FIT’s New Exhibit Brings the Most Iconic Latin American Fashion Designers Together Under One Roof
We’re on the hunt for summer fit inspo.
Latin American designers have always shaped fashion trends across continents—just look at the lasting legacies of Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, and Rick Owens, to name a few. And if you’re interested in the next wave of fashion icons from Central and South America, then the new exhibit at the Museum at FIT is a must see.
¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today, on view until November 12, is full of fashion inspo from young, up-and-coming designers, rare pieces of clothing from major fashion houses, a selection of bilingual texts, and projected snippets of fashion films. For co-curators Tanya Melendez-Escalante and Melissa Marra-Alvarez, this new exhibition of beautiful apparel and accessories is also a personal passion project, decades in the making.
“I feel as if my career has been [moving] toward this exhibition for the past two decades,” says Melendez-Escalante, senior curator of educational and public programs at the Museum at FIT. “One garment is very special to me,” she continues. “It is a gray suit by Carla Fernández that I acquired when I was a graduate student. The fabric is made by Chamula artisans using ancient techniques and the designer Carla Fernández has been doing ethical design since the early 2000s. It was my first fashion acquisition and I always thought it deserved to be in a fashion museum. To me, this outfit is an example of how Latin American fashion is a powerhouse.”
In addition to sustainable fashion, the exhibition is separated into themes including craftsmanship, gender (and the fluidity of gender), the influence of Indigenous heritage, politics, and pop culture. Works from emerging designers that are currently making names for themselves include: Kika Vargas, Raul Lopez, Gabriela Hearst, and Willy Chavarria.
“Part of the reason why we wanted to focus the show mainly on contemporary fashion was to highlight the diversity of talent and place emphasis on regions where people have been historically overlooked,” says Melendez-Escalante. “In our eyes, this is the beginning of further research that many others will hopefully continue. This is the first time that some of these designers have been acquired by a museum and we are very proud that we can be a part of this.”
¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today is on display at the Museum at FIT in Chelsea, Manhattan through November 12. Admission is free.