Yamil Arbaje

Yamil, a Dominican designer based in New York City and co-founder of LEBLANCSTUDIOS, is interested in addressing conceptions of history, Latin American masculinity, and youth culture through socially engaged practices across different mediums: clothing, media, and cultural platforms. In 2023, Yamil co-founded a cultural platform about the city of Santo Domingo that involves the community of the city: its workers, makers, designers, and artists. The project spreads the story of the city from a documentary perspective.

Yamil’s interest in New Latin American Cinema and the Global South youth culture led him to explore new representations of masculinity in Latin America and the Caribbean. With his garments, he aims to provide a wardrobe that supports young people in redefining their masculine identities, while playing with conceptions of historical narratives and conventional ideas of youth through the culture of graphical production.

Additionally, his MFA graduate collection and other collections under LEBLANCSTUDIOS have been featured in ODDA Magazine, Vogue Thailand, the cover of Bully Magazine, Forbes, 1Granary, ID Magazine, Dazed and Confused, No Kill Mag, Models.com, and other magazines around the world.