by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
In the press handout distributed before his Art Hearts Fashion show, fashion designer Ricardo Seco called his new collection a tribute to the Mexico City neighborhood of Tepito.
As the New York-based Mexican designer explained it, Tepito “brings to mind violence, illegality, and informality, an area riddled by crime and drug addiction… (But) before Europeans set foot in America, Tepito has been a center of commerce, creativity, and color.”
“For this collection, Ricardo Seco is disrupting the idea of Tepito as a knock-off center,” said the press materials about the line dubbed “Resist/ Resiste.”
And as you watched the collection walk its way down the run at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Norfolk Street Feb. 8, you could see all manner of influences such as streetwear, athletic wear, athleisure gear, that in their origins were “knock-offs.” But in their melding, Seco created something new, unexpected, … and creative – not a simple bootleg created in a backroom of Tepito.
The colors were vibrant. The silhouettes unique.
Nothing presented on the runway pandered to gender. There was more power than sexuality in Seco’s collection.
This was outsider art translated into fashion, breaking tradition and stereotypes.
PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN
