WOMAN MOVE MOUNTAINS
High up in the Peruvian Andes
lies a village 4800 meters
above sea level:
Tolconi
Arequipa region.
Here, 35 women called :
“Illariy :Threads4dreams”
crafted alpaca artwork alongside Stella
to be promoted by Stella Jean in her
FW23 capsule collection.
Peru is the leading
producer and exporter
of alpaca fiber worldwide.
Here the alpaqueras
raise alpaca the
traditional way.
They are the
GUARDIANS of Biodiversity
and CUSTODIANS of
LOCAL CULTURE.
These women are the AUTHORITY on DESIGNS,
which relate to a
community’s history,
and are the ones teaching
the next generation.
This collaboration
bridges Stella’s knowledge
of Italian design
with the cultural legacy
and heritage of the
women of Tolconi.
Through this partnership,
the women are creating new models
that can reach
international markets,
all while owning intellectual property.
Once the new generations
realize that designs
based on their local
traditions can be
appreciated in Milan,
New York or Paris,
they’ll start looking at
their cultures, many at risk of extinction,
with new eyes,
sparking an aesthetic counter-colonization.
The global alpaca market
does not value
the quality and varied colours of the alpaca fleece,
following trends that prefer white fibre only.
Due to the many intermediaries,
the prices the women receive
for their raw material are low.
So to diversify their source of income
while conserving alpaca diversity,
the women now produce
hand-knitted items
using multi-coloured alpaca fibre.
Their products are:
100% biodegradable
100% recyclable
without anyone discussing circular economy with them
and without them knowing all 17 SDGs by heart.
Do we truly want to activate and implement social sustainability?
If so, we start by learning from the best.
Estela,
Roxana,
Florentina…
these women
move mountains.
Sharing ancestral knowledge and traditional techniques
can drive women of the mountains’ economic empowerment.
This capsule will show
how we have transformed this international cooperation into a preferential cultural corridor.