From NYC Fashion Design to Authoring Heritage Design: Part 1

My Journey of Style to Stories

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be trading fabric swatches for character sketches, I might have laughed.

For over thirty years, my life was a "perfectly straight line" aimed directly at the heart of the New York City fashion industry. From the age of four, I knew I was destined to design. I’ve spent decades immersed in the fast-paced world of fashion brand building, runways, retail and the tactile beauty of a well-crafted collection. Fashion isn't just what I do; it’s in my blood.

But recently, I took a "creative detour" that changed everything.

The Unexpected Pivot

This past summer, something shifted. I felt a sudden, urgent calling to capture the stories my parents have shared with me my entire life—stories of their childhoods in the migrant labor fields of South Texas.

I realized that the same fire and "hustle" I used to build fashion brands in Manhattan actually came from my Tejano roots. The resilience my parents showed in the face of hardship was the original blueprint for my own career.

I began to wonder: Could I use the same skill set I used to design a clothing collection to construct a story? As it turns out, building a brand and building a narrative aren't that different. Both require a vision, a deep understanding of your "audience," and a lot of heart.

Bridging Two Worlds

My journey started in Defiance, Ohio. Growing up, I lived in two separate worlds. At home, my life was deeply Tejano, filled with the traditions and stories of South Texas. At school, however, I was the only Latina in the room.

I learned to navigate these different worlds early on, a skill that served me well in the competitive fashion industry. But for a long time, that assimilation meant I wasn't fully embracing my whole cultural identity. This new chapter as an author is my way of finally bringing those two halves of myself together.

Honoring the Legacy

To truly understand where I am going, I had to look back at where my family came from. My parents were migrant farm workers in the 1940s and 50s. They faced systemic poverty and the loss of ancestral land—a history of displacement that transformed my ancestors from landowners to laborers.

Despite the "back-breaking work" and the social isolation, my parents graduated high school and built a beautiful life. Writing these books isn't just a career change for me; it’s a way to give my parents a tangible piece of their legacy. It’s a way to reclaim the wealth of our history, even if the land is gone.

What’s Next?

This process has already opened so many doors—leading to conversations with educators, community leaders, and most importantly, more stories from my parents that had been long forgotten.

I’m so excited to share this journey with you. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a creative, or someone wrestling with your own identity, I hope my story gives you a "jolt of pride" in your own roots.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll dive deeper into how the transition from design studios to the writing desk actually happened.

This post was inspired by my original series published in Latin Biz Today. You can read the full, in-depth article here.