We wandered into Shahbano one afternoon months ago (it’s just down the street from La Botica) and ended up just hanging way after our lunches were done. What can I say? I found an old copy of TimeOutNY and I obviously had to read every page. Shahbano sells flavorful soups served with half-sandwiches, good coffee and beautiful silk tunics. The place is a kind of store/cafe hybrid, all through the vision of the owner Annick Belanger. We got a chance to chat with her one evening about her global roots and the store while we sipped a little sangria.

Annick was born in Montreal but spent years as a child living in Cameroon. She first came down to Panama with her husband seven years ago and ended up getting a house here. It was not until she sold her restaurant in Montreal that she spent more than a few weeks a year here. Even once Annick was living in Panama, it was a trip to South Asia that led to Shahbano. “I went to India for the first time in 2009 and I was there in five weeks,” Annick said.

“I met this man who did the most incredible embroidery. When I met this man. I looked at my husband and said, I think I found what I wanted to do.”

Annick decided to created a business that would combine her interests in food and clothing. “I always had a passion for fashion. I was always creating my own clothes. That’s where the idea for Shahbano came from. I didn’t want to have the clothing without the food, or the food without the clothing,” Annick explained.

She designs all the clothing sold in Shahbano herself. The pieces are then created in New Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur. She also designs all the home decor and masterminded the menu. I don’t really understand where she found the time, either.

Shahbano opened in April 2011 and Annick says that after a year, the place is still developing.   She’s begun a changing system of exhibitions, showing a different artist every month at the moment. The overall goal for Shahbano is be a space for clients to feel at home.”

“There was a proposal done here yesterday, up here,” Annick continued. “I wasn’t here but my staff told me about it. Apparently the man [who was proposing] told the waitress, ‘I put a book about our relationship here on the shelf. [When] I ask you to bring me a book, bring me that one.’”

“That, for me, is what I’m looking for,” Annick said. “To create that kind of environment.”

THANK YOU THANK YOU to everybody who stopped by our Ropa Vieja Clothing Swap to drop their clothes off, stayed for strawberry mojitos, and found some new stuff for themselves to bring back. We really really luv you! Shouts to Raisa Mar @ Terrae and Adrian @ Sara Bassan Alta Costura for all your help. We were bad with the camera on Saturday, but here are a few pictures if you missed out… after the jump.

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To get y’all hyped for Saturday, here’s sneak peak pixx of stuff that’s been hiding in the back of our closets we will be giving away at Ropa Vieja. If any of it catches your eye, get there early to scoop it up!

Send along pictures of your ropa vieja and any questions to MiraModa507@gmail.com.

Harajuku Girl Red Jelly platforms, fits size 6.5-7.5

Egyptian cotton screen-print t-shirt

Guess high-waist jean shorts

white crochet summer dress

lacy & one of our favs. come in person to check it out.

if you’re feeling mod-hippie-chic…

or just need some simple flats, sz 6.

Liz Moreno is a blogger, a stylist, a new member of the Miss Moss team, and an all-around sweetheart.  She’s worked for the last year styling fashion shoots for Stage magazine, check one of the shoots here and styles lookbooks for Cupcake’s Shop and Design. Which, by the way, you  need to check out – Liz can style the colorfully exhilarating or the perfectly moody (kind of like the outfit she’s wearing above. Liz learned some tricks of image consulting from the Instituto Marangoni in Milan, where she went to school in 2010. She followed it up with a program in fashion styling at The School of Style in L.A. We pulled Liz out of the Miss Moss offices last week and chatted over ice coffee.

One shot from the Abril/Mayo lookbook for Cupcake Shop & Design

From February’s Cupcake lookbook

We’ve been obsessed with Liz’s style since we first saw her at Festival Verde in February. When we asked about her influences, she explained: “Talking about my personal style, I would say I’m both. I like very clean and very messy. I like old, I like new. I like sometimes very feminine, sometimes very masculine. It’s about making the perfect balance. I like grunge, I like to keep it casual. I like a little rock n roll.” Her inspiration comes from everything around her — a movie she’s watching, or a blog she’s peepin. “I’m very inspired by interior and graphic design blogs.” She then name-dropped a couple of her favorites — The Selby blog, The Style Child, the Youtube channel StyleLikeU. “I follow a lot of blogs.”

ring blings: ring on your left, h&m. ring on your right, marc by marc jacobs.

MAIRENA BRIONES: WHO’S THAT GIRL? We met up with Mairena Briones, the super-beautiful and talented PTY-based graphic designer and DJ for some empanadas and coffee to talk about her work and the evolution of Panama City’s cultural scene. Mairena is the creative mind behind LateralPTY, Panama’s alternative print-turned-digital publication. She’s studied in both Costa Rica and Spain and has years of professional experience (she was a producer and creative director at Blank Magazine, and also a graphic designer for the Panamanian agency Aji Pintao). She considers herself “an eclectica — I work freelancing, art direction, branding, everything.”

PART 1: VORTICE If you’re familiar with the PTY nightlife scene, you’ve probably been to a Vortice or two. Vortice is the name for a party Mairena and her two friends have been organizing and hosting since 2004. Nowadays, the party is thrown thrice a year, always at a different Panama City venue.

  When Vortice started, Mairena was in charge of advertising and decorating the parties, but is now its creative director. Vortice has been going on for eight years, but the party people are definitely not sick of it. Mairena explains why Vortice is always held at different places: “We want people to remember the experience of the party, not the place.” True, true.

   The theme of last month’s Vortice (which was awesome, we might add) was  mod. “I love pop art and I love Andy Warhol and the New York scene of the 60s, so I’m very in touch with that. And I was so picky,” Mairena explained, giggling. “I hired a friend [to do decorating], and I was like I want that like that, and I want that like that!”Look out for Vortice’s annual Halloween party, which Mairena says is always their most crazy. “It’s always a costume party. Always big, big, big, ones, and we do them in big big big places.” Well, that settles it. There’s our reason for re-visiting Panama next fall.

PART 2: LATERAL: Mairena and her friend Carla Garcia de Los Rios (who currently runs Hoja de Bijao) hit on the idea for Lateral in December 2010. They imagined a publication that would cover creative types not just from Panama but from all over Latin America.

   “Everytime you hear about a very good designer they are from Spain, or the States, or England. I don’t want to say no to that but I started thinking okay, we have a lot of good designers here too,” Mairena said.

   The name’s a reference to both the creative lifestyles Mairena seeks to cover and the original side-project status of Lateral. “The thing that’s right al lado de tuyo,” Mairena said about the title, “I used to work 9 to 6. My projects were my lateral activity – not work based.” Plus she said she wanted the name to be some meaningful and more importantly, to be in Spanish. “ The first print edition was published in 2011.

     I happened upon Lateral’s website one late night right before I moved to Panama City, when I was panicking just a little bit that there wouldn’t be any kind of art and culture scene in the city. Lateral, with its killer design and well-written coverage, was the best reassurance I could have found.

    After two print editions, Mairena realized that shipping paper copies was not the best way to create a cross-countries magazine. “I shipped stuff to Costa Rica and Guatemala, but it was like too much money and time,” Mairena said. “I thought to myself, what I should do? and I was like no, I’m going digital. It isn’t only about the money, it’s about getting your information out there.” Lateral’s website just relaunched with a new design just last week.

   Even without the paper copies there will still be plenty of opportunities for IRL Lateral interactions. Mairena’s planning a series of Lateral Sessions, starting with a workshop led by a Coolhunter she’s bringing in from Buenos Aires. “if todo sale bien, it will be in agosto,” Mairena said. The sessions aren’t yet set in stone. “[They’re] new things I’m trying to work out,” Mairena added. “Promoting people and making activities for people to learn.”

    Mairena is also starting a local gallery in collaboration with Hotel Decapolis. Starting in June, the restaurant Brava Pizza & Espuma will project works from a different digital artist every month ‘til January.

REC’s & ROPA VIEJA

MM: So we want to tell you a little about an event we’re doing on June 9th at Terrae. It’s a clothing trade called Ropa Vieja, where everyone brings their old clothes, we organize it and then you can take what you like. So what do you have lingering in the back of your closet?
MB: I like things a lot. I’m not a coleccionista, but I like things. I have so many pieces of jewelry, so many little things. I have a lot of accessories that I don’t use that much now, but I still have because I think it’s coming back.
MM: We ask everyone about their recommendations in Panama City, so, anything that you would recommend in Panama City?
MB: I love Via Argentina. I think it [has a] very not-Panama style, in that people live there, but there are [also] a lot of coffee shops, like in Mexico City or Buenos Aires. You can feel the soul of the city. I love walking around, here [in Panama] you don’t see that so much. The classic stores like Espacio Vintage, La Botica. You should definitely put in Sak’s.
MM: [Redacted 10 minute story of Eve buying a full red linen suit for under $5 and Christina getting a $400 silk blazer for $8.] Oh my god we love Sak’s. And Dorian’s.

Renato sometimes makes accessories, such as this necklace, to go along with his collections.

Renato Amado, the designer behind the label Lyle Thomas, has taken the opposite path than us across the Atlantic. Renato’s parents were born in Colon, Panama, and lived in Panama City until he was eight. Then he moved to New York, and it’s been his home ever since. Renato currently lives in South Brooklyn and has an atelier in Chelsea, just north of FIT.

We talked to Renato on Skype about where he got his start, his inspiration for the Fall 2012 season, and all the crazy cool things going on in Panama right now.

Renato said he hasn’t been back to Panama in years but he’s been reading all these great things about PTY and really wants to come over soon and see the city again for himself. “I heard there are now art galleries in Panama City! That’s awesome!” Renato said, then added, “Diablo Rosso? Or something?”

He said the date of last year’s fashion week didn’t work for him, but he’d really like to come to PTY this fall for the next fashion week.

The name Lyle Thomas is a combo of his paternal and maternal grandparents’ apellidos. Renato explained the start of the line this way, “My inner passion for fashion and my desire to introduce a brand built on classicism and modern appeal [detail, prints, cuts].” Renato started Lyle Thomas in 2009 after finishing his technical education in Paris. He’s inspired by French designers and bigwigs like Balenciaga and Helmut Lang. “I admire Calvin Klein for his professionalism and business smarts,” Renato added. “He has a great team behind him, of course, but I really think he deserves so much credit.”

Lyle Thomas isn’t an international behemoth like Calvin Klein, yet. But there have been five collections so far, almost entirely menswear. The right kinda lady, though, can certainly rock any of his button-downs. This collection,  A/W 10,”VICTORY”, has some womenswear pieces mixed in with the mens.

(While doing research we also fell into a little bit of a Youtube blackhole and watched some photo-montages of another Lyle Thomas, a baby of some “16 and Pregnant” star. The baby is pretty cute. I digress.) Renato says he’s interested in doing more womenswear stuff well into the future but for now wants to stay focused on mens.

Renato modeling two pieces from his new collection. His white pants are awesome, his mug is a lot softer over Skype!

His new collection for Fall is called “BELIEVE” and is inspired by Berlin in the 1930′s. “It’s very sleek, very simple, very militaristic.”

“You’ll never guess where I set the photoshoot of the new collection,” Renato said, laughing. “The loading docks behind Macy’s!” Ooo baby. I wanna believe!

Lyle Thomas is for sale on UsTrendy. Ch-check him (and his clothing) on Facebook here.

(This is awesome, just realized we can do both NYC & PTY recs:)

Where do you take visiting friends in New York? Cafe Gitane @ Jane. My fav dish: Moroccan couscous with red peppers, potato, raisins, toasted pine nuts, hummus and eggplant and just $12.50.

Where do you recommend in Panama City? Going to Balboa Ancon district and having a stroll down El Prado walkway. I love this place for its serenity, all the palm trees line the way, and I have such fond childhood memories of going there with my dad.

We headed over to Casco this week to talk to Lloyd and Kevin Keene, the brothers behind the indispensable Villa Agustina, the cultural space/party destination where you probably spend most of your weekend nights (and maybe mornings). The Keenes are also a prominent Panamanian DJ duo – Check out the K.E.E.N.E soundcloud here.  The owner of the Villa Agustina space, Maria, has allowed the Keenes to throw parties there since 2010 and all of Panama City should thank her for it. She also let us open up the big blue doors Tuesday morning and chat inside with the Keene brothers.

Lloyd showed up first with an oatmilk, oatmeal cookies and lots of cool stories. (Notable but not included: his dad once built a car from scratch. It took 12 years.) Kevin came just before we had to head home for work but we got to talk a little while speeding down the Cinta Costera.

How did you two start working together? [Lloyd] We were forced to from the beginning. We had to share a room. We had this radio, mainly Radio 10 (88.1) and would make like mixtapes, music we liked from the radio. At some point we had to agree about what because tapes were very limited. I think that was the whole beginning.

Who’s older? Yeah, I’m the older one. (Laughs.) I’m five years older.

Where are you guys going in Europe for tour this summer? Mainly Berlin. That’s where my friends are. Then we’re going to travel around Spain and England, basically. Most of the cities are Spanish cities. Ibiza, Madrid, Barcelona and Bilboa.

I know you lived in Berlin for awhile, did Kevin live in Europe too? Noo. He has been all over America actually and even the Caribbean but never in Europe. This trip is the first time actually.

So is that why he wants to stay and hang out?  Not really. I bought the tickets wrong. That’s the reason actually. He didn’t want to pay for the change. Actually it was like $300 to change the tickets.

To come home early? Yeah.

Well that’s not worth it at all.  Yeah. But I have to do it. I come back to work and pay for my mistakes.

Where does the name Villa Agustina come from? Alright, that’s a nice question. We wanted to call the place for obvious reasons The Factory. And it was a factory.

Right I remember you saying something like that. Agustina, is the name of the owner’s mother. So that’s why. But the space was an ice factory in 1928, maybe.

What does it mean exactly to be an ice factory? Well, yes. They were making ice. Have you ever been to one?

No, hah. That’s why I asked. Sometimes I assume that people know them. It’s actually quite interesting. They have pools where they made the blocks. But mainly they have storage rooms where they keep the ice.

Like, that pool there? Yeah.

Former ice factory pool; current spot to sit.

We were noticing the flags out in front that we had never seen. Were those here before? No, no. They were from Saturday. From a party on Saturday. We basically build the whole thing up every time we have a party.

What inspired the Chinese lights? There were some friends, her grandmother’s birthday. They came here and we made a very fancy dinner. And yeah, they brought those and we kept them.

Do you have any major construction plans? It was, it’s going to be a hostel. We came here, we saw it, we liked it. We asked [Maria] if we could make one party. Our friend was coming to visit and I wanted him to play. So we asked her and we did this party and it went really really great. So we asked her if we could keep on making parties. It was really tough in the beginning because we had to get permits every time and it was like a two-week thing.

So now you just have all of them? Yeah, we have like a regular bar. [The permits] are really expensive but worth it, definitely.

 What year was that? Last year. We’ve been here not even two years. In December it will be our second year.

So it’s not going to be a hostel anymore? No, it’s going to be one. Hopefully next year.

Half-painted crates to the side of the stage.

Was that your idea or Maria’s? No, no. That was her idea the whole time. The party thing was our idea. We had to convince her. What we do is because of the rainy season, we have like sports seasons, I don’t know if in the states, they are like this. But in the rest of the world, a football season is 2012-2013 and you start one year and finish the next and have vacations in the middle. Our season will finish on June 2nd. We will start again in September maybe, October definitely.

What would you like your role to be or Villa Agustina’s role to be in Panama’s cultural scene? Well, that was our dream in the beginning. The whole name of Villa Agustina is Espacio Cultural Villa Agustina. We wanted to have on the second floor every time, paintings and exhibitions. We wanted to have special acts. For example last year we invested – because it was an investment – a lot of money to bring this band from Costa Rica. We brought them here and people were not that receptive. We thought that maybe, it takes a little time. We have to take it slower. We have to mix stuff they know, or that they’re familiar with, and not bring crazy stuff right away because it won’t work.

Villa Agustina by day

So the next thing I wanted to ask you was where do you want to go in terms of your music? It’s funny because we have two studios, like I have my own stuff at home and he has his own and we work online. We have a shared folder and we share projects but definitely Kevin is coming a lot more to my place.

How you describe your type of music? Depending on where we’re playing what time we’re playing we’d say we’re deep house and new disco to…techno. It’s funny because we have a – I don’t know if it’s a problem – but my approach to electronic music was very late. I was attracted to it because it’s like a science. So we are making very weird music. I don’t know if what we’re making is actually house, but we definitely want to approach that.  We are not playing that much progressive. Sometimes acid house as well but we are not doing that much progressive, or trance. That’s something we don’t feel close to. We’re also very interested in making stuff that represents us as Panamanians especially and our backgrounds. We have African roots as well, and we’re very interested and close to that kind of percussion sound, that bassline.

That’s interesting. I had never thought about electronic music in that way, as so technical. Wow, you won’t believe how technical it is. We made this song. It’s called, right now it doesn’t really have a name. It’s called track 10030, the process of this track is to make something that is very close to the night of Portobelo. Have you been to Portobelo?

Oh yeah, last December. So we had this trip there and we wanted to make it sound like this trip. We haven’t finished it yet. We did this cricket and we placed the cricket everywhere, they are not just there, they are not just in the speaker in front of you, they are here, there in the back. We wanted to make the whole process of the song. You move from left to right, then you come to the water. The bass line is engaged to the main kickdrum so every time the kickdrum hits, the bassline disappears. You have the feeling that they are working together. Something that is moving forward and forward and forward.

What kind of music were you guys doing before electronic music? I was doing a lot of rock and jazz and music for short films.

Does Kevin play instruments too? He’s playing keyboard too. We’re not fluent. Oh, I think Kevin’s here. One moment.

OK so now we’re all in the car and we admit half of Kevin’s interview responses are lost to the sounds of the highway and the car’s stereo. Note to ourselves to get a real recorder.

 So Kevin, Lloyd was telling us a lot about what you guys are doing in the future and what you want to be doing next week or next year? [Kevin] Next week… I don’t know. Traveling. Making music.

And we heard you studied sound technology here in Panama City?
[Kevin] Yep. I studied in AMP. Academia de Music en Panama and I’m taking keyboard there now. Wait sorry, where are you guys going again?

Thru Paitilla! So you guys started Via augustina two years ago? When exactly did you start it?
(L & K in unison) December. December 17th, 2010.
[Lloyd] But that’s just at Villa Augustina.

Villa Agustina by night.

Charlaine Thomas is a diseñadora industrial from Panama City. We talked to Charlaine about her necklaces on Festival Abierto’s first day but sadly only had snack money with us. We then obviously thought about nothing but necklaces all day. On the second day we went back and were disappointed to not see her at the same spot. Then, while we were sitting on the hill above the stage eating sandwiches, Charlaine walked up with a basket full of jewelry. Perfect. If you just need one of these necklaces or bracelets (we definitely did) email her at charlainethomas@gmail.com. 

Did you already graduate from school? Just this year. This is actually part of my thesis. I study in Clayton at Istmo. It’s a five year thing only focused on industrial design and architecture.

How to do make the bracelets? I have two groups: a Kuna group and a Ngöbe group and I give them the designs. It’s been a year now. The necklaces are lasercut plastic.

When did you start selling the jewelry? Now. This is the first time I’m selling these for a market. Before it was by perdido, by demand. After this festival I want people to know that I’m officially independent.

At the end of that short chat there was a small crowd waiting for a better view of the jewelry. We got the hint and moved aside though while we were walking away we heard a woman admire the Panama skyline necklace (and all the changes to the city it represents). Charlaine responded “Es porque digo, Panamá es más joven que tú.”

C&E, happy customers. Photo Cred: AP

Jennifer, a social media volunteer at this weekend’s Festival Abierto in Parque Omar.

Jessica, Miss Balanta and Leanne Moss.

Diego: “I was just painting. They’re messages you want to leave – something that represents Panama.”

What’d you write? “SMILE.”

Mural by Camila of La Tienda de Remedios.

Cristy Posse (architect!) and Isa Posse (industrial designer!) are opening up their own design studio by the end of the month in Casco. It’s called 3PM.

Cambio Creativo is a way cool organization that helps spread creative self-expression around communities in Colon.

Stefany Cohen looking adorable.

The minds behind bnl magazine.

Jose Andres performing on Festival Abierto’s second day. Listen yrself here.

Two of las rockeras Lolas.

Systema Solar absolutely killing it at the end of the night.