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Mexico’s Sheinbaum is standing up for indigenous women, a stitch at a time
The colourful embroidered dresses and blouses have become a wardrobe staple for Mexico’s ‘most stylish’ president
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In the Mexican mountain town of San Isidro Buen Suceso, Virginia Veronica Arce Arce begins her days as she has for decades: seated at her vintage Singer sewing machine, guiding bright threads into intricate patterns passed down through generations.
Arce is part of a group of talented female indigenous artisans who collaborate to create the colourful embroidered dresses and huipiles – traditional blouses worn by indigenous women – that have become a wardrobe staple for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and earned her a spot on The New York Times “Most Stylish” list.
Since launching her campaign for president, Sheinbaum has worn garments that honour the textile traditions of different Mexican indigenous communities.
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“In each embroidery there is not only a lot of work, there is tradition, there is history, there is legacy … each embroidery represents something that a woman designed and thought of,” Sheinbaum said on Wednesday.
The president’s style caught the attention of The New York Times, which this month included her in its list of the most stylish people of 2025, saying she has drawn attention to the country’s indigenous fashion by wearing “embroidered clothing”.
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