Sometimes true impact can be the hardest to see at face value. Being a working Latino in America—especially within fashion—can mean that your influence will often go unnoticed. We don’t create the art that we do for the sake of fleeting trends and industry accolades, however. While the Latino experience is far from a monolith—our families and ancestral legacies expand much further than the constraints that race and geopolitical surveys allow—we do have a joint understanding of how we move throughout the world. We’re determined, resilient and endlessly creative, and our tenacity towards success can’t be undermined. It’s a sentiment that Present Space’s latest cover star, Puerto Rican supermodel Joan Smalls, understands well. With a little bit of an assist from beloved Dominican-American fashion designer Raul Lopez of Luar, we spoke with Smalls and a special group of some of our favourite faces in fashion about Latinidad, identity, and how to continue to push the industry forwards.
“For me, staying true to myself is all about my roots. I’m Boricua to my core. Hatillo, my family, the culture—that’s my foundation,” Smalls tells Present Space about staying grounded in her career. “No matter if I’m on a cover shoot or strutting for top designers during fashion week, I’m still the girl who grew up jíbara with arroz con gandules and viandas con bacalao. That keeps me real.”
Keeping it real doesn’t always come easy however, especially within an industry that often wants its famous faces to be anything but.
“This career, though? It’s got its demands—look this way, act that way, fit the mould. It’s amazing to think that, at one point in my life, it felt like just a fantasy to be able to travel the world, to be able to use my attributes as art and to take up space in a competitive industry,” the supermodel shares. “I don’t bend too far, though. I love the work, the travel, the art of it [all], but I don’t let it consume me. I’ve done stuff like being the first Latina face for Estée Lauder, and I make sure I’m not just a face—I’m a voice, pushing for diversity and respect, keeping it honest even when it seems scary. I was raised to use my voice to speak up for myself and to advocate for others.”
Smalls recognises that her inherent sense of self has become a personal strong suit throughout her now almost two decade-long career.
“The rich heritage of being a Puerto Rican and West Indian… I have a true understanding of what it means to be diverse because of my multi-cultural heritage. The sense of identity and the resilience of my people is foundational [to who I am],” she says. “There’s a sense of community amongst Latinos globally wherever I go that makes me appreciative of the robust history that [exists within] our people. Wherever I go, Puerto Rico is with me.”
For Smalls, conquering fashion surpassed being a pipe dream and became her reality when she realised that modelling—and being herself—had become a lucrative opportunity that could change not just her life, but also the lives of those who would come after her. She constantly has the next generation of Latino talent in mind. Today, in 2025, there’s never been a more important time to have pride in who you are and where you come from. During even some of the most turbulent periods of political distress in America’s history, fashion has often thrived thanks to it being a form of self-expression that can’t be silenced.
It’s living icons, like Smalls, whose dedication to authenticity and refusal to be anything but themselves have helped pave the way for a new cohort of Latino talent within the fashion industry. Some of the new faces defining the ‘now’—like América González, Juana Burga, Dilone, Juanel Hernandez, Hector Diaz, Jan Anthonio Diaz, Amaury Valero and Laura Reyes, all of whom are featured in this issue’s special cover shoot—represent the very embodiment of Latino pride and resilience. They seek out inspiration from not just Smalls, but other notable Latinos in fashion too, such as industry-shifting designers Raul Lopez and Willy Chavarria, whose own Dominican and Mexican-American roots are woven into the very garments that grace their runways.
“My industry ‘father’ Raul Lopez found me at a deli in Washington Heights, and when no one knew who I was he shot me and my brother for Luar back in 2016,” says Dominican model and native New Yorker Hector Diaz. “That was my first time under any [kind of] spotlight which made me feel seen for the first time.”
For model and actress Juana Burga, the first and only Peruvian to have ever walked runways across New York, Paris, London and Milan, embracing her identity is a vital part of having a true personal and professional sense of self.
“My heritage [deeply] shapes my identity,” says Burga. “It’s woven into the fabric of who I am, the values, the traditions, the resilience, and the passion that come from being part of such a rich, diverse culture. The sense of community, family, and the importance of honouring my roots. One of my favourite phrases from Peruvian culture is la fuerza de una mujer peruana no tiene límites, which translates to the strength of a Peruvian woman knows no bounds. It’s a powerful reminder of how women, especially in my culture, are the heart and soul of the family and society, always pushing forwards, no matter the obstacles. It’s a phrase that fills me with pride and strength.”
If anything, the work and the building of the ongoing legacies of Latinos in fashion are proof that it’s more important than ever to bet on being exactly who you are—especially amid constant changes.
“The industry has changed so much since I was 16. Everything seems to evolve and move forwards in this industry, sometimes backwards in a weird and stupid way,” Dominican model and photographer Jan Diaz reflects on the ever-changing fashion world. “But I try to focus on where the progress is happening and keep my eye open for where the magic is when it comes to fashion and image making.”
América González, a Venezuelan model who has fronted campaigns for the likes of Chanel and Alaïa and graced the covers of dozens of international editions of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, isn’t afraid to call out the industry for its representational shortcomings.
“To be honest, I think there are less and less Latinas every season. There’s been a huge step backwards in the support that even our biggest Latin American models have received in the last years in comparison to the way there have been big ‘comebacks’ orchestrated for the peers of their generation,” says González. “There’s this evident unfairness in treatment and respect. The message I get from this is that, no matter how hard we work, we will always be seen as expendable and treated like rookies. I am a far cry from cookie cutter and it’s so incredibly hard to exist in an industry where, candidly, there’s a lot of bias and a remarkable inconsistency in the opportunities a Latinx model will get in comparison to their white counterparts. I tell myself: ‘No, I am not just ‘lucky’,’ that I shouldn’t accept the proverbial ‘peanuts’… I deserve to take up space, just as much as the others.”
For others, like Dominican-American Dilone who is no stranger to gracing glossy covers and high-profile lookbooks, embracing where they come from helps keep them centered while navigating the fast-paced environment of fashion—and serves as a reminder of why they came to love it in the first place.
“Growing up around music, dance and lively family gatherings, fashion was a way to express joy. It’s not just about looking good—it’s a way to tell a story and celebrate where you come from and say ‘Hello, baby! I am here!’,” says Dilone. “My mother and aunts always took the opportunity to dress up at gatherings—lots of jewellery, heels on, makeup and hair done. It’s something that I may have rebelled against at first because I just wanted to be comfortable, but I’ve since found a way to be able to do both. There’s power coming not just from the clothes…but from us. That’s what it’s all about for me.”
Laura Reyes, a Dominican powerhouse who is a regular fixture on Prada’s runways along with those of Fendi, Gabriela Hearst, and more, also credits her familial upbringing as being a core force that led her to fashion.
“When I was a little girl, I used to play catwalk with my cousins and friends. It felt as real to me then as it does to me when I walk runways now,” Reyes reflects. “I have learnt to be myself, to leave fear aside, and just do it because fear is a feeling that will always be present. I can decide if it buries me or fight through fear without letting it invade me.”
Juanel Hernandez, a Dominican model and muse for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Armani and Ferragamo, feels similarly when it comes to remembering one’s roots.
“[It’s always about] being honest with myself and remembering where I come from and the values I have and always being humble,” says Hernandez. “You always have to be humble because one day you can be there and the next day you’re not.”
For Amaury Valero, a Cuban-American model who is a familiar face on Dolce & Gabbana’s runways as well as a certified TikTok star, fashion’s fickleness and fleeting attention span won’t derail his dedication to the industry.
“After walking my first show, I knew I wanted to see what I could accomplish in this industry,” says Valero. “I want to be a part of this industry for the rest of my life and if that’s being an agent or directing, whatever it is, I’m here for it.”
Remaining authentic in what has become an increasingly inauthentic industry can be continuously challenging—fashion, of course, doesn’t come without its many facades, as glamorous as they may be. For Smalls, maintaining a tried and true inner circle keeps her focused on what really matters.
“I stay grounded with my family, my tight circle—they remind me who I am and hold me accountable when needed and support me when I lack the strength,” shares Smalls. “The industry can pull you hard, but I’ve learnt to stand firm and say, ‘This is Joan, deal with it.’ That’s how I keep balanced.”
A supermodel like Smalls has seen the best and worst of what fashion has to offer over the years. So what does that mean for the industry’s future? And where do Latinos exist within it?
“I’d love to see the fashion industry finally get it together and reflect the robustness of the real world in image—you know, the one I grew up in, where beauty isn’t just represented in one shade or one size,” says Smalls. “I’m talking about full-on diversity, not just as a token Latina or a one-off campaign subject to check a box… Designers, photographers, editors—everyone at the table should look like the people buying the clothes, and not just some monolithic clique.” It’s a sentiment that her peer Dilone shares. “The future of fashion will always be cultivated from scratch on the streets,” Dilone adds. “Ain’t it obvious by now?”
Smalls also wants to see her fellow models begin to better advocate for themselves and take charge of their worth within the trillion–dollar industry.
“I’ve been lucky enough to work with supportive advocates that allowed me to push boundaries, but I want that to be the norm, not the exception. Pay equality would be huge—none of this ‘she’s new, she’s brown, so she gets less’ nonsense,” Smalls continues. “Let’s flip the script on power. I’d want models, especially us women of colour, to have more agency over our own narratives and not just take on someone else’s vision for our own presentation and success.”
Smalls is able to envision what a fashion utopia could look like—the industry just needs to not only want it, but also work for it. Exclusionary tactics have no part in the fashion future that Smalls, and the rest of her next-gen peers, are envisioning.
“In my perfect world, fashion’s a party where everyone’s invited, and I’m blasting reggaeton while we figure it out together,” she says. “That’s the vibe I’m chasing.”
