Cynthia Gomez · CLIENT: Ensamble Artesano and Niu Matat Napawika
This project consisted of working together between the indigenous embroidery master craftsmen of Oaxaca Mexico and the designers, creating designs that integrated identity, symbology, and techniques of indigenous communities with the designers vision in a contemporary fashion product. By merging ancestral methods such as zero waste with modern aesthetics, the project highlights the cultural significance of the artisans’ work while providing economic opportunities and showcasing the beauty of their craft in the contemporary design landscape
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This was a collaboration project with the embroiderers Huazolo Aphodites, with the aim of keeping artisanal production alive and preserving the ancestral textile techniques of the community of Santa María Huazolotitlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. It consisted of working together between the designers and the indigenous embroidery master craftsmen,creating a proposal that integrated identity, symbology, and techniques of indigenous communities with the designer's vision in a contemporary fashion product
- Dimensions & Packaging
- poncho 90 cm x 120 cm
blouse 60 cm x 60 cm
dress 90 cm x 80 cm - Tags
- collaboration, indigenous communities, embroidery, heritage, traditions, sustainable, fashion
- Production Technology
- The exchange of knowledge between artisans and designers was achieved, exalting embroidery techniques, promoting sustainability by using local textiles and inputs, as well as managing zero waste in clothing using squares and rectangles for each pattern, based on the traditional indigenous huipil technique.
- Design Challenge
- The challenge was to generate empathy and communication with the indigenous communities since they were more than 1000 km from Mexico City.
We had many meetings to be able to delve into their culture and understand what was most relevant to them in terms of their techniques and silhouettes, so that together we could design garments with which they could identify and produce.
The other challenge was to find sustainable silhouettes and local materials. - Project Duration
- The project started in March 2023 and finish in February 2024
- Operation Flow
- They are easy to handle garments, as they are made from squares and rectangles.
- Research
- It all started with an immersion with the artisans, to understand their culture, clothing, and techniques they used since past times.
Several meetings were held, sharing the symbols they use; seeking empathy, understanding how relevant textiles are for them.
We crossed many design ideas, until reaching the final proposal, using rhombuses and animals of the region that are part of their embroidery, but fusing them with topography of the place to connect with the contemporary designs. We promote sustainability with zero waste in patterns through the interpretation of their huipil which is made from rectangles. - Inspiration
- We immersed ourselves in the community to learn about its culture, identity, traditions, as well as its clothing and textile techniques. They shared with us the meaning of the symbols they embroider, such as the multicolored rhombuses that show the days of the week and the animal figures that represent the fauna of the region.
The designs took as inspiration the topography of the town, representing the intersections of its streets in diamond and the fauna amplified and segmented in the design - Image Credits
- Photographer Silvestre Garcia
Hairstylist Ignazio Muñoz
Makeup artist Ian Bautista
Models Diana Ortiz and Aislynn Diana
Stylist Vanesa Bojalil
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