Throughout fashion history, Latinx individuals have made a significant impact. Carolina Herrera, for example, is a successful Venezuelan designer. Famous for her luxury fashion styles and perfumes, her name is well recognized in the fashion world. Several other innovative designers took their bold pieces to the Spring and Summer 2025 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) that ran from Thursday, Sept. 11 to Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Many Latinx designers at NYFW interwove their heritage with unique skills and other facets of their identity. Patricio Campillo, a designer with Mexican heritage, used basketry and weaving to create a sustainable and durable collection. He took inspiration from Mexican culture to create gender neutral styles and earthy colors.
Dwarmis Concepcion is a designer that crafts her clothes in small quantities, making a more sustainable collection with nods to her Dominican Republic roots. She describes her collection as a “celebration of the body.” Another designer, Elena Velez, describes her remarkably creative designs as a “Badland universe.” Each designer has their own unique vision of what their collection represents and brings that vision to life.
Taking his designs in a different direction, Dominican designer Fernando Garcia created designs with a tailored and chic look. Raul Lopez, another Dominican designer, created cinched designs highlighting the shape of the bodies that wear them.
LeBlancStudios is a designer duo who grew up as childhood neighbors. Starting at a young age, Yamil Arbaje and Angelo Beato went to factories after school and took an interest in clothing manufacturing. Noticing that there were not that many brands from the Caribbean or Latin America, the duo looked to establish Santo Domingo in the fashion world. They decided to take their projects global after Arbaje went to New York for school. They described their brand as an “exploration of Latin American youth culture.” Now, their experimental pieces are known for their dyeing techniques and overall boldness.
Historically, only certain Latinx individuals have been welcomed into the fashion world. Herrera grew up wealthy in New York and was given ample important opportunities that lower-class Latinx people may not have the privilege of receiving. Additionally, while Selena Gomez was featured on a Latinx month issue cover for Elle, her garments didn’t necessarily pull from Latinx styles. Some viewers thought this could ostracize the larger community.
If Latinx youth do not see themselves represented as designers and models, it may deter them from a career in fashion. A lot of garment workers behind the scenes are Latinx, yet they often receive little recognition.
Given the hierarchy that exists within the industry, it is imperative that Latinx people are not pushed behind the scenes. To inspire social change, visibility might be more important than inclusion alone. Representation within the fashion industry is rooted in an income-inequality struggle more than anything else. It is important that younger lower-income Latinx people not only see what is possible for them, but are given the same opportunities and guidance that others are.
The fashion industry should make a greater effort to offer more opportunities to aspiring Latinx individuals in the fashion industry. It’s also important to acknowledge the existing Latinx members of the fashion community and make their identities more prominent. The bold and inventive clothes by Latinx designers at NYFW 2025 speak to Latinx creativity and ambition, as well as optimism for future representation in the fashion industry.