Follow the Thread

Photography by Mylaele Negga. Image courtesy of UNFPA and Prada.

In Querétaro, Mexico, craft is a way of life. Colorful embroidered flowers and ancient, geometric patterns can be seen across clothing, tiles, and home decor. Passed down by generations, these motifs communicate the land’s history, ecology, and ancestral wisdom. In this spirit, a group of women in their mid-20s will gather around a table with colorful yarn ready to be made into rag dolls, embroidered patches, and clothing. The forthcoming fashion workshop, which runs from April 2025 to February 2026, is part of a joint effort by Prada Group and UNFPA (the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency) to support local, women artisans. Now in its second year in the country, the young women were nominated by the previous 2023 cohort, who will now return as mentors while also continuing their practice. 

Photography by Mylaele Negga. Image courtesy of UNFPA and Prada.

“Fashion Expressions: The Stories She Wears” doesn’t just provide fashion production tools, it also offers a pathway as to what to do with these skills, from resources on economic growth to business development. It also provides a wider web of support such as education on gender-based violence prevention and access to sexual and reproductive health. 

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The program will be broken up into two phases, the first of which provides the women with a strong technical foundation, with hands-on workshops by experts in the fashion and textile industries. The syllabus will cover the region’s artisanal history, developing technique, and how to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials. This section will culminate in individual fashion collections, where each woman will have a chance to tell her own story through her craft.

Photography by Mylaele Negga. Image courtesy of UNFPA and Prada.

This follows the initial program launched in Ghana and Kenya in 2022, in which 15 young women from marginalized communities graduated with industrial skills and job offers from established local brands.

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Women artisans play a major role in the global fashion industry, and Queretaro is home to long-standing textile factories (and more recently automotive and aerospace manufacturers, too). Together Prada and UNFPA highlight the women artisans at the heart of these productions.