Born and raised among the natural and exquisite beauty of Argentina, Vanesa Wittenberg grew up surrounded with the country’s flair for fashion and creativity. When Vanesa relocated to Los Angeles and earned her MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, she recognized the potential of Argentine artisans and knew she had to use their expertise to bring luxurious leather handbags and accessories to the United States. Following in the footsteps of her entrepreneurial family, Vanesa launched Almas (Spanish for “soul”) in the fall of 2002. Since then she has experienced continuous growth and success – the line is currently carried in over 500 boutiques and specialty stores across the country.

Vanesa returns to her native Argentina several times a year to personally work on each and every piece of the Almas collection together with her local artisans.

Buenos Aires is often described as the Latin American fashion equivalent to Paris. Once heavily populated by Europeans, Argentina’s flair for fashion and creativity is now often overlooked abroad. “Argentine women continue to look to Europe for inspiration,” says Vanesa. “However their style has become uniquely their own.” With the launch of Almas, Vanesa is working to give the American woman a peek at what the Argentine woman has known for ages: style and sexiness go hand-in-hand.