Lace, Pockets, and Horses
A recap of my summer, what I've been thinking about and some news for September
Dear fashion thinkers,
As I mentioned on my last email, I’ve decided to incorporate some changes into Thinking Through Latinx Fashion. The motivation? To share more about my own intellectual processes and engage in more conversations with anyone who reads (or listens to) this.
So starting today, I will be sharing a monthly recap on the last Tuesday of every month with what I’ve been up to and any relevant news for the upcoming month. This includes a short selection of what I’ve been reading, listening to and seeing as I try to think about Latin American and Latinx fashion. I will choose the items on this list according to my own personal preferences and the relevance to this newsletter, but I’ll make sure to explain what was it that I enjoyed so much about each of the items to make them worthy of sharing here.
This is also one of those moments where the English and Spanish versions of this newsletter diverge the most, so do make sure to check out Pensar la moda if you’re interested in what I’ve been doing on the Spanish-speaking side of my life!
And without more distractions, let’s delve into the subject matter!
A Summer in New York
As you probably already know, I spent most of my summer in New York, where I had the privilege to attend the 14th CCL/Mellon Seminar in Curatorial Practice. But spending so much time in New York also meant seeing some old friends, visiting a whole bunch of exhibitions (not just about fashion), and thinking *a lot* about what I want to do next with my life on both personal and professional levels.
I was also interviewed—not once, but twice!—by Frances Solá-Santiago for her articles on Refinery29. We first spoke about the so-called “Panama Hat” and why it needs a rebranding and then about the whole Kim Kardashian’s borrowing of Marilyn Monroe’s historic dress for the Met Gala (of which I also wrote about in here). Speaking of Fran, I’m more convinced every day that she’s one of those young Latina voices that are re-shaping fashion journalism and you should definitely follow her steps if you don’t already 🔥
The summer officially ended for me on the first weekend of August, and I must say that this was an absolute cherry on top to what had already been a truly amazing season! I had the honor to present a small fragment of my Ph.D. research at the New Orleans Historic Collection’s Antiques Forum on “The Spanish South” thanks, in great part, to the recommendation of my dear colleague Philippe Halbert (whose work you should totally follow if you’re interested in anything related with the arts and identity in the French colonial Americas and beyond).
And, starting on August 9th, I returned once more to my Alma Mater in Bogotá to teach one more semester of fashion and design history courses as I attempt to finish writing my dissertation (with the hopes of defending in in the Spring). The upcoming term will be intense, to say the least, but I am very much looking forward to seeing my first book-length piece of writing take real form over the next few months.
And this takes me to…
September News
Next month looks particularly exciting to me, as I will be able to fly back to NYC, visit some other places for research purposes, and see even more museum exhibitions!
Here’s what I think you shouldn’t miss:
My month starts with a few research visits in my hometown of Bogotá, where I’ll be analyzing some 18th-century garments and archival documents as I advance on my dissertation writing process.
I’ll also go on short research trips to Medellín and Popayán thanks to the funding I received from the Decorative Arts Trust. You’ll also see a full report on their Bulletin so be sure to browse (and subscribe) for some high-quality research on decorative arts from throughout the Americas.
“Threads of Power Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen” opens on Friday, September 16th at Bard Graduate Center. I wrote an essay for the exhibition catalogue and it is, I believe, one of the most beautifully illustrated pieces of writing I’ve published. But I’m more excited about the “company” for this essay. I know I might be biased, the list of scholars who were brought together for this book sounds like a dream! You can visit the exhibition until January 1st, 2023.
Towards the end of the month, I’ll also be visiting Los Angeles—for the first time ever!—to visit Ilona Katzew’s most recent exhibition at LACMA: “Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800.” I will also visit some other local collections as I advance on the final chapters of my dissertation and spend some time with friends.
As always, I’ll be sharing most of my scholarly adventures on Instagram, so make sure to follow along!
On social media I’ve also shared much of what I’ve been working through in the past month or so. But if you’ve missed it, here’s my selection of:
Resources to Think Through (Latinx) Fashion
My intellectual inquiry of the past few months was shaped by rereading some written treasures as I attempt to finish writing my Ph.D. dissertation to defend it next Spring, as well as some more “accidental” finds that resulted from my summer in New York and New Orleans.
Over the summer, I finally had the chance to read The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, 1660–1900 from cover to cover, after having attempted to do so more than once but only having the time to read bits and pieces at a time. But you might be wondering what (if anything) this might have to do with Latin American fashion. It turns out that there is this a mysterious apron-like pocket garment, possibly called bolsicón, that some women wore in and around colonial Quito. So I’ve been spending some time thinking simultaneously about Western European pockets and Andean ch’uspas as I try to figure out details about the birth, development, and uses of this garment about the different “sorts” of women of colonial Quito. But I don’t think I have fully-formed thoughts about it quite yet, so you’ll have to wait to learn more about it!
Portraiture—and the strategies of representation behind it—is also one of the main subjects of my dissertation, so I’m always looking for new information and ideas about it. Needless to say that I was thrilled to find an interview with Michael Koropisz on The American Duchess Podcast! It was so entertaining and fun that I even found myself replying out loud to their conversation, as if they could hear me! 😂
I’ve also been rereading Costume and History in Highland Ecuador, edited by Ann Pollard Rowe. This is one of those books that I keep returning to over and over again and every time I read it I find something new. It is particularly interesting to learn about Andean dress traditions beyond the Inca hegemony, so I truly recommend it if you want to know more about this subject.
While in New York, I had the opportunity to visit several art and fashion exhibitions in different places. It would take too long to write about them all in here, but I have been sharing some on Instagram and will continue to do so in the next weeks. I did want to write a special mention to “Crafting Fashion for Possible Futures” at the Austrian Cultural Forum, mostly because it shows that successful fashion exhibitions don’t need to be blockbuster shows and that really thoughtful narratives can be woven through the work of contemporary designers in small, simple displays. The exhibition is on view until September 30th.
From my time with the Historic New Orleans Collection I acquired the latest volume of their Quarterly, titled “Secret Identity: A Rare Portrait’s Saga of Stewardship,” which discusses this amazing 1830s portrait of a free woman of color from Louisiana and the interventions it has received through its lifetime.
I am definitely in favor of entertainment over historical accuracy, but I always enjoy Raissa Bretaña’s “fact-checking” of historical productions. I am also a big fan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as its humor basically helped me survive most of my Ph.D., so this one video simply made my summer.
Finally, and on non-fashion-related topics, this article on the neurological connection that occurs when humans ride horses totally blew my mind! And if you read one of my Instagram posts last week, you probably know that horse riding is as important to me as my career in fashion, so I just couldn’t not include it here!
What have you been up to in the past month? I’d love to see your very own recommendations in the comment section!
Next week I will return with another brand new section for Thinking Through Latinx Fashion. In “Object of the month” I will narrate bits and pieces of the history of Latin American and Latinx fashion through one specific object each month. Don’t forget to share and subscribe to receive it directly on your inbox!
Until then,
—L