This collection is based largely on the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, a movement surrounding anti-war and anti-government ideals expressed through fashion. The following is a brief, informal introduction to the topic:
In 1943 in Los Angeles, Mexican and Mexican-American people were harshly segregated, and there was great tension between them and the police, as well as servicemen from the nearby military bases. Street fights between Pachucos and the sailors became regular and each fight would give reason for the next, going back and forth for months. The Pachucos wore Zoot suits as a sign of rebellion, as the use of so much fabric for one garment was seen as unpatriotic because they could have been used for the war effort. In August, a group of young men who called themselves the 38th Street Boys were accused of murdering another young man named José Gallardo Díaz, but it was widely regarded (and later proved) that the boys were being railroaded by the prosecution and judge to make an example out of them. The boys were imprisoned, which sparked backlash from many Los Angelinos and the formation of the ‘Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee’. Tensions rose on the streets of L.A. until one day a sailor and a Pachuco had a disagreement and began to brawl, which turned into a riot, which turned into a week-long back and forth between the two groups.
