Baja Moda

Identity and resistance: portraits of storefronts throughout Latin America. Amid the proliferation of global brand stores in Latin American cities, Mexico City based photographer Pablo Lopez Luz (born 1979) documented the humble storefronts of small businesses, enduring bulwarks against ever-advancing capitalism. The project Baja Moda (Low Fashion) explores two key aspects of contemporary Latin American culture: identity and resistance. While working on a previous project across Latin America, I began documenting store fronts and shoe shops still standing unaltered through the passage of time, unconcerned with the tendencies of modern globalised culture, seemingly opposing the economic transition to overseas manufacturing.
The nature of identity, how it weaves into history and continues to evolve in contemporary society resonated immediately in these impervious storefronts. The precarious, yet carefully arranged displays, suggest a principle of resistance, an inherent ideal detached from the economic challenges faced by a polarised continent, as they stand against the impending homogenization of the metropolis they inhabit. 55 images