Eva Perón read from dresses. Argentine politics is an icon of Latin American feminism. Over the years, a lot has been written about the actress, dozens of documentaries and films have been produced. Nevertheless, many aspects of his life remain a mystery. Although his life was very short, he died at the age of 33, he is one of the most important characters in the history of Argentina.
The book Evita in front of the Mirror: Essays on Fashion, Style and Politics in Eva Perón (Ampersand, 2023) brings together essays that explore the figure of Perón through fashion, written by some of the greatest Argentine specialists in the history of haute couture. “For the oligarchy, Perón was a vulgar careerist, she didn’t know how to dress, but that wasn’t true, clothes allowed her to surf the prejudices of social class,” explained the editor and author of the book, Marcelo Marino, in his presentation this Monday at the Casa América in Madrid. Although fashion has always been a major protagonist of his political discourse, it has never been written about in such detail. Many still remember the sentence that Perón said to Franco during his trip to Europe in 1947: “The poor like to see me pretty.” They don’t want a poorly dressed old woman to protect them. “They dream of me and I can’t disappoint them.”
Madrid, June 9, 1947. Eva Duarte de Perón, wife of the Argentine president, greets the crowd cheering her from the balcony of the Oriente Palace. Despite the heat in Madrid, the First Lady doesn’t give up wearing her mink coat.EFE
The director of Ediciones Ampersand, Ana Mosqueda, explained at the presentation of the book that this work was created as an attempt to understand the character of Eva Perón in all its aspects, without falling into frivolities or partiality, but with the underlying hypothesis des Use politicians who have made fashion. For the authors, the biggest challenge at the beginning of the book was to define what was part of the story and where the myth that arose around the character Evita began: “Never before has there been so much talk about fashion.” Character,” admits Marino.
Clothing has always been an important part of Perón’s story, first to overcome social class prejudices and then to rise to first lady status. Perón came to Buenos Aires at the age of 16 to work as an actress and model and discovered the power of fashion. “It allows him to transform, he understands his power,” Marino says. According to the book, in these early years Perón relied on seamstresses, collaborators and assistants to help her develop her own style.
In the picture, Evita opens a children’s soccer tournament in Buenos Aires. Keystone (Getty Images)
Later, in his political career, fashion became a political tool. A great example of this was her tour of Europe in 1947. One of the book’s authors, Laura Zambrini, says that due to internal problems in the Peronist government, it was decided that she should do the tour: “Such a young and beautiful woman, she attracted the crowds and that gave her a lot of visibility. “It was really disruptive at the time,” says Zambrini.
Perón also had the intelligence to adapt to what he saw. Europe was experiencing post-war poverty and when the Argentine First Lady arrived in Italy and saw the panorama, she decided to change her style and opt for a bun. There, as the book says, Perón met all of Europe’s major haute couture houses, who later looked for her to work with her.
The Argentine First Lady was a customer of designers such as Christian Dior, Jacques Fath and the shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, among others. Her life was a complex relationship between the Peronist discourse and the construction of her public image: “The haute couture on her body took on the meaning of resistance to power.” The layers of high society saw her as a vulgar woman,” says the author.
Perón and Eva prepare to attend the first gala of the Teatro Colón season in 1949, a performance that is still a cultural event today. Fusco became Fusquito for Perón, a deal that eventually opened the doors to the intimacy of a presidential marriage.Pinélides Fusco
Marino assures that Eva Perón’s connection to luxury, on the other hand, was seen as a contradiction to her social discourse with those most in need: “It is not easy to find another name that gives such intensely political utility to haute couture since “at the same time.” so transcendent.
It is also believed that Eva Perón’s wardrobe changes were closely examined and coincided with the activities set on the agenda. In Spain she was very surprised when she showed up in a fur coat in the middle of the hot spring at one of their major events. For Marino, it was a brilliant act: “Fashion means breaking old patterns, and that’s what she wanted to do in Madrid.” For his critics, it was a mistake, given the precarious situation Spain found itself in after the Second World War. It never rains to everyone’s liking, not even Evita’s.
The cover of “Evita in front of the mirror”.
It is these iconic suits that Argentine designer Pablo Ramírez represented in a spectacular collection of 16 suits in a parade following the launch of the book. In it, the bun, the heels and the pins accompanied the tailored suits and later the long dresses that have managed to survive over time as symbols of fashion in a perfect enclave like the Linares Palace. “Eva Perón could be the first influencer of the 20th century, an unprecedented icon,” Ramírez said.
Many women in politics consider Perón a reference. Like them, they use fashion as a weapon of political communication. This was the case with Princess Diana or Jacqueline Kennedy. For Marino, however, they do not have the same meaning: they lacked class conflict. “Evita was the image of change in Latin America.”