By Paz Coliguante - Translated by Leidy Rachen

 

In a country where being a woman remains a daily challenge, initiatives like Fashion Expressions: The Stories She Wears are born out of an urgent need: to create safe, creative, and meaningful spaces for women to discover their voice, worth, and power.

 

Beyond threads and fabrics, this initiative, driven by the Prada Group and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), landed in Mexico in 2023, specifically in Querétaro, after being implemented in Ghana and Kenya. The program takes a chance on something essential: recognizing and empowering women as agents of change within their communities. Through textile art—an ancestral practice passed down from generation to generation— the 46 participants not only learn a technique, but also reclaim a legacy and transform it into a tool to build their future.

 

The true value of these encounters lies in what is taught and what is awakened. Each stitch becomes an act of memory, resilience, and resistance. Each conversation among artisan women—some young, others with years of experience—creates a support network where self-esteem, sisterhood, and dignity flourish.

 

This year, the program introduces an even more meaningful dimension: 26 artisans from the first edition return, not only to continue their training in more advanced sessions, but also as mentors to new participants. como mentoras de nuevas integrantes. In doing so, they share not only techniques but life stories that reflect struggles, growth, and hope.

 

In an environment where many women have faced violence, poverty, or a lack of opportunities, having a space to learn about their rights, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, financial literacy, and leadership is revolutionary. These workshops also include modules on business development, strengthening the participants’ economic autonomy, and giving them practical tools to launch their ventures. These gatherings are far more than workshops: they are seeds of personal and collective transformation.

 

The program is further enriched by the involvement of Prada Group employees in Mexico, who contribute new ideas and techniques, fostering a cultural exchange that enhances both design and self-expression.

 

In every story, every design, and every piece, a woman is rebuilding herself. Like Maribel Prisciliano Julián, who found in this initiative a way to heal after experiencing domestic violence: “More than anything, I want my story to serve as an example,”she says. Her testimony, like so many others, reminds us that what is at stake is not just a garment, is also a destiny.

And that, more than fashion, is handmade hope.