Inside The Anti-High Fashion Show Making Puerto Rico’s Style Scene More Inclusive

“Fashion was one of the pioneering industries in Puerto Rico, and it has [since] decayed for political and economic reasons,” she says. “I realized there was a need for a space for emerging designers and innovative ideas.” Driven by that, she also wanted to create a space that was different from the gatekeeping fashion events she had worked in years before: “I never felt comfortable, I was looked down upon.” Furthermore, Nuñez says that the styles weren’t reflective of the everyday wardrobes of most people. “It was prom dresses, gala dresses, and I just felt like that wasn’t my reality,” she says. “[I thought,] How can we take local fashion to a more creative ready-to-wear level?”