I am tattooed with stories of my family and of Catholicism, which keep me grounded in every moment. Most important, we are both the communities that raised us and the communities that we have fostered. We cannot, however, separate our sense of self and its presentation from where we came from or where we are now. Fashion is perception, and perception comes from our experiences. As a storyteller using fashion as my medium, I define modern beauty as resistance, resilience and hope by incorporating my past and present into my designs.

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Persons: Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Angela Davis, Corky Gonzales, Jim Crow Locations: Irish American