South American Textiles For Fashion
The textile trade has played a big role in
western South America throughout the ages and
still today. This occupation dates back to nearly 10,000 years ago in countries
like Peru and Ecuador, making
it one of the oldest continuous textile records in world history. Various artefacts
that have been found in Peru
assign the date of cultivated cotton used for textiles as 3000BC, and possibly
even earlier for Ecuador.
Over the years, South America and its people
have kept their traditional way of life, a large part of this being their woven
textiles. In ancient Andean societies nearly all of its members, from the
highest to the lowest, male and female, were involved in the textile industry.
Whether they were sowing the cotton seeds, raising the alpaca (an animal from
the camel family, which provided most of the fibres to weave with), spinning or
dyeing, each had a role.
Wool from the alpaca was the primary source of
fibre used to weave with, and cotton in the more tropical areas which was grown
from seed. These two materials are also still used today. The traditional
back-strap loom was the most commonly used for weaving – a simple wooden fame
with warp threads strung around it - but there were many types of loom and
varied ways of weaving across the textile trail of South America. (See image 1)
The
Incas
Around 1300AD, the first major civilisation
settled in Cusco, Peru. These were called The Incas,
and were brilliant craftsmen and stonemasons. They also weaved alpaca wool and cotton
for their clothing, to be made into loincloths and tunics for the men, and
dresses and cloaks for the women. For the nobles and more important tribesmen,
the fine wool from the vicuna (a type of small camel) was used. As well as
social status, textiles were also used in other purposes and for special
events. For example, when a boy in an Inca tribe turns 14, he receives his
first loin cloth – a symbol that he is now a young man. Other examples include
special dress for ritual purposes and also to indicate which region a tribe was
from.
Their religion was based on nature and the
things around them. They had many gods, the most important being Inti, the sun
god and also Quilla the moon goddess. The others included the condor, the
serpent, the jaguar, and the humming bird. Even in South
America today, images of the Inca gods are woven into tapestries
and various items of clothing, and have been since Inca existence. (See image 2)
Influences
in Design
The most recent major influence in South
American textile design was at the time of the Spanish conquest. Unfortunately
the Spanish majorly disrupted the local people’s way of life, and wanted to do
things very much their own way. But as time went on, they introduced brightly
coloured fabrics into textile design and new crafts like knitting, lace-making
and surface embroidery. These techniques were then often used along with the
traditional ones, thus forming a new colourful and vibrant style, but still
traditionally practical. The peoples’ many complicated weaves learnt over the
ages joined with the newly adopted appliqué and embroidery techniques from the
Spanish, went on to evolve into an art form, and use some of the most intricate
and inspiring designs in weaving history. (See images 3, 4 & 5)
South
American inspired Fashion
If there is one item that stands out from the
rest in today’s fashion, it’s the poncho. In the mountainous regions of Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru and Chile the
poncho is made from oily wool (usually alpaca, or something similar) and is
worn as a practical devise to keep warm and dry. This Autumn/Winter ’10 sees
the return of the cape to our stores and catwalks, but also the poncho makes an
appearance with South American inspired geometric designs and woven material.
(See image 6)
Another example of inspired work is the Karl
Lagerfeld for Swarovski jewellery collection. He uses the serpent (one of the
Inca gods) in some of his pieces, in a similar design to that of the woven
tapestries and textiles from western South America.
(See image 7)
Although there may be only a small part of
fashion today that is inspired by these textiles and signature designs, the
extensive range of weaving techniques, knitting, embroidery, bead work and
multi-coloured fabrics used are inspiration enough. Many of the South American
people live very simply and make wonderful use out of what they have. With a
strong community spirit and a vast knowledge of textiles and trade, which gets
handed down from generation to generation, these people are in their own way, very
successful and are definitely an inspiration to me.
Words: 796
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