The Palorosa project, launched by Cecilia Pirani in 2014, released Mercado tote bags for spring-summer 2024, inspired by Guatemalan market life. Pirani, who is half Guatemalan, half Italian, was born and raised in Milan and moved to Guatemala in 2012, naming the project after the Tabebuia Rosea, or ‘Palo de rosa’, a neotropical tree native to Central America, often planted along streets and in parks. ‘In February 2024 I travelled for a while in Guatemala, exploring my favourite spots and markets, flower shops and little stores, trying to observe with another eye all women wearing their cool colourful baskets and bags, exactly like when I spent the first months in Guatemala years ago, before Palorosa. And it is among these authentic and contemporary imaginaries that the new Mercado tote bags are born,’ explains Cecilia.
