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by Tanya Melendez-Escalante (Editor), Melissa Marra-Alvarez (Editor)
Accompanying a major exhibition at The Museum at FIT, Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today: Moda Hoy! examines Latin American and Latinx fashion design from the past 20 years, asking "What is Latin American fashion design in the 21st century"?
The book seeks to explore the sociohistorical influences and cultural dynamics that have propelled the development of the unique sartorial bricolage that is Latin American and Latinx fashion. Through a series of themes and topics favored by contemporary designers - including Indigenous heritage, art, sustainable design, politics, gender, elegance, and popular culture - it highlights established designers with a strong international presence, such as Isabel Toledo, Carolina Herrera, Rick Owens, Oscar de la Renta, Carla Fernández, and Gabriela Hearst. Accompanied by regional brands and emerging talents, and case studies that take an in-depth look into specific designers, and beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today is essential reading for fashion enthusiasts who have an overlapping interest in Latin American studies, and all who appreciate the history and visual culture of fashion and Latin America.Author Biography
Tanya Melendez-Escalante is senior curator of education and public programs at The Museum at FIT. She is a contributing author to the books La comedia y el melodrama en el audiovisual iberoamericano contempora´neo (2015) and Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color (2018). She curated the exhibitions Eterno Femenino (2017) in León, Mexico; Julia y Renata: Moda y Transformación (2020) at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan in Zapopan, Mexico; and the 2023 exhibition ¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today at The Museum at FIT.
Melissa Marra-Alvarez is curator of education and research at The Museum at FIT. She curated the exhibitions Minimalism/Maximalism (MFIT, 2019) and Force of Nature (MFIT, 2017) and co-curated Fashion & Politics (MFIT, 2009). Marra-Alvarez is co-curating the 2023 Museum at FIT exhibition ¡Moda Hoy! Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today. Her publications include Food and Fashion (Bloomsbury, 2022), Fashion Underground: The World of Susanne Bartsch (2015), and Dance and Fashion (2013).
