Desma Lopez

This series of photographs depicts a Latina appropriating images from Richard Avedon’s campaign work for Versace. Over a span of 20 years, Avedon and Versace joined forces to create some of the most iconic fashion images of all time. My images communicate the notion of how Latinos are underrepresented in the fashion industry. By using the work of Avedon, I am choosing to place myself and my model into the shoes of influential White people who have never had issues with not being represented. I created this work as a means to acknowledge my identity and challenge the conventions of our patriarchal society. Through the use of strobe lighting and a singular model (my friend Stephanie), I am able to speak on something that occurred throughout the 1980s and 1990s and illustrate how it is still happening today in the contemporary moment. I curated the images to show the evolution of fashion photography throughout the end of the 20th century, both in the posing and in the garments worn. By taking inspiration from one of the most pivotal fashion collaborations ever, I am showcasing the amount of time that has gone by in which Latinos have not been pictured in the same way that White people always have been.