¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Symposium

By Josefina Lopez de Romana

As National Hispanic Heritage Month was coming to an end, FIT’s museum decided to organize a symposium titled: “¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion,” in preparation for their upcoming exhibition opening up next May. The talk took place Friday, Oct 7th in the Katie Murphy Amphitheater, where I got the chance to hear from two of the curators here at FIT’s museum: Tanya Meléndez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez.

The symposium gathered people from all backgrounds, who were in some shape or form related to Latin culture. As an audience, we shared the same interest in topics that go unspoken, such as Latin Fashion. Coming into this I was not aware of the impact the topics of conversation presented would have on me. Arriving at 10:30 a.m., I entered the amphitheater to find Hanayrá Negreiros and Laura Beltrán-Rubio sharing their thoughts  about “Identity and Fashion in Latin America.” Outlining how to understand Latin Fashion, we would first need to understand the background concept of “decolonizing fashion.”

Growing up in Perú, as a result of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, our culture had been heavily influenced by the European way of living. This also included their influence on fashion. Where the European standards that Peruvians had now aspired to resemble, had little to no similar characteristics to Peruvians appearance or culture. This created a disparity between standards of Westernized and indigenous beauty standards.

Sadly, this is something a lot of people inside these communities still look up to as the only right way of doing things. The more the speakers reflected over this idea, I couldn’t help but start to feel guilty for the way I had perceived Latin Fashion growing up. I grew up within a society where they had internalized the idea that “real fashion” came strictly from places like Europe or North America. Whereas Latin designers who decided not to follow this select aesthetics, they would end up being looked down upon and criticized by our society. 

Back then I felt a strong sense of shame towards the way we dressed as a whole, neglecting the fact of how that represented our culture, which is so precious to me now. I used to feel alienated and upset from how this also restricted self-expression. Given the fact, most people possessed a conservative and religious view, self-expression in ways of behaving and dressing was very limited. And consuming media that portrayed fashion as the art of experimenting with eccentric and controversial elements, I felt consumed by the thought of what the people around me would think if I decided not to follow the “mold.” 

As 11 am rolled around, we were introduced to the Colombian professor William Cruz Bermeo, who would reveal how Latin Fashion had always been present across the twentieth century in Western media outlets in what we now refer to as cultural appropriation. He supported this by showing pictures from past collections from brands like Dior and designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, which would take typical elements present throughout different Latin cultures and base their designs and collections from it, without making sure to give them any recognition. The fact that big and recognized brands had managed to steal the ideas from small underrepresented cultures and profit from them made me feel enraged. Why were these elements accepted and seen as fashion coming from big designers, but disapproved when it came from the actual members of that culture?

Professor Cruz explained how Latin America was used as a “muse and landscape backdrop,” by taking the surface aesthetic and blurring what it represented to that culture. Where there was this idea of how fashion fluctuates between what's expected and what’s deemed exotic to Western media consumers. 

In a series of pictures taken by Vogue for their Feb 15, 1949 issue titled “Flying Down to Lima.” Vogue had produced an editorial photoshoot taken from the perspective of a tourist visiting Lima, Peru. However, we can only identify the Victorian elements left by Spain’s impact on the city. Instead of showing the most authentic and realistic side of the Peruvian culture, this represented the same idea of “what we know and follow” being the European influence in Peruvian culture. 

In addition, Vogue released that same year but in December an issue titled “Christmas at Cuzco.” Where they photographed locals in their typical attire that made use of embroidered skirts and classical Andean hats. Seeing something so typical and natural from my culture being represented as something “exotic” didn’t bring me a sense of shame anymore but a feeling of disappointment from Vogue and the media’s perception of my culture.

On a lighter note, we needed that preface to understand and transition into the next interview that presented two Mexican designers: Brenda Equihua and Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, who would share a conversation with the curator Tanya Meléndez-Escalante. Although both designers presented completely different aesthetics and design styles, they both make use of elements inside the popular culture in Mexico as well as challenge some of the conservative ideas around its culture. 

Brenda Equihua, creator of her namesake brand “Equihua." to make clothing out of them. She draws inspiration from symbols of Mexican and Chicano culture; from music and religious iconography, such as The Rose of Guadalupe, to simple everyday objects of cultural significance like the traditional tablecloths used to make hats or the iconic tiger blanket she used to make coats and earrings. 

Bárbara Sánchez-Kane inversely uses everyday elements to challenge some conservative ideas found in Latin cultures to empower sexual liberation. It was refreshing to see how her designs and collections included things one wouldn’t expect like shoes that have shopping carts as part of the heel or a hairstyle that makes use of clothing hangers as hairpins. These elements as normal as they may seem have a deeper meaning to them, for example, the clothing hangers are a representation of polemic across abortions. 

The moment right after the presentation was over, the space felt as if it had been filled with a sense of gratitude and comfort. This event not only helped bring attention and awareness to a non-western branch of fashion but also helped to overall provide a safe space to foster the Latin community. 

Living in such a culturally diverse city like New York makes it hard to feel in touch with one’s culture. Where it’s easy to feel like you are on your own and have no one to fall back on that will fully understand where you are coming from. So having these events gives us a sense of comfort and the representation we do not necessarily see on an everyday basis. I am so happy to see FIT’s museum taking steps towards making the Latin community finally feel seen and represented the same way we have seen other cultures throughout time.