78041 - E5 9NJ exhibition features three collections that fill Casa Ortiz through June 21
ENTREVISTA
This interview was conducted by Jorge Santana, Operations and Creative Director of the Laredo Cultural District.
Jude Hinojosa’s fashion exhibition opens Friday, June 5 (Caminarte eve), at 6 p.m. at Casa Ortiz, 915 Zaragoza, and remains on exhibit through June 21.
Jorge Santana: Who is Jude Hinojosa?
Jude Hinojosa: I’m a designer and creative from Laredo, and I create clothes for those who have a romantic rage within them. They battle angels and demons in their heads while searching for experiences they want to keep forever. I embed memory and emotion into my garments, exploring feelings of nostalgia, mysticism, horror, masculinity, and sexuality. Upcycling, zero waste design, and material reclamation are foundational to my inspiration, allowing each piece to carry the residue of a prior time as it is born into a new life.
JS: What is your educational background?
JH: I received my MA in Menswear Design from Central Saint Martins in London. Prior to that, I studied theatre with a concentration in costume design at Texas State University. I also have a background in costume design and fashion in NYC and London.
JS: What is in the future for you as an artist?
JH: I’ve always created, and I will continue to do so. Whatever that means when the time comes is the answer and I look forward to finding out as well.
JS: Tell us about the fashion exhibit at Casa Ortiz.
JH: The exhibition is titled 78041–E5 9NJ, and it’s an immersive presentation of my Central Saint Martins graduate collection, GoD: Ghosts of Daughters, which debuted at London Fashion Week, along with its reworked version, GoDS: Ghosts of Daughters & Sons, and my latest body of work, Hostia. It’s an exploration on memory shifting over time, how home moves beyond a single place, and what stays just out of reach. The title is the zip code where I grew up and the postcode of the last place I lived. This exhibition came from longing for home, even as I had built a life across the cities in which I resided. Over time, I kept questioning what home means when it’s no longer tied to a single physical residence. The work holds that feeling of reaching for something always just out of grasp. Theres’s a familiarity but also a disconnect because you can’t fully define what it is you’re seeking. Memories change as we do and the places we long for are reshaped by time and life. The exhibition is a reflection on the tension between memory and reality, as well as the quiet realization that home might be something we carry within, even if we can never fully return physically.
JS: Your exhibit is more of an experience, what are people going to find when they enter the transformed Casa Ortiz?
JH: My goal is to give visitors a glimpse into the atmosphere I envision while creating my garments. Rather than simply displaying the pieces, I wanted to create an environment that visitors can move through and experience. Each room within Casa Ortiz carries its own story through light, sound, and spatial interventions. The rooms respond both to the garments they contain and to the character of the house itself. There are moments of allure and comfort alongside uncertainty. I wanted to create a sense of moving through something recognizable but not entirely accessible, reflecting the way memories often appear incomplete or obscured. Ultimately, I hope visitors leave with a feeling rather than a conclusion. I want them to experience the beauty of the work without being told exactly what to take from it, allowing their own memories and emotions to shape their journey through the exhibition.
JS: Why did you choose Casa Ortiz, home of the Laredo Cultural District?
JH: I chose Casa Ortiz because I have always had a deep love for downtown Laredo. Many of my childhood memories are rooted there, so being able to share my work and the result of everything Laredo has given me means so much to me. Casa Ortiz has witnessed generations of lives passing through this city, including my own and my family's, and that sense of history connects closely to the ideas of memory that are present throughout my work. I was seeking a space whose atmosphere could exist in conversation with the garments themselves. I don’t want visitors to forget where they are when viewing the exhibition because Casa Ortiz is an important part of the experience. My hope is that entering the house feels like returning to a place from the past, a home that may have been left behind as life moved forward, but one that still holds memories waiting to be revisited. There is a presence to the history of the home, and I wanted to acknowledge that. I felt that Casa Ortiz was the perfect setting to allow the garments to highlight the beauty of both the space and its stories.
JS: How do you feel about coming back to Laredo?
JH: I feel like a ghost visiting a city I once knew. It is extremely familiar, but not the Laredo I grew up with. There is a strong sense of nostalgia, but also an opportunity to see the city through a different lens. Coming back allows me to reconnect with my family and to understand both them and the city in our present growth.
JS: What is your view of Laredo’s cultural movement?
JH: I think it’s amazing that Laredo is growing in its artistic expression and embracing different mediums and interpretations of the lived experience. There are stories that need to be told because it’s important for people to understand how we feel now, and they will be culturally rich records for future generations of the city to reflect on.
JS: What would you like to see for Laredo in the future?
JH: I think the future is now. Laredo is already doing exactly what it needs to and it’s only going to become more fruitful as it continues to expand. In the past, I felt that the artistic side of the city had been overlooked but now it is finally receiving the attention it deserves. I look forward to seeing even more expansion and recognition of that creative energy.
JS: What is the most rewarding experience fashion design has given you?
JH: It's the ability to offer my perspective and lived experience to others through clothing and to see it exist outside of myself. It allows my work to enter the world in a way that can be understood, interpreted, or even be pushed against. I find meaning in that exchange. Either response means it has entered a dialogue. It is no longer just personal; it becomes something considered.
JS: Why did you choose fashion?
JH: For me, thinking in clothing has always been instinctual. It became the language I defaulted to. I think of fashion as a tangible documentation of history and I use it as a way to express how I navigate through the world and how the world has shaped me in return.
