I had a friend who studied fashion at Parsons and she would sneak me into the studios and teach me how to sew and a little about pattern making. I kind of always knew that I wanted to make clothes but I was afraid, so in the beginning I didn’t take it seriously. I would just say I wanted to learn the craft and eventually I accepted that it was the thing that I wanted to do.

Yes, I live in Brooklyn. Honestly, I didn’t move to NYC to study at Parsons; I moved to NYC when I was 19 with a friend from Colombia that I had met in Paris the year before and we applied together to a small school. We just really wanted to be in New York. Adapting is still really hard sometimes.

The problem is that they didn’t really play a crucial role according to Mexican history. This is why I wanted to pay homage to these women soldiers, because apart from leading important fights during the Revolution, they were also in charge of the domesticity, which was just as crucial during the war.

The tablecloth and produce pants are inspired by the domestic role of the Soldaderas and women today. The pants are trying to not only pay homage but also resignify domestic work. The fighter side of the Soldaderas inspired the pocket pants, so I wanted to simulate mobility and strength. The seams across the pants were inspired by the medieval armor, and for the big pockets, I wanted to create a game of proportions while making a statement about pockets in women’s clothes.

Last summer, when I was in Mexico, I had very few resources available there, so I had to start looking at fabrics that were not exactly for clothing but that were used to cover things up – like tablecloths and curtains. This same exercise that I was doing had a lot to do with domesticity. I started thinking about women in Mexico and how some of them dedicate most of their lives to housekeeping: the house comes first, and themselves, their bodies, are secondary.

Not really. The revolution was in 1910, so women were limited to what was accepted to use back then, taking out the element of practicality completely. The functionality definitely comes from a contemporary view of how I want people today to reinterpret the essence of the Soldaderas by wearing the pants.

I found a book named Soldaderas by Elena Poniatowska, one of the few sources to learn about the female soldiers of the Mexican revolution in 1910. After that, I found some more resources online and people who knew I was on the lookout for more imaginary would send me more pictures. My dad even sent me pictures of my great grandfather in the revolution and told me stories about the female soldiers.

It was a nice process. I always feel more inspired when I am in Mexico.

Because I am getting inspiration from women and raising awareness about femicides in Mexico with the project. I felt a natural urge to direct the profit to the cause because this issue personally worries me.

I think everyone is doing what they can. As an independent young designer, it is really hard to be able to meet everyone’s expectations from the start. However, I hope that as the brand grows and I have more economic freedom, I can make decisions that can differ from the fashion industry’s linear product lifecycle and implement a circular system in the way I make my clothes.

The idea of talking about domestic work is to resignify it. Instead of expressing an obligation or exploitation that many women are subjected to, I want to express strength, autonomy and perhaps, the equitable distribution of unpaid domestic labor.

The more my brand develops, the more I understand why other people don’t get political when talking about fashion. There are so many broken chains in the fashion economy that it can be hard to stay consistent and true to your values. However, I do wish more people in fashion, especially the larger brands, would implement an element of activism in their work, not only when they feel pressure because of a social movement but at all times. Some people say everything is political, and I agree, but if so, why not also talk about it and open the conversation?

Yes, I think the pieces are loud and very inspired by women in the protests against gender violence in Mexico today. This idea of unity and color, these women are splashing glitter on the police in Mexico and putting makeup on historic paintings during the protests this month, where they took over the Humans Rights Commission building and proclaimed it the new shelter for victims of violence.

I am actually really excited about what’s coming. I have a few plans, a fashion video dance that will take place in Mexico City next month, and a t-shirt collaboration in the making.