Through her work in Florida, luxury brand strategy, and an established community of buyers in LATAM, the Monarquía founder connects international fashion with a personal understanding of the US and Latin American customer.
For María Lía “Lola” de Tezanos, understanding luxury begins with understanding the woman who buys it: what captures her attention, what earns her trust, and what she chooses to keep.
That perspective connects her work as a fashion entrepreneur, luxury brand strategy consultant, and advisory board member of Miami’s Parodi Costume Collection. Working between Florida and Latin America, de Tezanos brings more than two decades of fashion experience to the relationship between brands, customers, and culture.
Raised in a family that cherished craftsmanship, well-made pieces, and the celebration of collecting beauty, de Tezanos developed an early appreciation for the skill and care behind an object. That upbringing continues to inform her approach to fashion, shaping her attention to quality, detail, and lasting value.
Before founding Monarquía in 2014, she built experience in corporate uniform manufacturing across Central America through Uniformes Urbanos and in manufacturing clothing for girls and their dolls through Holly Dolly. She successfully exited both businesses, carrying forward practical experience in manufacturing, product development, and commercial relationships.
That entrepreneurial trajectory helped establish her as an authoritative voice in Guatemala’s fashion industry and a style tastemaker, combining business experience with a distinctive eye for personal style and an understanding of how women shop.
Her work in Florida includes luxury brand strategy consulting for Latin American and U.S. markets. It builds on the experience she has developed through Monarquía, the contemporary luxury business she founded in Guatemala in 2014, and through longstanding partnerships with international labels.
Across these roles, her focus is consistent: understanding what gives a brand meaning in a customer’s life and turning that understanding into lasting commercial relationships.
Connecting Global Brands With Latin American and USA Buyers
For global luxury brands exploring Latin America and USA, de Tezanos combines market insight with access to an established community of luxury buyers. Her work connects brand strategy with opportunities for personal engagement, including private shopping events, intimate collection presentations, and tailored experiences that introduce brands to prospective clients.
Entering an unfamiliar market requires sensitivity to how customers discover, evaluate, and purchase luxury. A collection’s appeal depends partly on how it fits into their lives, from social occasions and travel to the pieces they already own.
De Tezanos approaches these questions through direct experience with customers. That knowledge can help brands consider how to position their collections, which pieces to introduce, and how to create an experience that feels relevant to the audience.
Events provide a personal setting for that introduction. They allow prospective clients to encounter a collection’s materials, craftsmanship, and design while giving brands a closer understanding of the people they hope to reach.
Connecting Fashion and Cultural Memory in Miami
Her role as an advisory board member of Miami’s Parodi Costume Collection brings a cultural dimension to her business perspective.
Fashion preservation invites a longer view of a garment’s significance. Design, construction, provenance, and the context in which a piece was created all contribute to its place in fashion history.
For de Tezanos, this connects with a question that has long informed her approach to retail: what makes a piece worth keeping?
Her involvement with the collection places that interest within Miami’s fashion and cultural community. It also connects two areas of her professional life: selecting pieces for contemporary wardrobes and supporting an appreciation of fashion beyond its original commercial moment.
A garment can be a purchase, a personal memory, and an expression of a particular era. Recognizing those different forms of value helps explain her interest in both entrepreneurship and preservation.
Building Through Longstanding Relationships
Through Monarquía, de Tezanos has worked with independent designers and international luxury labels, developing a contemporary luxury offering shaped by her customers’ lifestyles and preferences.
Monarquía also extends online through its global e-commerce platform, Monarquía Market, bringing de Tezanos’s selection of contemporary luxury fashion into a digital shopping experience.
Her longstanding brand relationships reflect the continuity she values. Sustaining an international brand partnership over many seasons requires commercial judgment, communication, and an understanding of how a label can develop within a market.
The same principle applies to customers. As relationships deepen, a retailer learns how a woman’s wardrobe evolves, which pieces she returns to, and where she is willing to experiment.
That knowledge gives brand selection a purpose. Each addition should make sense within the broader relationship between the business and its community.
The Customer as Collector
De Tezanos approaches wardrobe building with a collector’s mindset.
“For me, an investment piece is an investment in yourself—in who you become when you wear it, the confidence you carry, and the goals you pursue when you feel you look your best,” says de Tezanos.
A distinctive leather jacket, sculptural handbag, or carefully chosen belt can hold its place in a wardrobe for years. Her interest lies in helping customers recognize pieces that feel connected to their own identity.
Monarquía’s community includes women with established tastes and considerable experience buying fashion. Serving them requires confidence in the selection and attention to quality, usefulness, and personal expression.
Selective inventory and preorders help align the business with customer demand. Archival and preloved exchange events extend the conversation, giving pieces opportunities to circulate and find new relevance within the community.
As de Tezanos develops her work across Florida and Latin America, she brings these lessons into a broader conversation about luxury. Her contribution draws on the experience of building a business, understanding customers, and maintaining international partnerships.
It is also the foundation of her fashion voice: a belief that personal taste deserves attention, that cultural context matters, and that lasting relevance is earned through the relationships a brand builds over time.
