years old (...) and I have known the situation from my own experience, ”said María Alejandra.
Her passion for her dance has taken her to various stages, and stages refer to dance floors, theaters as well as fairs; and this since in the recent edition of Ibagué, Negocios y Moda she had a stand, that she together with her mother, María Nethy Florez, presented her first collection, which she indicates is 'capsule'.
“It is a capsule collection because it is small; the idea is not to get into fast fashion. The collection only has 14 garments, and the idea is that they are versatile, that the dancer does not need to have so many garments in his wardrobe, but that some can be used in various genres (...) this first collection is called ' Freedom,'” González explained.
And it is that both the concept, as well as the first collection, have been designed and carried out due to the lack of own brands, as well as the high prices to access this type of clothing.
For this reason, La Petite Marie, created and led by a dancer in professional training, has been consolidating and "uniting passions", as she says, and find garments such as bodies, bags, trunks, reversible tops, jackets and even double bags. face, which have several functionalities.
They range from the double face, to ways of being used well in more academic practices such as classical ballet, as well as Latin rhythms and even the urban. Also, some garments are adjustable to activities such as the gym and amateur dance.
“We have found a way to make garments that are easy to access, as well as comfortable for the dancers. (...) we have children's and youth sizes and references (...) and our fabrics, which are completely Colombian, give us the certainty that they can practice the technique without any problem.
(...) as for the fabrics of the garments, some are in antifluid and lycra, and the colors are defined according to the practices because for ballet everything tends to be more classic and rigorous, while for Latin and urban rhythms the proposal is another”, explained the businesswoman.
family microenterprise
It has already been mentioned that this business is run by María Alejandra, who is the youngest of her siblings, and that together with her mother and her sister Angélica María González Florez, they successfully carry the flags of the project.
However, it should be noted that Mrs. María is the one who makes several of the garments, thus uniting her talent with her entrepreneurship; that other garments are made in another workshop because they have machinery there that they still do not obtain properly at home, where the company is also located; and Angélica María is the graphic designer.
“I am in charge of designing the sketches and I add my knowledge from my practice (...) all this has been empirical, but I have taken sketching courses, in addition to the fact that, being very small, I always showed my talent and love for drawing. ”, affirmed Maria Alejandra.
La Petite Marie, in its short time of creation and work, has shown that even selling few loose garments, and then generating credibility by making the uniforms of some dance schools and academies in Ibagué, "the local company is reliable and can compete against to imports, which is what predominates in the market”.
Hence, 'La Petite' also has several complementary accessories among its products, which have given its customers peace of mind when purchasing items more easily.
“We bring custom elements such as shoes for salsa dancing, tennis shoes with special soles for dancing all kinds of genres, crude shoes, convertible tights for ballet and contemporary dance, as well as toes and spiders,” she added.
Finally, she stressed that the purpose of her undertaking is to reach a place of trust in the region, to later project herself nationally and, why not, internationally, with the empowerment of this young woman who is only 20 years old.
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