6 things I brought back from Colombia that deserved a spot in my carry-on, the Colombian brands that caught my eye, and what I wore to Medellín Fashion Week

I was labeled “privileged” by someone who had just briefly met me during Medellín Fashion Week, presumably because I was dressed in designer clothes and had just eaten fresh bay tuna with matcha sauce at an exclusive brand lunch where she was also a guest. The label came on our way back to the hotel during a casual conversation about race, when I annotated rarely-spoken-of slave trades such as the Trans-Saharan slave trade. A comment she followed with an inquisitive “are you MAGA?” —almost at the exact same moment I pointed my phone camera toward a pile of thin mattresses that reminded me of the ones I threw on the floor of my aunt’s apartment when I moved to the States in my 20s, that reminded me of possibility and opportunity, and of the sense of dignity that settled over my body when I finally rested my head on the pillow after a long day of cleaning toilets for work.

The “privileged” label (and the MAGA inquisition) also arrived while I was spending time with remarkable women who have carved their paths in this difficult fashion world. Women who reminded me of the importance of merit-based inclusion: the kind that rewards excellence over hype. The kind that rewards diversity stemming not from random things we don’t get to choose such as the color of our skin or which side of the border we are born on, but from the ones we do have control over: alchemizing an interesting concept with distinct beauty into wearable garments, paying employees a living wage, working with quality materials, honoring our origins while learning from what other cultures have to teach us, and generally going the extra mile, doing the absolute best we can with the resources available to us. In short, for the content of our character.

Regardless of my “extreme right” beliefs, I say all the above devoid of a trace of shame, even though it hasn’t become very fashionable in the art and fashion milieu to see progress derived from free markets, individuality, and Western values as something worth improving rather than dismantling.

But back to meritocracy and focusing on the things that actually deserve our attention (and our hard-earned dollars), you need to check out the best luxury brands I saw in Colombiamoda: La petite Mort, Ballen, MAZ Manuela Álvarez, and Andrea Landa. And also the seven things worth fitting in my tiny carry-on on my trip back home:

1. Ballen Hamaca bag

   

   

2. Paula Mendoza Zendaya silver earrings

   

3. Sixxta marea red skort

   

   

4. Arkitect x Jorge Duque jeans

   

   

5. Velez Cleo asymmetric leather skirt:

   

6. Pajaro limon necklace

   

   And for a recap of what I wore during Colombiamoda, check out my instagram post:

Can you believe my kids start school in 12 days? Where did summer go?

~ ~ ~

Laura.