The love of learning a craft
When I started Study in 2009, I mainly focused on using organic textiles, local production and integrating craft techniques into each collection. Since then I have begun to explore the social and economic aspect of sustainable design and have since integrated fair trade production and more elaborate craft techniques into each season. Handwoven textiles have become an important part of my sourcing and I now tend to look to them first before searching for organic cotton, TENCEL®, linen or other sustainable fibers.
What I like most about handwoven textiles – besides the potential economic benefits to the local weavers who produce it – is the story it is able to tell. Hand-weaving is a very painstaking, time-consuming technique that few artisans still practice. It is rarely perfect and often has flaws in the yarns or the weave itself. This is where the fabric comes to life and tells us about its past. Where did that flaw come from, and why is it there? What story was the weaver telling as he or she passed the shuttle back and forth on the loom. This creates a dialogue between the weaver and the designer that doesn’t exist with machine woven textiles. That dialogue is hopefully extended to the consumer continuing the cycle of story telling and hopefully creating a demand for transparency that is only found in sustainable design circles.
One of the reasons I mentor for Awamaki Lab is because I strongly believe that young designers should learn the fundamentals of the business – textile design (dyeing and weaving), garment construction and patternmaking – before launching their lines or working for big houses. If you’re going to practice a craft, and I consider fashion design a craft, or at least it can be, then you should understand at the very least the basics of said craft. Not only does this provide an appreciation for the rapidly disappearing traditions of the past, but allows designers to communicate better with their suppliers. Awamaki provides these young designers an opportunity to learn these skills firsthand by working with the weavers of Peru. ♥
