MENGA: moda como uma ferramenta de re-laço com os saberes ancestrais

Abstract

In this work, I propose to discuss fashion as a tool for the preservation and perpetuation of ancestral knowledge from popular, Indigenous, and Afro-Brazilian cultures. Within this framework, I will focus primarily on the Indigenous Krenak perspective, as presented by Ailton Krenak, as well as the knowledge of quilombola and Afro-diasporic communities throughout history, and how this knowledge can help us develop alternatives that connect sustainability and socio-environmental justice within the fashion system. To do so, I begin with a critical analysis of the current system, aiming to understand its structure and identify the points at which it proves contradictory or exclusionary. The goal is to create space for alternative ways of relating to clothing, recognizing diverse forms of expression that also shape the making and thinking of fashion. To bring this discussion into a concrete context, I reference the craft of the spinners from the village of Sagarana, whom I had the opportunity to meet while working in the region. As a final form of presentation, I chose to produce an editorial that will be featured in an independent fashion magazine, which I will name MENGA. In this way, the project not only addresses certain concepts from a theoretical perspective, but also demonstrates how this reflection can be applied in practice.