From a Seamstress’s Box to Beverly Hills: Johana Hernández’s GLAUDI Journey

Her parents, Salvadorian immigrants, worked long hours as seamstresses. To keep their restless daughter occupied, Hernández’s mother would give her small tasks. “She asked me to undo the pockets of one of the pants she was sewing,” Hernández recalls. “I just wanted to be productive.”

 

That early exposure to the hum of sewing machines and the rhythm of garment work left a lasting impression. She watched her parents, aunts, and uncles work happily despite the long hours, but she also noticed how visiting designers and bosses often treated them as invisible. “They did not say hello, nor did they know their names,” she says.

 

 

That memory fueled a determination: to succeed on her own terms and to ensure that Latinos in the industry were seen and respected.

 

At 18, Hernández applied to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles and was accepted. By her first trimester, a denim company had already hired her as a designer. “I owe that achievement to my parents,” she says.

 

After years of designing sportswear, denim, and casual wear for other brands, she launched her own label, GLAUDI, in 2015—named in honor of her mother, Gladis. The first store opened in Downey, offering clothing for all body types, from party wear to everyday essentials.

 

But Hernández had her sights set higher. In 2019, she opened a bridal boutique in Beverly Hills, becoming the first Latina wedding dress designer with a business in the prestigious 90210 zip code. The move was born from a simple need: “Many of my friends were asking me to make their wedding dresses,” she says.

 

Today, GLAUDI is a family affair. Hernández runs the business alongside her mother and three brothers. “I always take into account the ideas and words of my mother,” she says. “She is the base of this brand.”

 

The pandemic brought new challenges, but also new inspiration. In the midst of lockdowns, Hernández launched the Rey Collection, a line of menswear named in honor of her father, José Reynaldo Hernández, who passed away months earlier. “Women want to look like queens on their big day,” she says, “and men also want to be like kings.”

 

Though the pandemic disrupted weddings worldwide, Hernández remains focused on what endures. “My business is not considered essential,” she acknowledges, “but love will always be essential. Love was never canceled.”

 

Through GLAUDI, Hernández has dressed celebrities and walked runways from New York to Paris. But her greatest achievement may be changing how the world sees Latinos in fashion. “I will work hard to be successful,” she says, “so that people respect us. I don’t want Latinos to be invisible.”