Per°Form Open Academy of Arts and Activations 2024 Presentation — Fashion with a Cause: Restoration Through Love by Diamantina Arcoiris

Synopsis

In her presentation, a culmination of all the different elements featured in Per°Form Open Academy — the atelier workshop opening keynote and the embroidery workshop held earlier — Diamantina shares the journey and experiences of working with the individuals whose silences, self-doubt, shame, rejection and hopeless are re-fashioned. Together with individuals from vulnerable and marginalised communities in Bogotá, she as a fashion designer has created fashion with and about difference. The creative self-expression through cultural production symbolically transmutes pain into passion and fear into confidence, and resist alienation that comes with being on the fringe.

About Diamantina Arcoiris

Diamantina is a fashion designer who uses her knowledge and skills to help those marginalised by society. In the challenging environment of one of Bogotá’s barrios, she has set up Fundación Rediseñándonos (Redesign Ourselves Foundation), which offers a welcoming community and inspiring workshops. Drawing on the therapeutic aspects of creativity and creative production, she is empowering people to explore alternative possibilities and redesign their lives.