Dresses for Afro brides dazzled at Expoboda

Ecuadornews:

The Esmeraldeña Paola Godoy and the Cuban Guillermo Silverio make costumes for civil liaisons designed to highlight the figure of Afro-Ecuadorians.

15 years ago the Esmeraldeña Paola Godoy dabbled in the design of jewelry. Then it evolved into turbans and garments. Now she risked participating in the Expoboda event and, together with the Cuban Guillermo Silverio, bet on the preparation of bridal dresses for Afro-Ecuadorians.

“Everything was born with the need that we blacks had to dress as we like, with the colors that we like and models that highlight us. People who prefer our Africa Mia clothing line are Afro-Ecuadorian, but they also love non-Afro people, “says Godoy.

She mentions that “we are proud of the idea that the public not only got the message of the potential of the beauty of our ethnicity and culture in fashion, but also wants to take it over. That is very interesting”. Jewelry designer and communicator Paola Godoy with Cuban designer and actor Guillermo Silverio during the Expoboda event.

.Godoy acknowledges that much of the success of this bet of dresses for brides in their civil wedding, which stole attention and applause at Expoboda, held last week at the Convention Center in Guayaquil, is due to Silverio, who does 20 days added to his “perfect fusion”.

“We created a collection in four days. It all started 20 years ago, when one of Paola’s seamstresses fell ill. She called me to help her make a line of clothes for the video of the singer Ana Paula, “says Silverio.

The designer specifies that “that day he received a call to participate in the Expoboda and, although at the beginning the proposal was only to go with accessories, we knew that we could do more. And this is the result”. For the Cuban, the idea was new, but not unknown.

Six years ago, before migrating to Ecuador, she studied fashion design in Rio de Janeiro. To solve his studies, he worked in the preparation of bridal gowns. It was there where it was perfected.

“My mom was a seamstress, so I was always tied to the sewing machine. As an adult I studied acting and then a degree in acting education. With the idea of making costumes for theatrical works I traveled to Brazil to train in fashion design. Now fate brings me back to the road. ”

During the three years he has been living in Ecuador, the Cuban actor has played in comic series, as well as in the production of plays in PopUp, La Bota and Microteatro. In this last place he created a staging starring Carmen Angulo, through whom he met Paola Godoy. “Carmen told me that a friend of his makes exquisite designs. Since we were introduced, we clicked and this was the start of a different learning experience and of discovering roots “.

The designer explains that although the Afro-Cuban current is strong in his country and although he studied the meaning of the tendencies of the orishas (African deities), it never occurred to him to venture into this line, but he feels that in Ecuador he has a great teacher: Paola Godoy Shared work She says that she is responsible for the design and the combination of colors, while Guillermo focuses on haute couture, tail fall and shine.

“We have good chemistry,” Godoy, who has a workshop in the New Kennedy citadel. But Godoy’s vision goes further: he wants to develop an event in which all Afro-Ecuadorians are focused on fashion. ”

The idea is to form a great team, to polish us, that people request our work to, in that way, get sponsors to create events and spread our ethnicity,” says Dayanna Copete, model and owner of the agency that trains the staff of work with Godoy. The makeup artists Nathalie Spain and Priscila Hurtado also see the brand as an opportunity to exhibit their work. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/6/afro-vestidos-novias-ecuador