The Bright Side: Fashion as a Cultural Movement
During the Royal Visit this past weekend, all eyes were on the Duchess of Cambridge. Fashionistas around the world took note of what Kate was wearing when she came off the plane, danced the punta, or graced the official reception. But Belize’s own best-dressed men and women were also on display, some modeling uniquely Belizean creations. On this week’s Bright Side, I visited one fashion house out west that is working with Mayan embroidery artists to dress everyone from blushing brides to visiting Prime Ministers. As Ronelli Requena puts it, fusion fashion is a win for Belize.
Sabreena Daly
“I briefly walked in your working space and I saw you working on a wedding dress and I was telling one of your staff members, it’s almost like you’re the fairy godmother.”
Ronelli Requena
Ronelli Requena, Owner, Zayvha Sarai
“I have a cool job, what can I say? The bride comes in with all these dreams and ideas about what they want to look like for their special day and I have to take all of these ideas and put my aesthetic in it. Because it has to be a representation of me as well, until we come up with this one sketch and the one dress for that big day.”
Sabreena Reporting
Ronelli Requena does custom event wear and will soon launch ZS Bespoke for men. She collaborates with the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management. That is how her passion project, Xe’il, came about.
Ronelli Requena
“Madam Froyla gave me a call and I was like, “Oh my God, this is Floyla!” Before the time, she was not Governor General, but I’ve heard of her work and we had similar visions of what we wanted fashion in Belize to be like. Usually, when you think about fashion, you think about the glamour, about the runway, about going to other countries with your collection, but we really wanted fashion to be something of a movement, where we’re educating people about our culture, our fashion, our traditional clothing, our story to tell because we do have a culture in Belize. We did several consultations with the ladies which have been an amazing experience every time I go there, I never get bored. Where we talk to the elders and we talk to the younger generation of what they wanted and we came up with this capsule collection which we integrated their traditional clothing with embroidery with a modern twist.”
Ronelli says this project has empowered and employed several women through a twist on modern day fashion and the integration of culture.
Ronelli Requena
“Through the project, we’ve been able to create jobs for women where they can be working from home. They no longer have that need to be taking their little craft and going out on the streets begging stores to take in their souvenirs or their embroidery. No, they get to work from home and we even go and get it from them, from their home. They go to the village to purchase it from them. Also, we get to teach them new skills. Believe it or not, a lot of the women that are sewing now did not even know how to sew. Some of them hadn’t even touched an electric machine. Some of them hadn’t even held an electric iron. So, it’s from scratch we started with the ladies and moving on to now, it’s a skill that they can pass on to their daughters or their sons. So, we’re actually shaping the community in terms of skills, in terms of you can make money from your own hands without doing things you don’t want to do, but things you enjoy.”
Recently she enjoyed creating an embroidery gift for a visiting Caribbean dignitary.
Ronelli Requena
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted me to make a piece for Ms. Mia Mottley. I was so excited. I do embroidery on the side and it’s not something that I do often. So if you see an embroidery piece made by me, know that it’s something special because I really take my time to think about it, to sketch it from just an idea and we do it by hand. Um, when we did hers, we wanted to make something Belizean. What do you think about when you think Belize? And we were like, the flora, our jungle! So, we incorporated different flowers and leaves that would be more tropical for her to put on her scarf. Actually seeing her wearing it was very rewarding. It reminds me of why I do what I do–for these little moments. And it’s not just a win for me but it’s a win for Belize. We have a lot to offer.”
