Charlotte fashion designer Daniel Gonzalez, 33, moved to the U.S. at age 9 with his parents and brother Felipe from Pereira, Colombia. His father, whose company transported coffee and bananas, was convinced by a family friend he’d find better opportunities in America.
The family moved to Miami first, but their father wanted to assimilate to a new culture, not one where many spoke exclusively Spanish. So the Gonzalez family moved to Gastonia and soon thereafter Charlotte.
Here Daniel and Felipe found their niche in Mexican-based Folklorico dancing, before switching to ballroom. While Felipe went on to become director and co-founder of Dancing With The Stars Charlotte, a competition pairing professionals with locals to benefit breast cancer patients, Daniel used his interest in dance to discover his true passion – designing clothes.
How did you go from ballroom dance to fashion design?
My dance partner needed an outfit, and I asked my mother if she could help me. That was the first garment I ever made. The dress was a black body suit we sourced from Lebo's. We sewed black Lycra panels to the front and covered the whole skirt in peacock feathers. We rhinestoned it in blues and greens, like a peacock feather. It was really chic and sparkly, and it was different than what everybody else was doing. When our dance teachers, who lived in New York, saw the dress, they told me, “You need to continue.”
How did you go from dance attire to making every day clothes?
One of the clients I had made some dance garments for was married to Swedish golfer Robert Karlsson. They were going to the Ryder Cup, and she asked if I would make a ball gown for her. Her stipulation was that I make it out of silk. I started researching silk and fell in love with the way it's made, how strong it is, how good it is for your skin. I fell in love with this idea of producing garments made from exquisite materials.
When did you shift your focus to ready-to-wear?
My dance projects stopped during COVID because no one was competing. I needed to pivot. With a little bit of backing from my family, I launched my first ready-to-wear collection. My mentality was, let's give people the best possible material I can, make sure it fits perfectly and spoil people in gorgeous material. We started creating gowns for debutante balls, custom bridal gowns, mother-of-the-bride gowns and other special occasions.
What is special about your fall winter collection?
It’s our first comprehensive collection, which we're going to sell straight to consumer. We're introducing them into some boutiques. We have ready to wear, that’s all really fine material: really fine cotton, really fine silk, and really fine viscose. We also use some tweeds, baby alpaca and cashmere. We've only made 20 of each piece, so there's an exclusivity to it. The other side of our business is our bespoke and made to order, where anything you like you can have a custom made in your size and color choice. If you dream up a gown – “Oh, I love this Christian Dior from the 50s” - we use that as inspiration, and I'll draw something new for you.
Who is your favorite person to dress?
I like women who appreciate real quality. I love to dress people who understand the difference between dressing for yourself and dressing for others. I want people to have fun and enjoy their personality instead of dressing for approval.
How did you go from the bold look of ballroom dance to more classic silhouettes?
I love working with rhinestones and sequins, but I've done that for close to 15 years. This is a reset for me, a recalibration in my life.
How does your Colombian heritage show up in your clothing?
Everything is really timeless silhouettes, but I like to play with explosions of color. When people hear my story and see the bright chartreuse and the hot pink next to the black and the taupe, they can see my story visibly, which is really cool. This new collection is a bit more serious, but it also has a really beautiful play on color.
What new sensibility do you bring Charlotte?
In Charlotte fashion, everybody loves the romantic and feminine. There's a lot of florals and ruffles, which is beautiful, but we provide a sleeker, cleaner look. We do timeless and sophisticated.
Which have you enjoyed more: ballroom dancing or fashion?
I'm having so much more fun doing fashion. There's a certain sacrifice that comes with dancing, physically and mentally. With fashion, I don't have to kill my body and the rewards are making people happy on a daily basis. I have three, four fittings a day, and clients leave feeling happy, proud and ready for their events. That to me is everything.
Gonzalez is the VIP guest speaker at the ArtPop “Upcycled” Fashion Show & Fundraiser on Sept. 14 to benefit arts education. Local artists have been commissioned to transform vinyl ArtPop artist billboards into couture fashion to showcase on the runway.