12° N

Woman with straight black hair wearing a soft peach-colored floor-length sheer dress looking into the camera over her shoulder. The dress has pintucks on the front, and long sleeves, and the back of the dress is connected to bias strands that create the hood of the dress. She leans her knee on a light brown wicker chair with a cream-colored crocheted textile draped over the armchair. Large old family photos hang on the white wall behind her.

Nevaeh in classic guayabera dress with pintucks adorning the body and hidden raglan sleeve

Back of woman wearing a soft peach sheer dress with pintucks covering the entire back and sleeves. Bias strands of matching fabric extend from each pintuck and are sewn into a lattice form that creates the hood of the dress. Beneath the dress is a dark brown bodysuit with a high-cut boy-short leg line and a cap sleeve.

Bias strands extend from each pintuck and are handsewn into the lattice form that creates the hood.

A wooden chair and an old wicker chair with cream-colored crocheted textiles draped over them. A table with a crocheted table cloth draped over it with a blue candle, blue teapot, and other vintage knickknacks sitting on it is placed between the two chairs. Old family photos hang on the white wall. One model wears a sheer, soft peach dress with a “macrame” hood and sits in the wicker chair. Her sleeves hang past her hands. A model wearing a draped hood stands next to her, leaning on the back of

Madre (right) in a draped hooded look. Silhouette echoes traditional nun wrapping.

Isa in La Guayabera; intricately handsewn lattice hood drawn from Catholic veiling silhouettes

Back of woman, looking to the side. She wears a dusty rose drapey knit top with a hood. The top cowls at the front create drape at the side of her head and revealing some of her hair. The top is a short sleeve, landing at the middle of her bicep. The jumpsuit over the top is the same color and falls completely off of one shoulder, landing at her wrist. The other shoulder features a sleeve of the similar length as the top beneath it.

Matte jersey hooded cowl top under drapey falling shoulder jumpsuit

12° North is an ode to those before me, their stories of home, and all that they have taught me about our history. This study of my Nicaraguan heritage is rooted in the immigration of Central American motifs and tradition. Nicaragua is a place not known by the masses, and much of our history is quietly preserved only within the homes of those who carry its lineage. Within my family photos, I unearthed a world of beauty from another time and place unbeknownst to most, until now.

Credits

Photographer: Gabriel Cavounis
Model: Nevaeh Chludzinski, Isabella Meneses

Project Video

Maya Cavounis

Queens, New York

Sportswear

FIT is not responsible for the content of external websites

More from this Specialization

Sportswear

Look up a Student

Student Directory

Discover previous years

Look up a student

Student directory