Columbia designer finds inspiration in parents’ immigrant journey
In the next half hour, nearly 30 years of Maria Estrada’s immigrant experience will unravel before her eyes in a small chapel filled with more than 80 attendees.
The fashion show begins.
A model in Chicano-inspired wear emerges with a guitar and plays “Que sepan todos,” a classic ’90s Mexican song.
The long rosary around her neck symbolizes the deep Catholic tradition Maria carried from Mexico, attending church every Sunday with her husband, Filiberto Estrada, and three children at Sacred Heart Church in Columbia.
The shirt reads “Grupo Centro Latino Por Vida,” referencing the Hispanic resource center that offered her English-language classes and took her children in for free tutoring help years ago.
The model’s hand-sewn, pleated khaki skirt is Maria’s son’s take on fashion — a combination of his Mexican and American identities.
His brand is shaped by Maria and Filiberto and their migration to the United States.
It’s called Marfilly.
Her son, Christian, is the promising creative director and entrepreneur behind the show, which he says is the first Latino-inspired and created runway show Columbia has seen.
Changing a narrative
It all began with a question Christian asked his mom a year ago when the idea of Marfilly first came to him.
“Mami cuéntame tu historia,” he said.
“Mom, tell me your story.”
“Dejé a mis papás, mis hermanos, mi familia,” she replied.
“I left my parents, my siblings, my family.
“I immigrated here to live the American Dream. To give you all a better future. I felt, sometimes there were days when I felt very lonely, I cried, I wanted to go back to Mexico. But I set a goal for myself that I had to live the American Dream, achieve the American Dream. And the desperation. But that made me stronger, because I did everything for you.”
Christian knows his mom, like other immigrants, is a hard-working person who is prideful of her culture.
He said others may not view immigrants as people who are simply seeking a better future for their family.
“I just want to change a narrative,” he said.
Christian said growing up in Missouri, “a red state,” motivated him to “make a change in someone’s brain.” He wanted viewers to think, “Wow. Like, maybe Mexicans aren’t this. Maybe immigrants aren’t this.”
So, in the months leading up to the show, he paid close attention to what churchgoers wore. He said Sundays are when Hispanics in Columbia really dress how they want to and feel the most comfortable.
“I would see soccer jerseys like de los Pumas,” he said, referring to a Mexican professional soccer team, “and I would see very nice, clean suits, sometimes.”
At his show, one of the models carried a soccer ball in hand and wore a jersey, cleats and soccer shorts. Others walked in dress shoes and long, flowy skirts.
He drew more inspiration from Christmastime visits to his mom’s hometown near Mexico City.
Villa Guerrero, like other municipalities in Mexico, celebrates the traditional Christmas story in grand fashion — with the dance of el toro, or the bull, that is set alight with fireworks.
“I wanted to start the show with that,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s legally possible.”
He looked to his mom, who agreed.
“Yeah, it’s not legally possible,” he said. “Maybe one day in Mexico City.”
Instead, he designed a soccer jersey with a crest that includes the three flowers Villa Guerrero is known for, representing the three fashion shows in which he has participated.
The jersey will be part of Marfilly’s first clothing launch, which will feature multiple versions of four designs from the show.
The entrepreneurial spirit of his family took center stage during the show.
The three flowers also pay homage to his family’s flower-growing business in Mexico, which his mom misses often.
She recalled overlooking the valleys filled with lush, green flowers and the way she helped plant the seeds that would supply her family’s income.
The multi-generational business still stands today and was referenced in the fashion show as models walked down the chapel aisle carrying red roses.
Amwaj Sabri modeled the look of Maria’s profession. For 15 years, Maria has run her own cleaning service in Columbia, called Mary’s Cleaning Services.
When he was about 10, Christian started helping with his mom’s business. He would spend his summers with his mom, cleaning windows with a towel and Windex.
Amwaj walked with a spray bottle in one hand and a cloth in the other while wearing a bright-orange collared shirt.
Hailey Mendez Flores, another model, styled traditional Mexican cowboy boots with Chicano-inspired, light-wash baggy jeans and a dirtied up shirt with the words “Los peones” — a slang term meaning fieldworkers — across her chest in reference to the field workers in Estrada’s family.
“The shirt’s dirtied up, because ‘los peones’ ... they work for minimum wage in Mexico most of the time, and they work day and night,” Hailey said, “and they just do whatever they can to put their families through everything.”
Ryan Santos modeled a construction company shirt, brown work boots and winter jacket while carrying a tool used to smooth cement.
The shirt represented the Columbia contractor where two of his childhood friends work.
“For me, I feel like it is the exact same as Christian,” Ryan said. “You know, my parents came here looking for a better life for me and my siblings. And, you know, it has a deep meaning to me as well, because my parents left everything they had ... to come to the U.S. to give us a better life.”
An all-consuming pursuit
Christian made his First Holy Communion and received Confirmation at Sacred Heart in Columbia.
He remains a practicing Catholic and says he intends to continue in the faith going forward.
He graduated this spring from the University of Missouri studying business administration with an emphasis in marketing.
He is the founder of a local advertising firm, Round One Agency. Established in 2022, the agency has several clients in the area, including clothing brands, artists and an entertainment company.
This is the third fashion show Christian has participated in, but his first as the founder and creative director running the show.
He said Marfilly’s biggest cost has been time.
“Oh, how many hours?” he said, leaning his head back and remembering in disbelief his nights spent working well past midnight — contacting models to ask for shoe, pant and shirt sizes, and doing outreach to potential sponsors.
“Yeah, just every day, every day I get out, I get off of school, or even in school, I’m thinking about the show,” he said. “You know, I mean, 24/7, it’s 24/7 until the show’s done.”
John Landon, Christian’s right-hand man and seamster, was on the phone with him almost every night for three months before the show discussing clothing design and production.
John is also the founder of Oh Three!, a Columbia clothing brand.
Christian worked with him previously, and his manual sewing techniques caught Christian’s attention. Whereas most designers rely on using a pattern, John uses free-form techniques to bring a clothing design to life.
This often makes the process more time-consuming.
“I was up to, oh my gosh, 6 in the morning,” John said about the night before the show.
The show also took most of Christian’s personal savings.
“A lot of money,” he said, sighing, laughing and shaking his head. “A lot of money, a lot of money. It takes so much money to fund the show. Probably, like, with clothes and everything, with chairs, with the machines, $1,000 or maybe even more.”
Joann Fabrics was a frequent stop for Christian and the store that ate most of his wallet. He said fabrics were priced at over $16 a yard, meaning a shirt that normally requires three yards of fabric cost about $48.
He cut costs where he could by relying on volunteers and sponsors. All 17 models, three photographers, three fashion designers and one stylist volunteered for the show.
He received support from five in-kind sponsors, including local clothing brands, and MU’s Association of Latin American Students.
Creating a hub for Latino artists
The fashion show became an educational experience that brought forth the work of aspiring marketers, designers, photographers and models.
One of Marfilly’s sponsors was Latin Night CoMo, Columbia’s biggest Latin dance event.
Jonathan Verdejo runs the event and owns multiple entertainment businesses.
Jonathan said he felt called to help the young Latino entrepreneur because, although the Latino population in Columbia is growing, the artistic field is small.
“Here in the Midwest, since there is not so many of these companies that are established and are bilingual, we get called, you know, from far away,” Jonathan said. “And so it helps to have bilingual people helping in the events.”
He said Latinos in creative professions face unique challenges finding a larger network and collaboration among the community.
Because of this, entrepreneurs like Miguel Garcia find it meaningful to network by helping other Latinos with their projects.
Miguel owns Garcia Creative Works, a Columbia graphic design company. He designed digital promotional flyers for the show that invoked Mexican symbolism. The digital flyers were based on La Loteria, a traditional Mexican board game of chance, calling the audience to remember childhood times and holiday customs.
Garcia wants to give back to the community. He said his business is meant to cater to the Hispanic audience and create a network for his community amid politically tumultuous times.
Aspiring creatives also saw a chance to collaborate with other Latinos through the show.
Sofia Ramos, the model who wore the soccer look, is studying fashion and design at Stephens College.
“It’s definitely a lot about representation. I’ve never seen anyone do anything like that,” she said. “I know Christian worked hard to get a lot of Latinos in the show, too, and all the people behind the scenes as well. So I think it’s just showing that Latino art is important and it’s very good.”
The hands-on experience was valuable for Jennie Matos, a freshman studying journalism at MU who was one of the show’s photographers.
“I’m testing myself a little bit, because this is a whole show,” she said. “There’s different people coming from different angles.”
Jennie will be using the pictures for her professional portfolio and will include her experience on her resume.
Christian is also looking to kick off his career based on creating Marfilly. He graduated in May and has a goal of working with major brands in the future as a creative director.
A lifelong inspiration
As the last model in the show walks the runway in a black, flowy skirt with a long rosary across her neck, “Los caminos de la vida” plays.
The Mexican ballad reflects on the difficult paths roamed in life, particularly those taken on for loved ones.
Maria sits in the front row. She applauds her son and reflects on her life’s journey with him.
‘Como diciéndome, ‘Mami, esto es para ti. Esto es por ti. Es de dónde vienes y a dónde estás,’” she says later.
“It was like telling me, ‘Mom, this is for you. This is all for you. It’s about where you come from and where you are going.’”
Christian’s next steps in life will continue to draw from his mom’s history.
“Don’t let this fire die within me,” he says, “of being creative and showing my roots and showing how I’ve lived and showing these references of me.”
Cristal Sanchez writes for the Columbia Missourian (columbiamissourian.com). This article, originally published April 29, 2025, is republished here with permission.
