In the first annual Urban Culture Fashion Fest held over the Day of the Dead holiday from November 2-4 in Mexico City, thousands of people crowded the World Trade Center downtown to catch what’s becoming a growing fashion, music, and art movement within our southern neighboring country. Hosted by a group called Independent World, headed by Jiangsu Wongpec, a musician and street-fashion store owner himself, the event represented that Mexico in general does have a growing subculture in urban fashion that deserves serious recognition.

In an interview with Label Networks TV, Jiangsu explains the difference in urban culture from a Mexican point-of-view, and why they decided to produce such a unique event in his country. “I’ve traveled to Bread & Butter, MAGIC, and other shows, and thought that we could do something like this, but for consumers, here in Mexico City. While the concept isn’t necessarily new, there’s a growing audience here for such fashion, which is of course tied with music and graffiti art.”

In a city of 20 million, Mexico City also ranks as the 8^th richest urban GDP in the world, and represents the cultural pinnacle of street-inspired fashion in Mexico. As Jiangsu puts it quite logically, “We are a huge country [109 million people] and represent a growing culture of what’s taking place in fashion and music. We have 3 large fashion events per year, and now with the Urban Culture Fashion Fest, this represents the 4^th.”

The success from last weekend’s Fest will certainly put them on the map. Top brands representing the movement out of the 81 that showcased their wares in a fashion trade show setting, included Freaky Friends with their Japanese-inspired graphics; Monster, who mixed rockabilly with punk rather seamlessly; Grita which showcased their Hot Topic-like flair, including layered pieces such as striped leg-warmers and vinyl short dresses; No Problem, which was one of the title brands of the show as they make T-shirts for many bands in Mexico and hosted the events’ band autograph signings; Paola Hernandez representing a high-end contemporary look that included elements of vinyl and mixed fabrications in cocktail dresses; Dirty and Miserable, an artistic graphic streetwear label with all-over print hoodies, foil screenprinting, and military motifs; Mood and their mariachi band and DJ logos with a techno hipster vibe; Mandarina the animal-friendly, India graphic-inspired label; Vinecks and their striped metro-sexual shirts; AntiFashion who combined a skateboarding aesthetic with punk and rockabilly; an entire Gothic and punk area representing brands such as Nosferatu, Dhampir, and Gothica; a live tattooing and piercing area, plus brands such as Fabrica Pop and their Mexican wrestler Blue Demon pillows and Ugly Dolls; Chica Rider and their skate decks and T’s, which actually is part of another company called ReSkate.com which is responsible for many skateboarding events in Mexico; Montana Cans representing spray paints and artbooks and magazines including the introduction of the highly regarded Arkitip Magazine; an art collaborative from The City Loves You which represented an amazing urban vinyl toy collection including limited edition Mexico pieces by Kid Robot, and artwork by E-Boy out of Berlin, Mark Renton, among other well-known graffiti and street artists; and an art exhibition from the popular urban and streetwear culture magazine from Mexico called Marvin.

While the fashion show had scores of young consumers checking out latest collections and buying on-site, buyers also cruised the venue, as indicated by Mood’s rather large order of 100-T-shirts from a store buyer within the first 3 hours. In addition, there were some U.S. based brands showing licensed product such as Paul Frank, Diesel, Mossimo, Black Flies, andCrocs. However it was the Mexican brands that had most people’s attention.

Interestingly, while urban fashion in the U.S. is more rap/hip-hop influenced, this is not the case in Mexico where exhibitors and attendees mirror the burgeoning scene of punk, emo, Goth, rockabilly, and on the fringes, indie. While brands such as Volcom, Atticus, Emily Strange, and Famous Stars & Straps have been introduced to the Mexico City marketplace, thanks in large part to Jiangsu’s stores, as well as the chain Monster, as we noted in various fashion stories from the U.S., Famous Stars & Straps is the most popular cross-over brand as seen by the number of people wearing Famous apparel. Jiangsu confirmed this, also adding that the urban culture in Mexico and fashion and art also includes inspiration from folklore, as indicated by the characters or day-of-the-dead symbolatry in some designers’ collections, and the number of booths showcasing pillow character dolls.

In reflection, the Urban Culture Fashion Fest also had an excellent line-up of top bands from Mexico (see related story in Music section) including Six Million Dollar Weirdo, Anabautha, Chiquita Violenta, Satin Dolls, Los Concorde, Qbo, Kill Aniston, andDJ Estelar, among others. Other highlights, which kept the Urban Culture Fashion Fest moving where the on-going skateboarding events on a street course, including a lively women’s division, and B-boy sessions with dancers that seemed miraculously able to work their grooves even with punk or techno playing in the background.

Because it was in it’s first year, the Urban Culture Fashion Fest had few big sponsors, other than Sprite who stepped-up, and for the purchase of 2 drinks, attendees could get a self-screenprinted T-shirt with various graphics ranging from a turntable, headphones, and people graphics. Lines formed all day for this interactive campaign.

Overall, the Urban Culture Fashion Fest introduced what’s been a growing lifestyle in Mexico, combining new street-inspired fashion, music, and art into a festival/trade show-like program that could spread to other states, as Jiangsu envisions. On the flip-side, it may also bring out more U.S., Central, and South American designers in the future as word spreads that there is a consumer demand for this growing new version of urban culture.

Stay tuned for more stories from the Urban Culture Fashion Fest in Mexico City.