“I want to show that we exist in Paris.” Claudia Rivera makes space for Latino designers in French capital

Claudia Rivera, a Peruvian-Parisian creative director and photographer, is known for building worlds in Paris that are colorful and communal, events that feel like a home away from home for the Latino community there. Rivera pulls up to Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea in El Sereno for our interview between L.A. meetings. She is wearing jorts, a subversive basic tank and fresh, jewel-encrusted nails done by @leslydidthem with rings on every finger. Her thick waist-length hair, an emblematic feature of her Peruvian identity, flows freely. Rivera’s projects and photography are also an intersection of her cultures, with details inspired by her family or community, who are often her greatest subjects and audience, infused with the energy and street style of her hometown, Paris.

Rivera organized the first monthlong Latino festival in Paris, Sabor Latino Month, by crowdfunding thousands of euros via other young Latinos in the city who were craving something like this, and eventually getting it sponsored by Adidas Paris. Her annual event, Ñañaykuna, which started in 2021, celebrates the community of Latina women in Paris by highlighting their work with music, dancing and food. One year, Rivera took portraits of all the participants in her signature warm style. Now, Rivera, who just launched her new creative agency Amaru, is working on a pop-up inspired by a mercado you’d find in a Latin American country, bringing a collection of Latino brands from around the world — including L.A.’s Amor Prohibido, Kids of Immigrants and Equihua — to Paris on Sept. 14-15, right before Fashion Week. “As a Franco-Peruvian girl, I grew up without clothes that represented me,” says Rivera. “Clothing is something that can help you represent yourself. It’s part of your personality.” The idea with the event, called Lo Nuestro, is to show the diversity among Latino-owned fashion brands.

Claudia wears Roberto Sanchez animal print suit, Maison Margiela Tabi shoes, Shilita Créations jewelry.

“I was always checking the events in Los Angeles and it was my dream to be there and to see [that],” says Rivera. “I think being Latino here is very complicated because of everything. But there is also the privilege that you can live in a country where you exist, where your community is present. That’s what I want to do in my life: I want to create the space that I dreamed for when I was a kid. And I want this for the next generation. I want to show that we exist in Paris. To share our culture with the other communities.”

This is what Image Making means to me: Ever since I was a little, I’ve understood the power and importance of images. My parents were one of the first Peruvians to have papers in France. They came to France in the ’90s. In 2003, my dad went back to Peru for the first time in 10 years after he left for France. My dad went to visit the families of all of our Peruvian friends in France to film their homes, greetings from their families. When he came back, my mom cooked a big meal and everyone came over to our house. In 2005 I went to Peru for the first time — I was 5 years old. I started as a kid to take the camera y empezaba yo tambien a querer filmar. It’s not just the images but the process. To make the images, you also need to connect, to take time. Es un momento de care también. Las imágenes te ayudan a conectar el mundo, conectar tu comunidad, tu familia. I know that my family, to see me always taking pictures of our culture, they started to say, “OK, maybe this is something beautiful.” By taking the photos, I helped them to value their daily life. I feel that los archivos son muy importantes.

Claudia wears her own Adidas jacket.

What is the common thing or feeling that all of my work shares: El punto común es mostrar América Latina y highlight Latin American cultures. To tell our stories from our point of view.

My approach to personal style looks and feels like: I get very inspired by the culture of my family, but in the details. I started photography doing very colorful photos, with a lot of pink, a lot of orange, yellow, because these are the colors that are very present in traditional skirts in Peru. I include flowers in my work because flowers are present in the culture of my family. Hair is also very important for us.

What does my Paris feel like: I love Paris because it’s a city where there is a lot of diversity. It asks us to mix from all cultures. I feel very rich to have friends from all over the world. Growing up in Paris helped me understand Islam, other religions, other cultures from North African, South Africa, from Bangladesh. I have friends que vienen de todas partes del mundo. Compartimos mucho.

My work reveals about the city: It reveals that the Latino community exists [in Paris]. My projects don’t only interest people of the community — though of course they also like it porque es una expresión que we’ve always wanted to have — but there are also people from other communities that want to understand. And I think that’s a beautiful part of it: todos queremos abrirnos y entender las otras culturas.

Makeup Jade Benaim
Hair Santa Mari Juanna
Nails Alicia Faucher
Special thanks Cecile Armand, Hélène Tchen, Manon Guerby, Santa Mari Juanna Lab

Claudia wears Gypsy Sport crochet dress, Maison Margiela Tabi shoes, Shilita Créations jewelry.