Antonio Sánchez, Mezlan’s owner and lead designer, grew up in a farming family in Almansa, Spain. This region, an arid but fertile environment, produces many varieties of red wine grapes, grains, and vegetable crops. Farming and raising livestock are important economic activities in the region but are restricted due to harsh environmental conditions. Antonio, having tasted of this farming life right through his teenage years, realized that there was another path for him to take. He went to work in his relative's shoe factory, Mezlan. After nine years of working and honing his skills at the Mezlan factory, he set off to bring Mezlan to the "New World", North America. Once arriving in the U.S. in January 1985, Antonio would go on to adopt a touring schedule that would put him on the road 260 days a year visiting accounts and introducing the Mezlan brand to premier department stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, as well as the finest independently-owned men’s clothing and shoe boutiques. Antonio was the sole North American sales force in these early years. But along the way Antonio met an American girl named Catherine. The two fell in love and would go on to become partners in life as well as partners in business, melding their creative talents. Antonio would slowly build his U.S. operations over the next 36 years and counting.

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