Titled ¨Las soldaderas¨, Olivera´s fashion and art collection is inspired by past and present Mexican female power and resistance. The Soldaderas were women soldiers who joined men in their fight towards rights and freedom during the Mexican revolution (1910). Their characteristic looks included braided hair and criss cross shaped bullet belts worn in their chests. ¨I wanted to pay homage to the strength that these women possessed, the power that they emanated, but I also wanted to speak about how this concept prevails, how presently, many women in Mexico are fighters¨, says Olivera.
The designer celebrates female power from her home country during a period where gender violence is at its top in it. Many women in Mexico, especially those that are crossed by intersectionality (oppressed by being women of lower class, by being women of color, by being women from the peripheries, etc,) are still Soldaderas in a way. Everyday is a fight for them.
Through the emulation of the Soldaderas silhouettes and the choice of fabrics, Olivera looks into four different themes: The Domestic Sphere, Clothing as a Protective Shield, Bravery in the Face of Harassment, and the Relationship with Hair (braided hair specifically).
“I cannot speak for these women, or attempt to say that I know what they are going through. But I can show the rest of the world what is happening. I didn’t want to make clothes and sell them, I wanted to use fashion as an artform to sensitize and inform”, Olivera Says.
Images from “Soldaderas”, shot by @meghanmarin
Special thanks to:
Model: @aria.puga and @newpandemics
Stylist: @meg_galvin
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