It had been rumored that the first lady of the Republic, Veronica Alcocer Garcia, she would dress in a suit by designer Diego Guarnizo for her husband’s possession, Gustav Petro.
The doubts were cleared this Sunday when, dressed completely in white, she went out to the act. Her suit is signed by a designer from her land, Sincelejo, called Virgil Madinah, a passionate young man for bridal fashion and specialist in wedding dresses.
Breaking the protocol of previous years, in which the first ladies wore dresses, there goes the first break and the idea of changing the tradition. Alcocer chose a white jumpsuit with a short cape with a Nerú collar that closes with three buttons woven in momposina filigree.
About the white cape, some users on Twitter have compared the ecclesiastical theme of it, as something similar to what the popes use, for example, and giving it a spiritual symbolism. Others argued that it was a cape, a short garment, without a hood, buttoned at the front, which is usually made of silk or leather and worn as a badge by graduates, doctors and university professors or magistrates, judges and lawyers over the toga.
William Cruz Bermeo, a connoisseur of fashion history, a professor at the design faculty of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, clarifies that it is not a hood, but it does look like one: “The piece evokes a hood; but clearly it is not. And for the context of use, I would avoid attributing any symbolism related to a hood to the piece that the First Lady wears.”
The most marked symbolism has to do with the choice of white. It should be remembered that the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris, chose to wear all white for the inauguration about two years ago. “White has begun to be installed as a code of new femininity in possessions, and in the political arena,” Cruz Bermeo emphasizes.
Both Coco Chanel and Carolina Herrera are two women to analyze in this context. The two designers are known, among many things, for having been very supportive of white as a symbol of female power, consultant Ana Lucía Jaramillo pointed out when talking about Harris’ suit years ago and also taking into account that it was Carolina Herrera who dressed the elected vice president in the United States for that occasion.
The meaning of white has varied over time, approaching “transparency, purity, sincerity, clarity, lightness,” added Jaramillo. Alcocer’s look and makeup was in charge of renowned stylist Norberto.
The vice president, faithful to her style
The new vice president of Colombia, Francia Márquez Mina, arrived with a dress signed by the young designer Esteban Sinisterra. For several months it has been known that Sinisterra, 23 years old and without professional training in design, manages Márquez’s wardrobe and international media have called him “protagonist of the Afro-Colombian fashion explosion.”
Q’Hubo Medellin spoke with sinisterra who recounted: “I am an empirical fashion designer from the need to be able to contribute resources to my house, since in Buenaventura I started making alterations in dressmaking: I fixed the boots of the pants for people in the neighborhood, that way I contributed to my house.” He is currently studying social work and completing 3 years dressing Marquez.
“Francia Márquez comes to me because friends from Cali recommend her. I have always characterized myself for doing my job very well, then she looks for me, I couldn’t believe it, Well, in my community, she was the defender of the rivers, the woman who put on her shirt to go out and defend women’s rights and, most importantly: she defends the territory. Before she became famous, I already knew France and her struggles. So, it was an honor,” she told Q’Hubo.
With such a close relationship, he already knows Marquez’s tastes and preferences. For this possession he used a print true to his style, very ethnic, and with a bolero stripe on his torso that symbolizes peace. Again white present.
Another accessory that caught the attention of Márquez’s suit were the earrings, characteristic of Sinisterra’s work, and they are the map of Colombia with the 32 departments recorded: “For me, making fashion is talking about my territory and its experiences, about those experiences that we have in each and every one of the corners of our country, rich in biodiversity as it is, I loved Colombia,” said the designer about this piece on his Instagram account @esteban_african_oficial. These earrings are also worn by other guests at the inauguration, such as the former congressional candidate Mábel Lara and Carolina Mejía, Márquez’s press officer.
Colours, prints and accessories that also say a lot because fashion communicates and brings tools to send messages, even at key moments in politics such as a presidential inauguration.