The remarkable range of accessories at this summer’s Colombiamoda illustrate the region’s appreciation for embellishments. Stereotypes aside, the options showed that Latin American audiences adore bright colors, bold contrasts, vibrant prints and a bit of folk handiwork. The products that stood out the most managed to balance these trends with grace and personality.

Peruvian label Puro Corazon, for one, mixes designer/couple Carolina Restrepo and Jean-Edouard Tromme’s contemporary insights with traditional artisan skills. The duo produces a line of bags and accessories that exudes a cheerful and vibrant energy with an artsy bohemian twist. Mix-and-match textiles are a major base for the designs, while the bags have a delicate folksy vibe thanks to one-of kind-details such as ethnic braided straps in electric colors, fabric doll pendants or embroidery inside floral printing. Though it’s just now debuting at Colombiamoda, Puro Corazon is already sold in Dubai, Spain and Japan.

San Angel also came out strong in the bag department. The Colombian label embraced the trend for colorful accessories, creating patchwork designs with pop-cubist graphics inspired by everything from Brazilian painter Romero Britto and elements from The Wizard of Oz.

Alfonso Mendoça, meanwhile, created similarly stand-out collars and bracelets. The Colombian designer emphasized chunky shapes and maximum size through hand painted wooden beads that were surprisingly light and can easily add an electric tribal element to any outfit. Mendoça’s unique prints—composed of abstracts strokes or nature-inspired designs—are first printed on the wooden beads and then coated in a thin layer of resin, giving it a stunningly vivid aspect. The result demands to be noticed.

Jewelery designer Juana Rodriguez also presented a collection with great movement and color contrasts. In her “Viewpoints” line, Rodriguez designed pieces as different frames that can be mixed and matched to create all sort of settings. Particular attention should be paid to her butterflies ring, which mixes silver and pink colored metal, and a pendant that puts together thin layers of semi-precious stones with silver frames of building designs.

—Flávia Mendonça