afterparty?
haven’t found out where it’s at yet.
my hotel room
meet me after the final walk
I’ll be the one with the lowriders.
The theme of ‘Eterno’ is “eternal love, the love that connects us all, and the love that will live on beyond our flesh existence … All of us under the same sun, under the same moon, sharing the same universe, breathing the same oxygen.” To me, it hasn’t felt like love is enough to save us. ‘Eterno’ was staged less than a day after 5 year-old Liam Ramos was detained by ICE with his father, and shortly after the show, video and audio was captured of hundreds of Latino children and their families being held at Dilley Detention Center in Texas. The mind-boggling whiplash of seeing people like me on the runways at Paris Fashion Week, and being tortured in detention centers within the same 10 minutes feels incomprehensible and paralyzing.
However, Willy Chavarria shines a light of hope with his presentation. As the world’s most visible Mexican designer, he hasn’t just kept the door open for Latinos in fashion, he’s taken it off its hinges and started breaking down the wall around it. The way Chavarria represents Mexican culture, and the Latino community as a whole, makes me feel proud of who I am. To see Latinos of all walks of life portrayed in a beautiful, real, authentic light, not having to tone it down, dance less, sing quieter, to be loud and unapologetic about who we are when our country is trying to erase us, gives me hope I haven’t felt in a long time. Like love, hope can be eternal if we let it. Do we protest, create, and persevere in the name of hope, or love? Is there a real difference between hope harnessed into action, and love?
Despite the cheeky Grindr exchange opening the show, Willy Chavarria’s ‘Eterno’, described as a “living film”, delivered an emotionally captivating half-hour spectacle that made you laugh, cry, gasp, and dance. With musical performances from Mon Laferte, Lunay, Mahmood, Feid, Lil Mr. E, and bands Santos Bravos and Latin Mafia, ‘Eterno’ embodied the quintessentially Latino passion, flair, and drama I grew up with. The clothes, while pared back from previous collections, are clean, sharp, signature Willy. Versions of the outfits I’ve seen on aunts, uncles, and grandparents in old photos. The slick hair, the particular styling of the loafers and white socks, crisp shirting, elegant suits, popped collars and candied color combinations, a pride in how you dress and present yourself to the world. Every second of ‘Eterno’ feels like coming home. So many facets of Mexican culture, and Latino culture as a whole, were present. From Mon Laferte’s, Lunay’s, and Mahmood’s telenovela-style storyline, to Foos Gone Wild on lowrider bikes, being celebrated on a world stage in front of 2,000 guests (400 of which came from Lyas’s fashion week phenomenon La Watch Party) feels deeply radical and hopeful. Even in the best of times, a fashion show with this level of Latino representation would be considered groundbreaking. In today’s America, ‘Eterno’ feels like a ray of truth. The truth of who we are as individuals, and as Latinos, has never been more important.
Words by: Lola Barajas