Gabriela Perezutti, the designer behind Candela, presented her spring 2013 collection at The Box at Lincoln Center. As seen in the past, her new spring collection is an extension of her South American roots and the urban side of her current home- New York City. Growing up on a ranch in Uruguay, Perezutti often draws inspiration from her past life to create a whimsical yet edgy feel. Perezutti said she likes the idea of “contrast” and a feminine dress to be balanced out by a hard-looking shoe.

The embroidered creepers, green threaded loafers, and vibrant colored oxfords that comprised the spring 2012 Candela shoe collection was sprawled throughout the living greenery. The collection featured elegant floral, lace, ivory and white colored dresses with small pops of color, as well as select pairs of ornate shorts and sheer pants. Almost all of the designs showed off a bit of skin, but kept the sex appeal in check with floor length hem lines and cable knit sweaters. Many of the pieces had earthy, embroidered details that was intended to resemble the embroidery of Mrs. Perezutti’s grandparents.

As Gabriela Perezutti stands before her collection with her young, twin daughters in hand, her passion for her family, her Uruguayan roots, and her designs could not be lost with the approach of Candela’s towering new heights.

Kendall Hill is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected]