PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS
PROCESS
I started by looking inward, using my father’s story as a point of entry. I then looked outward, researching immigration systems, cultural assimilation, and shared histories between Mexico and the United States.
One of the strongest visual connections I found was between the Mexican ranchero and the American cowboy. They’re often framed as opposites, but they come from the same ideas: land, labor, endurance. That overlap became a way to visually collapse the distance between cultures.
Clothing felt like the right medium because it lives with people. It moves. It gets worn, repeated, and seen in everyday contexts. Instead of asking someone to step into a gallery, the work could exist in their daily life. Each garment became a small narrative. Through screen printing, I experimented with layering imagery and refining what felt honest versus what felt performative.
One of the strongest visual connections I found was between the Mexican ranchero and the American cowboy. They’re often framed as opposites, but they come from the same ideas: land, labor, endurance. That overlap became a way to visually collapse the distance between cultures.
Clothing felt like the right medium because it lives with people. It moves. It gets worn, repeated, and seen in everyday contexts. Instead of asking someone to step into a gallery, the work could exist in their daily life. Each garment became a small narrative. Through screen printing, I experimented with layering imagery and refining what felt honest versus what felt performative.
The visual language also developed through typography and symbols. I paired Western and Chicano-inspired typefaces with the neutrality of Helvetica Neue, creating a balance between expression and universality — something rooted in culture but still widely legible and familiar. An eagle motif became a central symbol within the work, referencing its significance in both Mexican and American iconography. It allowed me to hold both identities in a single image without forcing a separation between them.
Once the designs were finalized, I directed a photoshoot to bring the clothing to life by using models with mixed backgrounds similar to my own to reflect the community the brand speaks to. Mood boarding, creative direction, and intentional storytelling shaped every image, which was then distributed across digital and social platforms to extend the project’s reach.
To expand the work beyond myself, I collected anonymous reflections from Temple students about migration, identity, and belonging to share.
Once the designs were finalized, I directed a photoshoot to bring the clothing to life by using models with mixed backgrounds similar to my own to reflect the community the brand speaks to. Mood boarding, creative direction, and intentional storytelling shaped every image, which was then distributed across digital and social platforms to extend the project’s reach.
To expand the work beyond myself, I collected anonymous reflections from Temple students about migration, identity, and belonging to share.