Think of Prada and you think of Italy, yet in a first-of-its-kind scheme, the fashion group is expanding its global outreach to launch a fashion training program in Mexico.
Working with UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, Prada Group’s fashion training program, “Fashion Expressions: The Stories She Wears”, works with female artisans from local communities within Querétaro state.
The scheme focuses on the technical and practical skills relevant to working in the fashion industry while also promoting women’s empowerment and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health.
“Our goal is to empower and instill hope for a brighter future to all involved as we continue our mission of building a more inclusive society,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, head of corporate social responsibility at Prada Group. “Through this partnership with UNFPA, we have witnessed how fashion combined with education, can become a powerful instrument of change and empowerment, complemented by the participants’ natural and effortless skills.”
The group of 30 women, aged between 18 through 50, come from indigenous and surrounding communities in Querétaro and are each already skilled embroiderers and weavers. Before joining the Prada Group and UNFPA program, they were working independently, with many of the women running family businesses by selling their crafts at local markets in Querétaro.
The women will undergo six months of training sessions and workshops from Prada Group, UNFPA and local implementing partner Nest, a nonprofit organization that works to advance gender equity and the economic inclusion of artisans. The training will equip the artisans with the required business skills and financial literacy to foster economic independence – for example, improving the artisan’s knowledge around budgeting, sales, merchandising and more.
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After completing the training, the women will be given the opportunity to develop industrial attachments under the guidance of Prada Group’s experienced fashion professionals. Meanwhile, Nest will remain on hand to support the women to establish their handicraft businesses within their communities.
The expansion of “Fashion Expressions: The Stories She Wears” into Mexico follows after the success of the project’s first iteration, first launched in 2021 to work with women in Ghana and Kenya.
“We have seen the impact of this model in Africa, using fashion to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment, and are excited to see the results it can have for the women artisans from Querétaro, Mexico,” said UNFPA’s chief of strategic partnerships, Mariarosa Cutillo. “The beauty of the UNFPA partnership with the Prada Group is that it places creativity at the center of building inclusive communities for women and girls.”
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