Fashion
Discover Denis Howlhita, a Madrid-based fashion label created by two trans-non-binary sisters that redefines clothing as a form of armor, poetry, and political power. This article explores how the brand's unique aesthetic—blending mythology, dark romanticism, and punk rock—serves as a survival system for queer communities.
Updated 03:25 pm EDT, August 20, 2025
Published 03:20 pm EDT, August 20, 2025
Photography: Assiah Alcàzar
We met in another life—or so it feels. Isa and I crossed paths at La Confianza, the last remaining national tailoring association in Spain, where we both studied traditional bespoke tailoring. Back then, there were no flashing cameras, no runways—only wool, chalk, thimbles, and long hours spent learning how to mold fabric around the human form.
That’s when we began to understand that making clothes was not just a craft but a kind of devotion. From those early days, we forged a friendship grounded in deep respect and admiration—one that has only grown stronger as we’ve each found our voice in fashion, on paths that diverge but always seem to circle back to each other.
When words fall short, when your body doesn’t fit the mold, when life forces you to reinvent how you show up, speak, and dress—fashion becomes more than fashion. It becomes a spell, a shield, a way out. Not all designers make clothes. Some build survival systems stitched into fabric. Some labels aren’t born to follow trends—they’re here to create a new territory.
That’s exactly what Denis Howlhita is: a fashion brand, yes, but also a sacred space, a queer altar, and a political act. Created by Isa and Denis García, two trans-non-binary women, this Madrid-based label turns clothing into armor, into poetry, into power.
Since its beginnings, Denis Howlhita has existed at the intersection of fantasy and defiance. Their aesthetic blends classical mythology, religious symbolism, dark romanticism, Japanese animation, and glam rock. Imagine Patti Smith meets Final Fantasy filtered through a velvet curtain of Alexander McQueen. But this isn’t about aesthetic references. At its core, every piece is an act of resistance. “We design for androgynous angels, for genderless bodies, for those who wear clothes not to conform—but to summon,” they say.
“We design because we have to. Every piece is an affirmation. We exist. We create. We refuse to be erased. That, in itself, is political.”
The Queer Promise
Even the name carries power. “Denis” pays homage to Howl, the shapeshifting wizard from Diana Wynne Jones’ novels (and immortalized in Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle). “Howlhita” is part tribute, part gratitude—a nod to someone essential in their lives, whose last name, Hita, reminds them where they came from and who helped them begin. “Without that person, the brand and we wouldn’t exist,” they affirm.
In a world where most brands are built for market traction, Denis Howlhita was born out of urgency and survival. As children, Isa and Denis dreamt up worlds together, scribbling designs that could one day protect them. “We always knew we’d create something that made room for us in a world that didn’t,” they say. That intuition is now a label that refuses easy categories: “We’re a queer designer label. Genderless, symbolic, sacred, theatrical, and rooted in resistance.”
Their visual world is unlike anything else. Their collections are full of Victorian queens and baroque saints, pagan rituals, and digital ghosts. You’ll find lunar embroidery, translucent capes, structure-meets-fluidity corsets, and silhouettes that echo both cyberpunk priestesses and Renaissance warriors. Each garment tells a story—and carries meaning. “We want clothes to speak beyond shape. We design garments with a soul. With symbols. With purpose.”
This obsession with the symbolic is intentional. For Isa and Denis, fashion is a channel. “Design is invocation. Every cut, every fabric, every embroidered star or unicorn or sword—it all holds power.” These aren’t mere embellishments. They are portals. Their garments are made not just to be worn, but to transform. In their world, there is no gender, no ideal body, no runway standard—just bodies that want to exist more freely.
The Unapologetic Howl
This radical freedom is what places Denis Howlhita at the center of the theme of this issue: resistance. But not theoretical resistance—lived, embodied, stitched-in resistance. “We design because we have to. Every piece is an affirmation. We exist. We create. We refuse to be erased. That, in itself, is political.” Staying true to their aesthetic and gender politics isn’t a strategy—it’s the reason the brand exists.
And it shows. Their idea of luxury has nothing to do with exclusivity or price tags. It’s about meaning. While brands like The Row operate in a whisper—$300 T-shirts, no labels, complete mystery—Denis Howlhita is a scream draped in silk and ash. Their luxury is not quiet. It’s visible. It’s ritual. “We don’t sell clothes that disappear. We sell garments that demand attention, that heal, that speak,” they say.
That contrast becomes especially clear when held against fashion’s cult of discretion. The Olsen twins built The Row into a brand of spiritual minimalism: refined, secretive, rich. “We admire the precision of The Row, but our universe is the opposite,” say Isa and Denis. “Where they build mystery through silence, we build power through visibility.” If The Row dresses old-money ghosts, Denis Howlhita dresses queer witches and celestial rebels. Not for the elite—but for the misfits.
And yet, both brands prove one thing: garments can carry meaning beyond the surface. Where The Row offers ultra-soft cashmere for women avoiding attention, Denis Howlhita offers embroidered talismans, mythic cuts, and silhouettes made for those who’ve had to fight for their existence. Their clothes don’t hide. They bless.
Isa and Denis are fully aware that theirs isn’t a brand for the algorithm. They’re not chasing trends. “We’re not here for likes. We’re here for those who see themselves in our language.” Still, their work has earned attention—from fashion weeks in Madrid and London to queer publications and design forums. But their dream goes further: to open a space in Latin America, to dress the diaspora, to build a sanctuary in fabric.
“Design is invocation. Every cut, every fabric, every embroidered star or unicorn or sword —it all holds power.”
The Spells We Wear
Central to that vision is their lived experience as trans-non-binary women. That identity is not a side note—it’s the core of their practice. “We don’t design for ideal bodies. We design for the bodies we’ve had, the ones we inhabit now, the ones we imagine,” they say. Their clothes honor scars, dreams, and in-betweenness. “The body is not something to correct or hide. It’s something to cherish.”
That ethos reshapes their entire process. They avoid conventional molds. Their designs flow, wrap, liberate. “Our clothes aren’t meant to constrain. They’re meant to accompany. To protect.” And truly, their pieces move like spells. Capes that shelter. Corsets that empower. Shirts that float like wings.
More than a brand, Denis Howlhita is a community. Their social channels don’t just showcase designs—they amplify other queer creators, artists, poets, and outsiders. “We want this to be a place of refuge. Not just for us. For anyone looking for home.” To young queer designers, they offer a clear call: “Be bold. Don’t wait for approval. Fashion can be healing, sacred, sensual, and subversive. All at once.”
Yes, sensual. Their work is full of erotic tension—but not the cis-hetero kind. Their sensuality is spectral, shifting, poetic. It doesn’t scream sex—it simmers with desire that isn’t easy to decode. “We’re drawn to what escapes definition. That’s where the power lives.”
Asked about the future, Isa and Denis answer without blinking: “We want everyone to wear Denis Howlhita. Not to conquer the market—but to imagine a world where people dress from their truth, not obligation.” Their vision includes building a house-studio, mentoring young designers, collaborating with performers, expanding into film and theater. “This is more than a label. It’s a way of being.”
And it is. Denis Howlhita isn’t just a fashion brand. It’s a spellbook. A resistance manual. A queer constellation in textile form. A reminder that beauty can be unruly, and that resistance — real, embodied resistance — can be exquisitely dressed.
Meet Omar Enrique Matos: part aficionado writer, bespoke tailor, radio host, and former fashion booker. With a flair for fashion and a penchant for fun, Omar seamlessly blends expertise an passion with entertainment. From crafting bespoke suits to sharing style secrets on air, he’s a true Renaissance man of the fashion world.
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