By: Adam Zhang

Buenaventura, a city in Colombia, is home to the top-tier fashion event Colombiamoda. This year, two models at the event wore unique outfits. One sported a red minidress with a flared top similar to a seashell, and the other wore a royal blue and gold garment.

Both of these models were Black, and the materials that the dresses were made of came from Africa. The designer of the two pieces of clothing was Esteban Sinisterra Paz, who is a 23-year-old college student with no training in fashion and design. The occasion was strange and different for a Colombian fashion show.

Sinisterra explained that his work intended to show “the elegance of identity” to the world. “Decolonization of the human being” was a major goal.

Francia Marquez, a lawyer, and environmental activist is also the first Black vice president of Colombia. Her closet is full of works by Mr. Sinisterra.

Ms. Marquez went from poverty to a vice president, and now she speaks for the poor, Black, and Indigenous people. She has fought hard against the acceptance of racism and changed the aesthetic of many in her country, from shirts and suits to African-style clothing. This is a change Ms. Marquez calls a rebellion.

40% of households living in the nation survive on less than $100 a month, and the percentage has grown due to the pandemic. Afro-Colombians are part of the poor group and are often overlooked by politicians.

“Colonization tried to erase Black people,” Lia Samantha Lozano said. She created her hip-hop and reggae band, Voodoo Soulijahs, a long time ago. She has been giving her partners African fabrics for over a decade. Eight years ago, Lia Samantha Lozano gained the title of the first Black woman with a runway show at Colombiamoda, which is Colombia’s biggest fashion event.

Colombiamoda has a large community of people knowledgable on fashion. They have a dedicated Fashion Market and Trend Forum. Colombiamoda is also keen on business, having a whole section on their website for exhibitors and buyers.

Cali, a hub for Afro-Colombian culture, has been seeing shops that use Afro-descendant brands, Black celebrities, and models, as political tools.

Now, Ms. Lozano sells a hip-hop inspired line at a large shopping mall in the capital of Bogota.

“A big part of the plan was to make us feel ashamed of who we are, of our colors, of our culture, of our features,” she explains, “To wear this every day, not as ‘fashion,’ not to dress up for a special occasion, but as a way of life, as something you want to communicate every day. Yes, it is political. And, yes, it is a symbol of resistance.”