100 years of fashion history
From her house in Miami
Among orchids and vines hanging from the trees in the backyard of a 1920s house in Wynwood lies a hidden treasure in Miami. Paquita Parodi leads us through the patio to a gallery that holds the Parodi Costume Collection, more than 5,000 garments and accessories that offers a journey through 100 years of fashion history and highlights from the work of the best designers in the world.
The Madrid native sports a a tunic that is the first hint at her passion for fashion. Paquita has restored thousands of old costumes, an art she learned from her grandmother and the nuns at school who taught her to love lace and fabrics. It’s a passion she continues to develop with her son Gonzalo Parodi, a true connoisseur of the history of fashion.
Inside the house, a Bauhaus-style building, there are pieces from the Victorian and Edwardian era, dresses by Madame Vionnet, Paul Poiret, Mariano Fortuny, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Paco Rabanne, and 60 pieces by Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera.
They also have several samples of the work of Venezuelan designer Angel Sánchez, to whom they dedicated an exhibition in 2022 for his 35year career. One of his pieces was donated to the collection, which is open to the public by appointment.
“This is not a museum in the sense of the MET,” says Gonzalo, who was born in Spain, grew up in Venezuela and is involved with the collection and the important role it plays in a cosmopolitan city like Miami, which has become an important place for the arts thanks to Art Basel and Miami Art Week.
“It works more like a kind of library, like an archive to sit and think, to educate, to do something that Miami needs, to