Wearable Traditions

High fashion has being interested in the Mexican culture and its traditions for a while, especially in one of our most world-renowned artists: Frida Kahlo. 

Lena Hoschek is an Austrian designer that focuses on the female silhouette of the 1940’s and 1950’s. She focused on floral prints, magnificent and delicate fabrics, and folklore from all over the world.

She’s attentive to detail and her designs always have a progressive finish, while having the retro look showing her love to Rock & Roll and Heavy Metal.

On 2013 Lena Hoschek, inspired by Day of the Dead and Frida Kahlo created her Spring/Summer collection based on these two icons of the Mexican culture.

Hoschek not only used colorful prints and embroidery of the traditional Mexican dress from the XVII and XIX century, but decided to incorporate the aesthetic of the skull to create a collection that depicts sharp and curvy cuts, fabrics with pastel shades and dramatic embroidery with headpieces and make up.

 

 

From Tradition to Art

Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated on November 1^st and 2^nd. Day of the dead has its origins in both the Aztec traditions mixed with the Catholic observances of All Saints Days. On November 1^st (All Saints Day) we commemorate the pure souls such as kids and babies who passed away and on the 2^nd (All Souls Day) we commemorate the adults who are now on the other side.

There are several images and figures that are traditional during Día de Muertos, such as Pan de Muerto (bread of the dead), La Catrina, papel picado (perforated paper), flor de Cempazuchitl (marigold), sugar skulls, altar de muertos (altar of the dead), amongst others.

Part of the tradition of Day of the dead is to go to the cemetery to clean and decorate the graves of our love ones with some of the traditional figures of this holiday. We mark the graves of the adults with orange marigols while white orchids are left for the children. We celebrate and welcome them with the music and food they liked while spending the night at the cemetery to accompany their souls on the journey back home. 

Altares de Muerto are built in houses to honor and welcome back the dead. It is a symbolic construction of our indigenous beliefs. Altares consist in constructing platforms in which we prepare floral and food offerings to commemorate those who passed away.

La Catrina is one of the most popular images of Día de los Muertos. It represents the wealthy and elegant woman of the early 20^th century. She has evolved into a common costume for Halloween, inspiration for high-fashion garments and for fabric, print and accessories design in ready-to-wear. 

                                           

Even though Día de Muertos might seem like a bittersweet holiday that has macabre symbols, it is usually a happy holiday to remember our loved ones. It is a day where we get to remember them and celebrate all the moments that we spent next to them.

Day of the Dead has had a really strong cultural and artistic influence in several countries, awakening people’s need to know more about our native and Catholic traditions as well as utilize it as inspiration for sculpture, painting, fashion, etc.  

                         

Ryky Ramirez (2010)