Carlota Alfaro is regarded as one of Puerto Rico’s most influential haute couture designers and masterful teachers. She is known as "Puerto Rico's grande dame of fashion". Alfaro was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico, where she showed, a passion for design ever since she was a child, often designing clothes for family and friends. Growing up in Santurce, Alfaro learned how to sew from her aunt. In the 1950s, Alfaro started a small business and it quickly caught the attention of fashionistas around the world. In 1960, Carlota reached international fame in Latin America, Europe and the United States when she founded the Carlota Alfaro College to teach her innovative techniques. More than fifty years later, the school remains committed to producing elegant designs for women and imparting students with knowledge and experience. During the 1980s, she published a series of designs in a local newspaper's fashion column, called "Destellos de la Moda". Carlota's signature dress is the exaggerated mermaid cut. She has received many international awards, and her collections have been sold at stores around the world, including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Carlota's contributions to haute couture and fashion go well beyond her designs and extend to her commitment to educating future designers.