As the fashion industry continues to attempt to diversify and expand what it means to be popular and revered in a community, a new initiative to highlight the contributions of Latin American designers and creatives has been announced: the Latin American Fashion Awards.
“We feel the time is right, as the world of fashion shifts, people are embracing diversity and welcoming new aesthetics and perspectives,” founders Constanza Etro and Silvia Argüello said in a statement Say email. “Latin America has been home to many talented designers, artists and brands over the years, and we felt the time was ripe to expand and recognize their work.” The awards will be the first of their kind and will be dedicated to Designers, brands and creatives from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America; they will be held every two years, each time in a different Latin American country.
The awards ceremony will be held this November in the Dominican Republic with opening night at Oscar de la Renta’s villa in Punta Cana Opening celebrations are held, followed by the awards ceremony in the amphitheater of the Casa de Campo in Altos de Chavón.
The awards will recognize traditional categories such as Designer of the Year, Model, Photographer and Brand, as well as other categories that reflect the current interests and inner workings of the industry like Responsible Project of the Year, Fashion Film of the Year and Subversive Latin of the Year — the winner in the latter category will be chosen by an online vote open to the public. Another category aims to highlight local talent from the host country — in this case, local stars from the Dominican Republic.
“Latin America is about the depth of its people, its context and its society,” Etro and Argüello explained, adding, “We want to make these awards a global platform to help elevate Latin America talent, and [be] a point of reference to discover and support their future” They will be accepting submissions starting February 8th, and all Latin American creatives are invited to submit across the awards website 12 award categories.
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