Cuban fashion designer Jacqueline Fumero has given the name "My Orishas" to her latest designer collection. Based on the ancestral religious dress used to venerate the orishas—deities of the Afro-Cuban Yoruba pantheon— Fumero elevates the styles to international chic.
Mis Orishas triumphed on the catwalk of the annual International Artisan Fair in Havana recently for the vision and innovative use of the colors and symbols of these traditional garments.
With great respect for the deities, Fumero nonetheless synergizes traditional and classic elements with elegance in the present, using such religious details as copper garabatos (double pointed stick), dove and peacock feathers, nacre shells, double-edged axes, sunflowers, crowns with nine tips and scarves with nine colors.
Fumero‘s designs feature an inventive fusion of cloth textures, a characteristic of her style, with gauze, jute fiber, satin, organza and chiffon as some of the elements.
Her haute couture or evening styles are dedicated to deities such as Obatalá, Changó, Ochún, Yemayá, Eleggué, Oyá, Arggayú where she has taken the natural traditional garb to the luxury catwalk and is one of the reasons Fumero has her position as one of the island's fashion leaders.
This artist prefers feminine clothes, from the wedding gown to beach wear, but she also dabbles in men’s clothing, with notable collections of classic and revamped guayaberas (Cuban national shirt), including hand drawn pockets and designs that meet the exacting demands of young people.
Fumero dreams of making the Cuban woman one of the most elegant, hence, most of her proposals are prét-a-porter, "from the catwalk to the closet" as she likes to say. She would have the small green alligator, referring to Cuba, dictate international guidelines for the complex and creative world of fashion.
In the meantime, her diligence and her brilliant talent broaden the triumphant path before her.
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