Senior Thesis Collection

For my Senior Thesis I decided to profound my research on the Pachuca subculture. This subculture comes from the Mexican-American youth in the 1940s, the Pachuca’s being the female version of this subculture. This group of fascinating women rebelled against a specific image that Latina women are perceived. They wore the big zoot suits that men wore at that time; they wore short skirts, a pompadour hairstyle with a bold lip color, and weren’t afraid to speak their mind. They wanted to stand out and be heard and weren’t afraid to stomp on anyone that had something to say about them. The subculture gained attention when the zoot suit riots happened. As these women were amongst these group of men getting arrested, and weren’t sorry about it.

The inspiration for this collection was to focus on showing a contemporary Pachuca. I wanted that inspiration to bleed through in my garments. I wanted to show that we, women, can wear a suit with a flower on our head and look like a BOSS! Because we can do both; be strong and embrace our femininity. I want women to feel empowered when wearing this collection and bring out their own version of a Pachuca in today’s age.

The Pachuca’s share a special place in my heart as it’s in my blood. It is so relevant to today, because now more than ever you need to speak out and not be afraid of being authentically you. As a young Latina designer living in a time like this I am grounded; I love my culture, I accept me, and I am ready to show that to the world.

Photographer: @tylerbednar27 
Model: @maribarbato_ @spthemodel @alexa.shea 
HMU: @cosullivanbeauty 
Modeling Agency: @mpmanagementchicago