GLAUDI by Johana Hernandez | A Couture Story that Starts in Compton

If art mimics life, then Johana Hernandez’s designs reflect her personal experiences.

“All my collections started when I had the lowest moments in my life,” the fashion designer says.

Hernandez’s first bridal collection was inspired after breaking up with her boyfriend of nine years. Her first men’s line was born out of mourning the death of her father.

“Turn the darkness into something beautiful,” she goes on to say. “You don’t have to rush it. You just have to keep on working.”

Since launching Glaudi, her renowned fashion brand, in 2011, Hernandez has brought a new take on elegance to Los Angeles couture. From her exquisite bridal collections to celebrity-worn evening gowns, dapper men’s suiting to expressive quinceañera dresses, she wants clients to feel like themselves in her custom-wear pieces.

Originally from Compton, Hernandez was born to a family of garment workers. In the 80s and 90s, brands like Guess and Levi’s still had factories in the United States, which offered work to many Latinos at the time — including Hernandez’s parents, immigrants from El Salvador.

Growing up, Hernandez was creative and entrepreneurial.

“In middle school and high school, I would give people makeovers,” she says. “I have two brothers and they never played with me. I had to … [make] moves. If not, I’d be bored.”

She came of age, as did her boss instincts.

She climbed the ladder in corporate fashion circles. She travelled the world for work. She designed behind-the-scenes for popular, mass-produced brands.

“I felt blessed just to be part of the industry. I’m the girl from Compton and now I’m, you know, in this penthouse, travelling the world,” Hernandez says. “[But] I wasn’t happy because it wasn’t my brand.”

Around that time, Hernandez started designing for an old friend who became a beauty pageant queen. They collaborated on and off the runway. They got involved in charity events. Eventually, when she had to attach a brand name to her designs, she came up with ‘Glaudi’ to honor her mother, Gladys, and all the factory workers who don’t get credit for the work they’re so skilled at doing.

Inspired by the styles of Lady Gaga and Alexander McQueen, Hernandez kept making clothes, purely out of love for the craft. Designing was a way to destress.

“I had no idea this would be something,” Hernandez says.

She launched her first collection and people noticed, including legends like Paulina Rubio, and they wanted to take part in telling the Glaudi story. Just like that, Hernandez developed a reputation.

“[In the beginning], Glaudi wasn’t really making money. It was just making waves,” Hernandez says. “It’s never been about money. It’s about really enjoying what I do.”

In due course, she quit her corporate job. Glaudi became her full-time work. From that point on, the brand flourished.

Every dress is made by hand and tailored to the individual. Any piece can be fitted to any body-size. You come to Glaudi when you are celebrating—weddings, red-carpet events, quinceañeras—and you leave with a custom piece for your own closet.

As for couture, Glaudi by Johana Hernandez embodies grace, glamour, and a timeless elegance, even as trends come and go.

“I’m always being inspired by people, where I’m going, and what people are celebrating,” Hernandez says. “I never run out of ideas, but there are moments. I can’t make it come. It just comes. You’ll just be somewhere, and it will just come into your head. Like, oh my god, I should do that!”

Staying present keeps her inspired. As a result, her focus areas have expanded—and continue to. Though she’s known for her wedding dresses and evening gowns, since launching men’s suits she’s decided she should do women’s suits, too.

“All my friends are bosses and they want custom suits!” she says. “Everything leads you to something else.”

When Glaudi opened a boutique in Beverly Hills, Hernandez was one of the only women and one of the only Latinas to set up shop there. She noticed, as she moved in, that the people who looked like her were working valet, in the back of the kitchen, and more-or-less behind the scenes.

“It’s cool that they do all that stuff,” she says, “but, I’m saying: you can also be the owner. Latinos, they don’t always know what they’re capable of doing.”

Hernandez wasn’t born into the industry, nor did she have a rolodex of connections. She figured out what made her talented, followed her dreams, broke into her industry, and developed a leadership role for herself. She sets the stage for more Latinas to follow suit.

“Don’t think that I am less-then as a designer just because I wasn’t born in Paris or Milan,” she goes on to say. “I was born from a family where that’s all they did. If anything, we know more, because it’s not just work. It’s a lifestyle.”

After designing for countless brides, she’s stepping into the spotlight herself. Her next project: her own wedding this November. It’s her turn.

“My main thing is don’t give up,” she says, “[and] if you keep being nice, God [will] reward you.”