By Brooke O’Connor
Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.
— Marc Jacobs
How we dress is an identifier. We signal to others our status, our preferences, and our priorities. We find it endearing when a multimillionaire wears “normal” clothes, and we see middle-class people going into debt for designer wares. Yet something interesting is happening in the fashion world, and it has everything to do with identities changing, bringing out an emphasis on pride in our roots.
High Fashion in a Traditional World
One designer at the forefront of this movement is Carla Fernández. Just last October, she received the first annual Designer of the Year award for fashion from Latin American Design (LAD), the promotional organization for creative design in Latin America. LAD held a Fashion Week in Washington, DC, to present the awards; Fernández gave one of two Design Talks, “Fashion as Resistance: A Conversation with Carla Fernández.”
The Carla Fernández Casa de Moda (Fashion House), founded in Mexico City in 2000, focuses on preserving and rejuvenating the rich textile traditions of indigenous and mestizo communities in Mexico. She operates a “sister” business, a mobile studio called Taller Flora, A.C. (Flora’s Workshop, nonprofit – http://www.tallerflora.org/), with the motto “The Future is Hand-Made.”
The partnership demonstrates that ethical fashion can be cutting-edge, creative, and forward-thinking, while still incorporating painstaking artisanal techniques and traditional design. By acting as a catalyst for transformation in the world of luxury fashion, Carla Fernández is actively supporting the preservation of ancient indigenous methods and the individuals who safeguard this invaluable heritage. You can look at or purchase her designs at http://www.carlafernandez.com.
The Traditional Huipil in the Modern World
The huipil is an excellent example of fashion coming full circle for daily wear. Derived from the Nahuatl word huīpīlli, it is popular traditional attire worn by native women in Mexico and some regions of Central America. These cap-sleeve blouses, which are roomy and comfortable, are typically crafted by stitching together two or three rectangular fabric pieces, leaving openings for the head and arms. They may also feature ribbons or fabric strips or embroidery.
Huipiles come in various designs, some of which are intricate and hold significant meaning. The dressiest huipiles are worn at velas, days-long fiestas that celebrate culture and tradition, most prominently in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
The style of a huipil can indicate the wearer’s social class and ethnicity; in addition, methods of design and decoration creation within each community can also be conveyed through the huipiles, providing insight into the wearer’s locality.
The huipil, commonly worn in this tropical climate, is usually lined with cotton to ensure comfort. Back in the early twentieth century, fabrics for huipiles were manufactured in Manchester, England, and then exported to the Isthmus as sewing machines became more prevalent; machine-made patterns with chain-stitching gained popularity, complementing the traditional hand embroidery work.
The evolution of fashion has been shaped by macro socioeconomic trends, including capitalism, rising consumption, and shifting interpretations of national symbols. Huipiles have changed style and importance as their makers have incorporated traditional indigenous patterns into contemporary fashion.
The huipil’s evolving designs tell a story of cultural exchange between indigenous traditions and Western modernity. In the classic Mayan period (300-850 CD), weavers created translucent, white-on-white fabric for huipiles, which was used until the modesty requirements of the Porfirian era dictated a change to opaque muslin; up until then, women wore slender wrap skirts – these were replaced with wider skirts worn over multiple petticoats.
The huipiles and skirts represented different social classes. Women with limited economic resources usually wore plain huipiles, kept the wrap-around skirts, and braided ribbons into their hair. Women of higher social status wore clothes with ruffles, lace collars, gold fringes, and silk scarves. Indeed, you couldn’t be admitted to many public fiestas unless your dress was deemed suitable for a gala.
Traditional Traje – A Modern Choice
Today, we see a resurgence of Latinas choosing traditional clothing over fast fashion and homogenized looks. Mexican women, for example, proudly wear their indigenous attire in everyday life and on important occasions. Latinas in the USA are no different; they have embraced this fashion trend. Some people wear indigenous clothes as a fashion statement, while others wear them to embrace their mixed heritage as mestizas. Some see it as a powerful way to reconnect with their indigenous roots and challenge colonial beauty and cultural norms.
This shift in attitude toward indigenous textiles, dresses, and shirts marks a significant departure from previous generations, who considered them outdated, unfashionable, and an invitation to discrimination. Mexican-Americans who came of age before the 1970s were discouraged from speaking Spanish or showcasing their cultural background. Families made efforts to blend into white American society, and educational institutions and cultural establishments reinforced this by advocating for the use of only one language. Countless Mexican-Americans faced discrimination, both in the past and even today, especially when speaking Spanish or embracing their traditional attire.
The concept of Mexican clothing has been evolving and adapting to the younger generations. Anyone can pair a simple blouse with intricate flower embroidery and jeans instead of a traditional skirt. The new fabrics are less fussy and can be washed in a machine instead of by hand.
Latinas increasingly recognize indigenous communities’ rich diversity and appreciate their unique creativity. Each design and stitch holds a special meaning for every community, highlighting the importance of cultural representation.
What You Wear – Is It “Cultural Appropriation”?
The Oxford Dictionary defines appropriation as “the action of taking something for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission.” Does that mean you shouldn’t buy Mexican-style clothing?
Purchasing and wearing clothes made by local artisans sends money into the community and into the hands of the people produce the clothing. Take advantage of the opportunity to purchase handmade, sustainably-produced, items that will last many years and never go out of fashion.