New Indigenous Fashion Craze Hits Mexico's Runways

By Michael Lopez

With a new season comes new fashion trends. And while most of the New York supermodels are flossing thick coats and scarves, down below the border it's all about huipiles, bright flowers, and hieroglyphics! Yup, indigenous designs are now the latest Latin American clothing craze.

Over in Mexico, retro tunics have been seen on a ton of runways. Typical patterns include colorful bird imagery, geometric shapes, and plenty of bare midriffs to bump up the sex appeal. According to several of the country's top designers, the trend began popping up during last year's bicentennial celebrations.

"We began to see how people were reassessing Indian art," designer Paulina Fosado told Fox News Latino. "Before, if you were to put something indigenous on, they would ask you 'Why would you wear that?' Now it's in style."

Fosado, who runs a line with her sister Malinali, debuted some interesting twists to the traditional garb at a recent fashion show. Some of their more popular outfits included sewn-in beads, floral embroidery, and just a touch of puffiness to keep things contemporary.

And both Fosado sisters admitted, weaving together the traditional designs is an art form unto itself. For centuries, indigenous seamstresses incorporated tools like the backstrap loom to carefully hand-spin cotton threads between fibers (something we doubt Oscar de la Renta's team has the skill set to do).

And interestingly, to help make the indigenous lines more accessible, designers tend to cut out portions of traditionally sewn material and incorporate them into silk fabrics (which helps with form-fitting "wearability").

Of course, purists tend to believe that the alterations take away from indigenous authenticity. But in the world of mass-produced fashion, that's pretty much a given.

The Fosado sisters (and many other Latino designers) seem to be happy just exposing young shoppers to the style and history of cultures gone by. And the fact that they're charging up to $1,100 for an indigenous designed dress certainly helps things too.

Which fashion styles do you find most intriguing right now? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Cultura, Fashion, Malinali Fosado, Mexico, Paulina Fosado, Style