Project Runway’s Mexican Warrior
Photo Courtesy of Sportskeeda and Project Runway
Fast-paced Spanish-inspired instrumentals played as Coral Castillo came out to the runway to be congratulated. The entire cast of season 19’s Project Runway stood up one by one, applauding Coral’s collection, one of the show’s four finalists. This is something they hadn’t done with the other contestants. A collection that mirrored Coral’s rich culture. Quiet on the outside but fearless on the inside, this is Coral Castillo, a modern-day Mexican warrior.
“I really wanted to show my culture and where I come from,” says Coral when describing the inspiration for her collection. Coral Castillo, 40, grew up in Mexico City and Tijuana until she decided to study in the United States. Born in Mexico City, Coral experienced a culture painted in history, colors, and vibrant energy. She mentioned that her parents separated when she was 7, so she spent the rest of her childhood with her mother. Because her mother was a dressmaker, Coral was exposed to luxurious fabrics and the hum of sewing machines quite early. Coral watched her mother sew at home and custom-make dresses for clients. Her mother’s artistry is what made her decide to pursue fashion design. She followed her mother’s footsteps and started selling garments to a select clientele. Eventually, she moved to the United States to study fashion design at The Art Institute of California-San Francisco. It was only the beginning of Coral’s fashion career.
Moving to the United States opened a new world for Coral. After studying in San Francisco, the womenswear designer moved to Los Angeles. She was exposed to interviews, new clientele, job opportunities- and was even featured in British Vogue and Vogue Italia. Coral’s timidness may distract you from her outstanding perseverance and courage, but trust me, it’s there and ready to fight. Her determination flourished when seeking opportunities for her career. Prior to season 19, Coral applied five times to Project Runway. “I never heard back, so for a second, I thought maybe I should stop applying,” she says. But Coral’s doubts didn’t stop her from trying again. It wasn’t until her 5th application in 2021 that Coral finally got her chance to be on one of the world's most popular fashion competition shows.
“Mexico is so rich. It has so much beauty, and I don’t think it’s appreciated much in this country.”
After finding out she made it to the final four of Project Runway, Coral had five months to design a mini-collection for NYFW. She drew inspiration from a trip she took a few years ago. It all started in 2019. Coral took her son to meet her dad, who she hadn’t seen in 23 years, in Mexico City. Her son brought Coral back to her roots, back to her family that devoured her with love. Nostalgia and comfort flooded through Coral. “It was emotional. My family received us and made us mole. I almost forgot the taste of it…it tastes so much better in Mexico!” she says. Coral talked about Mexico like it was a person she loved. “Mexico is so rich. It has so much beauty, and I don’t think it’s appreciated much in this country”, she says. She showed her son all the major landmarks of Mexico City, like Palacio de Bellas Artes, Castillo de Chapultepec, and Teotihuacan. At Castillo de Chapultepec, a historic castle in Mexico City, Coral fell in love with murals of David Alfaro Siqueiros and how he expressed the importance of indigenous people fighting for their rights. While walking through the streets in the heart of Mexico City, Coral noticed an indigenous woman sitting on the sidewalk working on hand embroideries. “It didn’t feel right that she was creating this beautiful artwork on the streets,” she says, “I need to somehow bring these embroideries to my collection and my entire experience in Mexico.” Coral’s experience grounding herself back to her Mexican culture forged a historical and identity-focused concept for her NYFW collection: something the audience could not forget.
Coral Castillo’s Final Project Runway Collection at NYFW. Photo Courtesy of Coral Castillo.
It was only a few minutes before the show. For the first time ever, Project Runway had an all four-female finale. The anticipation was loud. As the audience waited for the female designers to showcase their work, Coral and the other designers stood backstage making final adjustments to their garments. Hours before the show, Coral was deciding what looks should go first on the runway. “I wanted the collection to have a color story, so my first choice was to start with a white garment.” Christian Siriano, Project Runway’s mentor and host, shook his head every time Coral suggested a piece.
It wasn’t until Coral remembered the story behind her concept that she realized what look should go first. If it hadn’t been for Coral’s son, she wouldn’t have traveled back to her home country and seen the murals and architecture that were main inspirations for her collection. “It was perfect for me to start with menswear because my son was my main inspiration that took me back to my roots,” she mentioned. Of course, Christian fully supported Coral’s decision and knew the judges would be blown away and surprised by having her start the show with menswear. Coral’s collection, ‘Genesis’, told a modern Mexican story. The clean shapes and style lines of the garments reflected Teotihuacan’s (Aztec pyramids) geometric and polished structure. The harness accessories with gold beads represented the bullet straps women wore when fighting during the Mexican revolution. “And then you see the otomi embroidery-and all of those were bought directly from indigenous people in Mexico”, Coral says. She asked her brother in Mexico City to help her find local embroiderers.
The final look, a modern interpretation of the tehuana dress, incorporated hand-stitched otomi embroidery. The tehuana dress was paired with a modern version of the ‘resplandor’, a large circular headpiece to frame the face. Coral’s version of the Mexican headpiece was angelic in every way-a perfect way to end her soulful collection. “I wanted to tell the whole story of Mexico in 10 pieces. The main thing was my son who took me there…I fell in love with everything again”, says the designer. Little pieces of Mexico’s history were beautifully woven into Coral’s collection, showing not only her passion for her roots, but also the unconditional love towards her son.
“I would love to be the first Mexican designer that has a house like Dior, Balenciaga, or Chanel… I would love to do that.”
‘La Adelita’ refers to the women who fought during the Mexican Revolution. It started with the woman herself, Adela Velardez Perez, who joined the military and became a nurse to help wounded soldiers. During Project Runway, Coral wanted her models to look like warriors. She was inspired by fearless women who fought for their rights. While Coral is obviously not fighting in the Mexican Revolution, she shows her warrior characteristics through her designs and work ethic. Coral is a statue you cannot tear down: a single mother who did not back down when applying for Project Runway, a Mexican woman who embraces her ethnicity through her storytelling and designs. Coral has fought her way up to Project Runway and through it. Coral is currently working on diversifying her designs. She is selling Adelita-inspired chokers and harnesses while designing brand new macrame garments. In the future, Coral hopes for more representation of Latin American designers. On top of that, she wishes to be what Balenciaga was for Spain or what Carolina Hererra is to Venezuela. She grinned and stated proudly, “I would love to be the first Mexican designer that has a house like Dior, Balenciaga, or Chanel…I would love to do that, and I’m working on it.”
