Born in Mexico, where she began her promising career, high-fashion maven Vianney De Aquino has already made strides toward taking on the world. Before settling in the United States, she was the first Mexican designer named the best in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In Turkey, she was prominently featured in Vogue Magazine.
Ms. De Aquino owns Houston, Texas-based company Viann’k Mansur, which has created haute couture dresses for quinceañera, proms, weddings, and other special occasions to consistent customer praise and fashion industry acclaim for 14 years. She credits her success to the invaluable work of her team, 11 employees at headquarters and six in Mexico. Her slogan, “Beauty has a name, and it’s Viann’k Mansur,” denotes that Ms. De Aquino views her company as much more than a brand. It’s a statement representing the culmination of effort, continuous work, care, and dedication given to every detail of her life, professionally and personally.
Passionate about her lifelong craft, Ms. De Aquino wants every person for whom she designs to have a unique and special dress. Her elaborate creations make her clients feel like they live a real-life fantasy. This effect is also by design, as she encourages her clients to feel they can achieve their dreams. Ms. De Aquino has been fortunate to fulfill one of her own aspirations of helping each girl who cannot afford a dress to have the best day of her life.
In media coverage, Ms. De Aquino’s dresses have been referred to as “dreamy, royal fantasies with voluptuous silhouettes, rich beaded details, and glittering fabrics.” Another fashion writer calls her custom work “elegant and avante garde,” praising the vast selection of accessories such as crowns, cushions, necklaces, bracelets, gloves, hats and shoes. The collections are featured on runways worldwide during fashion weeks and other observances and presented to live and virtual audiences. Across social media, Ms. De Aquino’s gowns also receive kudos for catering to all body types and sizes.
The names of the colorful dress collections, featured using stunning, bold, professional photography on the Viann’k Mansur website, even read as if from a fairytale. They include the Princess, Viann’k Mansur Couture, Princesa, and Spring Flowers lines broken down into the more detailed monikers Carotta Cherry, Carlotta, Ciara, Bride, Crystal, Rose Pink Dubai, Violet, Holanés, Leonora, Medallones Cielo, Reina, Snowflake, Spider, Terciopelo and Angel.
Ms. De Aquino started Viann’k Mansur more than 20 years ago in Mexico City, Mexico, with few resources but lots of heart and determination. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1994 from CETIS 9 Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, a technical school in Mexico City. Yet, she did not study fashion design or business, opting to gain knowledge by working in real-time with other designers. Long before opening her business, she worked for well-known fashion gurus in Mexico and then gained a foothold in the industry in the United States. She was often invited to design for numerous Mexican celebrities who participated in the popular Miss Mexico Pageant. Ms. De Aquino also created dresses for a very famous actress in Mexico.
Ms. De Aquino is proud of her roots and hard-working beginnings as an entrepreneur, which fueled her desire to start and grow her company without creative or geographical limits. The fashion industry inspires Ms. De Aquino, but the goal for which she declares she was born is to be ranked among the world’s most fabulous designers. She sees herself reaching that horizon of fame by collaborating with the best.
Ms. De Aquino is a mother of four children. She considers it a privilege to volunteer by buying blankets, clothes, and food for homeless people in her community.