Forgot your password?
Patchwork Quilt - Portugal
Meaning
of the Portuguese Square for the Patchwork Quilt
The Portuguese Square was conceived and produced by Ana Salazar, one of Portugal’s most popular and influential fashion designers.
This is the speech given by Ana Salazar when she presented the square to the public and the media at the World March of Women press conference in Lisbon on 16th May 2005.
The production of the square for the Patchwork Quilt which represents the values of the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity was the contribution of my team to the World March of Women. I would like to thank the Portuguese Coordination of the March and the organisations which are a part of this Coordination for having invited me to participate in this global movement of solidarity.
The Women’s Global Charter for Humanity contains 31 affirmations related to each one of the values of the March. For “Freedom”, a central value for our lives as individuals who are part of societies, there is an affirmation (nr. 4) which states: “Women are free to make decisions about their body, fertility and sexuality. They have the choice about whether they will have children.”
The spirit of my collections and my work has always been that of the free expression of the female body. The Ana Salazar lines of accessories and clothing have been inspired by an idea of a woman who is free, who knows what she wants, who loves herself and, therefore, at the core of my work there has always been the image of this woman who, loving herself, dares to fight for whatever she desires. Everything happening in society has a decisive influence on this woman and this square of the Patchwork Quilt is a reflection of that. Each image in the square represents a certain mood, a state of mind, and it is inspired by the spirit of solidarity which has brought the World March of Women to life and which makes it live after all these years of global activism.
I would like to end this with another affimation taken from the Charter: “Democracy is rooted in freedom and equality.”
Thank you, Ana Salazar
