This paper presents a view of the influence of traditional indigenous textiie arts on current fashion styles in Mexico.While these design products bear a marked 'Mexican' distinction,they serve to place such designers,many of them brilliant,in the foreground of fashion.As they are applauded for their innovation and for their supposed rescue of native cultures,seldom is recognition given to the traditional makers themselves,who have not ceased to uphold millenary traditions and cultural symbols.The use of indigenous textiles,whole and in parts,is increasingly becoming a means by which designers construct designs that make a strong impact,distinguishing the designer.This paper contemplates a reflection on the appropriations of an ethnic group's textile achievements for the individual benefit of the designer celebrity.At the same time,as culture is not static,indigenous makers-weavers,embroiderers and seamstresses-are developing their own new fashion trends,which are receiving attention and obtaining increasing popularity.These propose varied styles of traditional garments and are forging new markets: the famed clothing of the Isthmus Zapotec women has found many diverse applications; the embroidered garments of Zinacantán in the Highlands of Chiapas,in recent years,have incorporated new materials,colors and fibers allowing for unmeasured creativity; and the textile work of the Amuzgos in the southwestern mountains of Mexico in Guerrero and Oaxaca has not stopped in further excelling in weaving precision and richness of brocades that are widely distributed throughout the country.Various factors contribute in strengthening a community's textile traditions,these being innovation from within,success in commercial aspects,and cultural pride.Against the backdrop of indigenous endeavors to make a mark,not only regionally but also at the national and international levels,perhaps it is in the designers' calling attention to these textiles through appropriation,that such a focus can be considered in parallax as means to promote indigenous achievements in their own right.
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