SUMMER 2019 LOOKBOOK
HELLO SUMMER! So we trekked down to Chiapas, Mexico (on the border of Guatemala) a few months ago to visit a women’s collective that specializes in gorgeous embroidery and weaving. It was a pretty life-awakening experience.
Picture a little house, in a little town, in the remote hills of Mexico. We walked in with our guide and an interpreter (they speak a very unusual dialect of Spanish) to a cute little front room where we were immediately flooded with the richest color in every corner. Tapestries hanging from the walls, linens stacked on tables, pillows, runners, table cloths, dresses - some of the most beautiful craftsmanship we’ve ever seen. Red, blue, pink, yellow, green and every other color you could imagine.
We walked through this room and out into the back courtyard where about fifteen women were sitting around in lawn chairs laughing and talking in a rapid-fire Spanish with babies bouncing on knees, dogs running across the yard and a stereo in the corner playing traditional music. Each of them weaving color into woven fabrics. They looked at us, smiled and waved, all while weaving their amazing art. We saw, in real life, the definition of community and female bonding.
From there we headed into the back farmhouse where there were men hand-weaving the fabric on hand-looms (picture a wooden contraption with strings and a wooden bar that moves back and forth, manually, to create tight fabrics). It was amazing. As if we had stepped back in time to an artist colony. We had the opportunity to show the women one of our sandals with their embroidery and they lit up. They passed it around laughing, smiling and excitedly chatting as if it was the best thing they had ever seen (we were told that they don’t often get to see final goods). Their excitement was contagious and even though we had absolutely no idea what they were saying, we didn’t need to. Their pride and excitement was easy to feel.
You can see these hand-loomed and hand-embroidered wovens, laid over soft buttery leather, in our dove and lovebird styles this season. Paired with our new bright colors and fun metallics, the line is a happy reflection of our love for summer, travel and hand-crafted goods. And a nod to the old days of craftsmanship. We hope you love them! xx, B + K
