Not a Monolith is a Teen Vogue series for Latinx Heritage Month 2023, highlighting the diversity of those in the Latinx community. From disability rights activists to rappers to drag queens, we're showing the range of not just backgrounds, but experiences that inform Latinx culture today. In this interview, writer Ashley Garcia Lezcano speaks to Kali Uchis about her brand, Bodied by Uchis, and how it is giving Colombian fashion its due credit.
Karly-Marina Loaiza is not just a musician; she’s a powerhouse. If you don’t know who Karly is, it’s probably because you know her as Kali Uchis. Whether you’ve been following her trajectory since her 2012 Drunken Babble bedroom mixtape or you caught her at Coachella this year, Kali Uchis has made it difficult to not recognize her voice, at the very least. The Colombian-American artist sings in English and Spanish and often effortlessly combines the two, as seen in her record-breaking hit “Telepatía.”
“I think as a kid having that duality of not just kind of being from only one place always influenced me,” Uchis tells Teen Vogue. Growing up between Pereira, Colombia, and Alexandria, Virginia, she recalls standing out in both places she calls home. “Ni de aquí ni de allá” is a common term used to describe this phenomenon in Spanish. Translating to “not from here, not from there,” immigrants, their children, and other bicultural people have commonly used this phrase to explain the alienating feeling of not fully belonging to one place. Yet, through Uchi’s success as an artist, it is clear that her greatest strength is her duality and being “de aquí y de allá" — or, “from here and from there."
Uchis’s success can easily be traced back to her pride in her cultural duality and expands to her projects outside of music, like her denim line Bodied by Uchis. “My friends in Virginia always wanted me to come back with jeans whenever I went home to Colombia,” Uchis recalls about the genesis of her fashion ventures. The jeans Uchis refers to are not just any pair; they’re levanta-cola. First produced in Colombia in the early 1990s, levanta-cola translates to “butt-lifting,” but they’re also commonly referred to as simply “Colombian jeans” because of their distinct style hailing from Uchis's motherland. Through Bodied by Uchis, the artist-turned-entrepreneur is bringing the flattering style with stretchy butt-lifting technology straight from Colombia to all of our closets.
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Uchis launched her denim brand Bodied by Uchis in September of 2021. Two years later, she reflects on the launch and what's made it so special. “When people think of Colombia, they often think of the same negative stigmas and stereotypes. I really wanted to forefront something that has been such a big exporter for us, our denim," she tells Teen Vogue.
Some might think Bodied by Uchis is just a personal project, but Uchis's hopes for the brand go way beyond self-centered goals. She has been working to make sure that Colombia receives credit in the fashion industry for the quality of its denim. “I really wanted to first and foremost highlight that for our country and for the people that didn't know that we started that style of jeans in the first place."
Made ethically in Colombia, Body by Uchis seeks to be as sustainable as possible with limited items manufactured by a women-run small business. “Now, they’re mass producing this style of denim in other places and making knock-off versions," Uchis laments. “We're just a couple of people and everyone that's a part of the project actually cares about the project. We're not looking to mass produce anything. We're just looking to have fun and be proud of what we do.”
Colombia is a leader in South America not only in denim production but also in denim design. The butt-lifting technology in levanta-cola jeans is only the tip of the iceberg; there are other design aspects that make this style of jeans recognizable. Many tend to lack pockets and make up for it with complex waistbands that feature everything from multiple buttons to rhinestones. “I always loved finding new styles of them because even though they are all similar, sometimes I’ll find ones that have embellishments on them and certain patchwork,” Uchis shares.
While these unique features are what makes the jeans recognizable, they’re often why the style has also traditionally received backlash. “People will come to the Bodied page to bash the jeans and make fake accounts just to talk shit about the jeans," Uchis says. “As an artist, I get stuff like that all the time, but I never thought anybody could feel [so] strongly about a style of clothing that they will really go out of their way to bash the style. It's a lot of self-hate stuff. Sometimes it'll be other Latina girls, too.”
The hate Uchis describes comes as no surprise. Trends that are created by Latin communities, and especially those specifically created by those who are Brown and Black, are often referred to as “hoochie” or “chonga” derogatorily. That is until they’re popularized and embraced by non-Latine white folks in media and pop culture. Take the slick back bun “clean girl aesthetic” that Brown and Black women have been utilizing for decades but was accredited to Hailey Bieber or the more recent “cherry cola lips'' trend that our tías and mamis have been donning for ages as examples.
The rewriting of narratives is nothing new. But, for Uchis, this hate turns into inspiration and even fuel for Bodied. “Being able to boldly wear styles that are a little bit provocative, and get people's blood rushing and get the girls talking, I think that that, in general, really embodies what the brand was trying to say."
From jeans to baby tees, Uchis’s line features a single word across each design: “Obsesión." (In case you need the translation, that's Spanish for obsession.) “I feel like a lot of people might have a negative connotation behind a lot of these Latine styles, and a part of it for me is just reclaiming them. Obsesión, in general, was meant to be for people who feel like they are always causing a commotion just by being themselves," Uchis says. “At first, it can hurt when you're a target of bullying or people constantly criticizing you. The word obsesión, or obsession, reclaims that as well."
The success of Uchis's viral summer song “Muñekita,” the first single off her upcoming Spanish-language album, may have distracted some fans from the fact that Uchis, who wrapped the first part of her Red Moon In Venus tour in late May, stepped away from the spotlight for a few months. It’s evident that while Uchis took a break from performing this past summer, she’s continued to create. In August, she gave fans more to look forward to than just the start of the second part of her tour but she's also been working hard at the design table for Bodied.
Uchis spoke to Teen Vogue just a few days before the launch of the latest Bodied product, the first-ever maxi skirt. This new trendy style has the same favorable butt-lifting stretch as the rest of the line’s denim and includes unique detailing consisting of a fringe waistband, a front slit, as well as the word “obsesión” and hearts embroidered on the back.
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While the levanta-cola jeans are the foundation of the brand, the growth Bodied has had is evident in its catalog. Two years after its first launch, the brand has various successful products. Trucker and bucket hats, mini and now maxi skirts, as well as its tanks and tees. In fact, when asked for everyday recommendations from the line for first-time shoppers, Uchis's mind doesn't directly go to the denim. “[I'd recommend] our t-shirts, which I just started making. [They] are really soft, and everybody seems to love them. I have three different colorways, three different styles.”
Bodied's expansion might already be palpable, but Uchis doesn't plan on stopping any time soon. “I’m going to start working on a lot more styles. I’m interested in expanding the type of clothes we’re able to make. Maybe one day we’ll even do a fashion show," she teases about the future of the brand.
As for now, Uchis is confident in the steady growth her supporters have contributed to Bodied. “It's really nice to see that we have actual fans of the brand who love to collect all the pieces," she says. "We don't really have many one-time shoppers; they buy multiple things as soon as the launch comes out. They're returning customers that feel like they're a part of something more. It’s not just clothes or a brand; they feel like they're part of the obsesión movement.”
