Eva Mendes Tells Details About Her Daughters

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Although it is unusual to see her at public events, yesterday the actress Eva Mendes met with her fans at a shopping center in Cerritos, CA, to promote the launch of her new collection and line of plus sizes for New York & Co.

In an exclusive interview with People Chica, the reserved star spoke about her new clothing line, her Cuban heritage and how she and her boyfriend of more than six years, Ryan Gosling, are educating their daughters, Esmeralda (3 years old) and Amada (17 months), in Latin culture.

When you started collaborating with New York & Co., did you expect the success of your collections?

It was obviously a risk, but I am delighted to have taken that risk. My collaboration with New York & Co. is perfect. It has been amazing to see how women have responded. I am excited to be at this point where we are expanding the sizes from XS to 3X, it is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time. Making clothing that is available to women with any body type is very important to me.

Do you think that being of Cuban descent and being aware that many Latinas have curves has influenced when creating a line for large sizes?

Being Cuban and having been raised in a typically Cuban family influences everything I do. My mother and my two sisters, the 4 girls, we all have completely different figure types and I love that about Latin culture. Under this beautiful umbrella of being Latina there are many shapes, colors and sizes. I grew up surrounded by people who looked very different from each other, it is part of my heritage and culture to accept all kinds of figures.

Will you take your family to Cuba now that it's possible?

I'm dying to go! I am waiting for the OK of my mother, she is the matriarch.

Are you raising your daughters in a Cuban home?

Oh yeah.

As well?

Esmeralda talks about everything Spanglish now. It is adorable. She is definitely bilingual and it is very important for us to make sure that she not only knows the language, but also the culture. My mother, who lives fifteen minutes from us, makes it easy because she speaks to the girls in Spanish and cooks Cuban food for them. We are also always listening to Cuban music. It really is a very important part of our way of life. My father, who has lived here for forty-five years and still does not speak English, is a great asset. It's great because now that I'm trying to make sure that my daughters speak Spanish, it's like "Ok, Dad, take them with you", because I know that everything they talk to him is going to be in Spanish.

You are known for your discretion and for avoiding the press. Do you like going out and appearing in this type of event with fans?

It's great! It is something that I really enjoy. I love shopping malls. There I used to hang out with my friends and when I was 15 I got my work permit and worked in a pizzeria. So I love coming back and meeting the people who really are [New York & Co.] clients. I love that they give me feedback. Even if it is a brief meeting, the first thing I ask them is what can I improve because this is how we improve in what we do.

Have you been asked for a line of large sizes?

Yes, among other things. We take those comments very seriously. Whether it is talking about a particular style or a silhouette, or something they love and would like to see more of or something they don't like, which is happening less and less. We take feedback very seriously and apply it to the next collection.

What kinds of things do you take into account when designing?

We like to mark the waist because it is very flattering. We focus a lot on designing an elastic band that goes inside the dresses and creating a silhouette that favors. Many women don't like to show their knees, so we take that into account as well. Pockets on the dresses is something else, they are my personal favorites. It seems to me that the pockets make [the dresses] very cool. We also use a type of fabric that you do not have to take to the dry cleaner, very easy to care for.

Get the new Eva Mendes collection at nyandcompany.com.