Fashion Design students cheered for Fashion Design Chair Nasheli Ortiz-González October 1 at Moore as she showed her collection Stranded during Paris Fashion Week SS19 under her brand name, Nasheli Juliana.
Students watched on a big screen and on their laptops screens as models walked on the runway at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand. They clapped as the first of the Nasheli Juliana models came onto the stage wearing designs made from 3-D printed fabric.
Audience members put on 3-D glasses for the collection, which Ortiz-González said "draws from images of the many atrocities committed against Puerto Rico by the effects of the dominant grip and the colonial rule of the United States, with the purpose of giving a voice, in any way possible, to the victims of this abuses and exposing the feelings of a segment of the population that sees the land of 'liberty' as one that preys on the liberties of others."
The first garment was a flowing robe with long sleeves printed with a 3-D pattern. The second design was a sheath dress with puffy sleeves and a strappy back, printed in a colorful 3-D design.
Next was a white large-ruffled crop top with three-quarter length sleeves on which dangled tiny colorful laser-cut machetes. The model wore slender pants printed in a 3-D pattern, which were covered with a sheer white overlay that belled at the bottom. Another top featured tiny plastic military tanks sewn on the front.
There were eight designs in all -- last was a long black dress with puffy sleeves and a sheer back. At the bottom hem were sewn hundreds of tiny laser-cut shoes in many colors. The model wore a straw hat that's traditional in Puerto Rico, and carried a large red plastic machete, which she held high over her head at the end.
Ortiz-González came out afterward in a black t-shirt featuring the Puerto Rican flag.
This is the second international showing of Ortiz-González's garments this year. She debuted her collection Suora at London Fashion Week in February 2018.
Ortiz-González will discuss her designs October 20 at the Barnes Foundation's 'Fashion and Feminism: A Symposium Inspired by Berthe Morisot' during the afternoon session 'Designers in Dialogue: Charles Harbison and Nasheli Juliana Ortiz,' moderated by Curatorial Studies professor Li Sumpter, PhD. Ortiz-González will also show her designs that evening at Moore during an exhibition and reception beginning at 5:30 pm.
