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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4022841_web1_260310-Mercedes-Jaimes-00115.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Mercedes Jaimes wears her Josephine Peplum top in Toile de Jouy fabric.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
No siree.<\/p>\n
The most precious item here is a small, bright pink plastic box stuffed with index cards holding detailed information of every single customer Jaimes (pronounced HAI-mess) has dressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call it my bible,\u201d says the designer, who is in her early 50s and moved to Winnipeg from Argentina in 2003. \u201cI started collecting client information about a year into the business when I realized it was imperative to serve my customers in this way. I have key measurements filed for each client, order history and notes and details that help me for the construction of the garments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very fluid and informative, as from time to time we revise and take measurements again if needed, as our bodies change constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
La Vie Romantique 2026 is the latest and 48th collection to date from Maison Corazon, Jaimes\u2019s fashion house and the culmination of her dreams.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n La Vie Romantique 2026 is the 48th collection Maison Corazon, Jaimes\u2019s fashion house.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The 15-strong collection, released a week ago, lives up to its name.<\/p>\n Beneath the loops and flounces, the romantic puffs and soft swirls, sits an exacting structure created by a designer who has mastered fabric, silhouette and construction.<\/p>\n Nowhere is this clearer than in the Josephine Peplum top in Toile de Jouy fabric, which has five different elements \u2014 each one requiring precise placement of dart and seam and frill and ruche and puff \u2014 and yet somehow avoids appearing overdone.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jaimes holds the Penelope Petit Frock in Primavera print with velvet bows.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n That\u2019s no mean feat when you consider it\u2019s also on a heavily textured print, wholly justifying its $265 price tag.<\/p>\n Jaimes has created a symphony of shape, texture and movement, the result of someone who knows how to manipulate fabric.<\/p>\n This is a woman you would trust to dress you, as evidenced by the loyalty of a clientele that returns year after year to sell her out of her offerings.<\/p>\n But perfection does not come cheap.<\/p>\n Her most popular pair of trousers, the Romeos from a previous collection, cost $185. Despite the price tag, her clients keep reordering them in different colours, trusting Jaimes will make them look their best.<\/p>\n Jaimes\u2019s first Instagram post as Maison Corazon<\/a> in August 2017 was an act of faith. Long before she had a single item of clothing, let alone a whole collection, she began posting snaps of herself in different dresses in beautiful surroundings, dropping clues to her sense of style and esthetic.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jaimes constructs her collection around a specific story.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n It was tangible way for her to claim the dream she\u2019d been nursing for as long as she could remember; she was taking the bull by the horns.<\/p>\n Less than a year later, in March 2018, she registered the business, releasing her first collection that spring.<\/p>\n \u201cI created a very appealing visual, but there was no product, no collection. I did that because I think when you have a project or an idea, you have to start somewhere \u2026 because if you are waiting for the perfect time or to feel that you are ready, you are not going to be 100 per cent ready,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI put myself out there, which was such a big deal. It was scary. But it was time for myself, for my dreams to get into fruition, to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n In the early days of Maison Corazon, Jaimes would lug her racks to various markets across the city, her first collection debuting at Lucky Girl Pop-Up.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jaimes showing the one-of-a-kind Adorned Cotton Crochet Cap, embellished with raw pearls.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But just as she\u2019d started, COVID-19 struck. The landscape shifted, but while other industries suffered, Jaimes thrived. Sitting at home with nothing to do, people started shopping online.<\/p>\n \u201cCOVID catapulted Maison Corazon. My sales went up and the website became incredibly strong<\/a>. And I\u2019ve continued selling only online; right now I don\u2019t have to do any markets,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n At five-foot-one, Jaimes is petite and small-boned, the serious set to her face accentuated by a blunt bob and slash of, depending on the occasion, red or pink lipstick.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an air of competence in her confident, self-assured manner, the kind of poise present in those who are in total control of their craft.<\/p>\n Friend and collaborator Meghan Greenlay of Meg Does Pottery has been working with Jaimes for at least seven years, since Jaimes requested Greenlay make her heart-shaped ceramic brooches.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jaimes shows off her heart button covers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n They were pals and fans of each other\u2019s work before joining forces, Greenlay says.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with Mercedes isn\u2019t just a priority for me; it\u2019s become part of my personal and our collective growth as the seasons continue. She is not only a longtime collaborator, but someone I look up to immensely and admire deeply when it comes to dedication of fine craft,\u201d Greenlay says.<\/p>\n These days Jaimes isn\u2019t bound by the traditional fashion calender. Collections drop at any time; each one is constructed around a specific story she wants to tell.<\/p>\n With degrees in fashion design and textile design from Universidad De Buenos Aires, plus more than 15 years working in the industry, it\u2019s no wonder Jaimes\u2019s customers trust her.<\/p>\n Customers make appointments to visit her light-filled living room in south St. Vital, which doubles as a showroom, to go through her rack of samples, picking designs they like the best, receiving the kind of service you night get at Parisian haute couture houses.<\/p>\n She\u2019s cultivated an intimate, unintimidating atmosphere; her fitting sessions are fun, personal and special.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Esme Flowy Top, a white portofino linen with antique inspired lace.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI already know your body because I have written it down \u2014 your measurements and a history of what I\u2019ve made for you throughout the years. I know from the beginning what I\u2019ve dressed you in. It\u2019s like what happened with haute couture, except that that\u2019s in Paris and I\u2019m here. But it\u2019s exactly the same, the same process. But my prices are way, way, way cheaper,\u201d she says laughing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s more than technical skill, industry experience or even the artistry of her clothes that keeps people coming back. It\u2019s how well she knows how to dress their bodies. It\u2019s her attention to detail, not just to what they\u2019re going to wear but who they are, while not compromising with what she wants to say.<\/p>\n There is an element of play in her pieces, an ethos from her very early days that has perservered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a thrill to create different forms for bodies, to be playful while still showing different aspects of yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing playful with the way you dress is a pillar of the brand. To have fun when you dress in the morning, not just to put clothes on.\u201d<\/p>\n And with that she\u2019s off, measuring tape and scissors in hand, off to whip up another playful dream to dress us in.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/avkitching<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tSunday Passages<\/p>\n Sundays<\/p>\n Kevin Rollason\u2019s Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Sunday Passages<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t AV Kitching AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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