United Arts Council
410 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27603
January 22 - February 29 , 2020
Born in El Salvador and raised in North Carolina, Lisbeth Carolina Arias has woven her story as an immigrant of the United States into a clothing brand that is cherished by those who are proud of their heritage.
As a young girl growing up in rural NC, fashion design served as the first outlet that didn't have a language barrier. It was one she and her mother, a highly-skilled seamstress, could finally cross together. Arias studied Fashion and Textile Design at North Carolina State University, interned in community-focused brands in Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, and Italy, and worked for several fashion studios, including Vera Wang, in New York City all before starting Descalza.
Descalza, meaning barefoot in Spanish, empowers communities through handwoven fabrics and reminds us of where we come from and who is still at home. As a handcrafted, made-to-measure, fashion label, Descalza bridges both communities by collaborating with artisans from Latino America to weave the fabrics and local seamstresses in North Carolina to create the statement pieces. Together, they create unique and colorful statement pieces that make us proud of our immigrant beginnings and to be de aquí y de allá.
Carolina’s exhibition at the United Arts Council is a part of VAE’s upcoming project, DE AQUI Y DE ALLA (of here and there). De Aqui y De Alla is a contemporary art project with the goal of exploring the duality that our Latinx community members feel. This feeling comes from living in the United States but not being white enough to be accepted without discrimination while being seen as to gringo to be fully accepted in the culture they identify with. The project will feature the work of Latinx artists who use their unique identity to combat this lack of acceptance and carve out space for themselves both here, and there.