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Diotima Debuts Estate-Backed Wifredo Lam Collaboration at New York Fashion Week

Rachel Scott translates Lam’s anti‑imperialist iconography into garments, drawing on Jamaican crochet alongside Refugee Atelier.

Overview

  • The A/W 2026 runway on Feb. 15 presented a confirmed collaboration with the Wifredo Lam estate, with endorsement from his son, Eskil Lam.
  • Scott reinterpreted works including Omi Obini, the Femme‑Cheval series, and La Jungla through organza intarsia, gobelin jacquard, fine‑gauge knit intarsia, and select digital prints.
  • The presentation framed the collection as an explicitly political statement, citing pressures in the U.S. and Caribbean and centering themes of anti‑imperialism and feminine power.
  • Production paired Diotima’s Jamaican crochet network with first‑time partners at New York nonprofit Refugee Atelier, which provides fair‑wage textile work to displaced women.
  • Staging echoed MoMA’s concurrent Lam retrospective with a matching burgundy setting and a soundtrack fusing Cuban music with Nina Simone and Stravinsky, shown in Manhattan’s Financial District.