Awamaki

I’ve written before about my upcoming role as a mentor for Awamaki Lab and I wanted to update that post and include some amazing photos – courtesy of Awamaki – that are so inspiring to me.  If you know my own personal design work you  know it’s mostly devoid of pattern and bright colours, not because I don’t appreciate those aspects of design, but somehow they never seem to become incorporated into my collections.  My being a mentor for Awamaki might seem like a strange choice, but when it comes to guiding young designers to use these elements, for some reason, I seem to know what I’m doing.  The textiles are hand woven using yarns that are dyed with natural plant dyes.  Amazing!  You don’t see much of this quality of work in our fast fasion disposable world. I’m continually inspired by traditional artisanal techniques and want to help preserve these any way I can.

Awamaki Lab is a fashion mentorship program that works in conjunction with Awamaki, a Peruvian NGO that runs a textile revitalization project to help impoverished Quechua women weavers improve their skills, gain financial independence and secure a reliable source of income. It explores sustainability, ethical sourcing and product innovation. The program – lasting three months – fosters the cross-cultural partnership between the designers and Awamaki’s indigenous weavers. This is an unparalleled opportunity for selected designer participants to develop a capsule collection in the serene environment of Ollantaytambo, Peru. Through the process, designers hone their artistic skills and lend a modern perspective to Awamaki’s range of products. This will improve the organization’s marketability and help to stimulate economic growth in the isolated, rural communities where Awamaki works.

As a mentor I’ll be working from NY to help guide the design students with the direction of their collections.  However I’m really hoping to spend some time working in Peru myself later this year or early next year.  Time will tell…

In the meantime I’ll leave you with these amazing photos courtesy of Awamaki.  The program also opens itself up to professional photographers wanting to visit the weavers and document the process.  So if you are a photographer interested in photographing at Awamaki, contact them!