bolivian designer exports high
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

End indigenous fashion

Bolivian designer exports high

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Bolivian designer exports high

Bolivian Aymara designer Eliana Paco
La Paz - Arab Today

Centuries ago, Spanish colonizers forced their Bolivian servants to wear the puffy skirts that have come to symbolize the country's "cholitas," or indigenous women.

Today, one local designer is turning the tables with plans to export high-end cholita fashion -- blossoming skirts, bowler hats and intricately woven shawls -- to Madrid, Paris and beyond.

Fresh off her first show at New York Fashion Week, Eliana Paco, a 34-year-old indigenous Aymara designer, is ready to bring her take on a once-stigmatized style to the world.

"Cholitas" -- a diminutive of "chola," a sometimes derogatory world for a woman from Bolivia's indigenous majority -- were once seen here as a silent underclass of maids and manual laborers.

But in a changing Bolivia currently governed by its first indigenous president, Evo Morales, Paco said she sees the traditional women's costume as a symbol of "identity and pride."

She has already made her mark on the local fashion scene, where TV presenters and cabinet ministers now regularly sport the indigenous look, updated and embellished.

Her mission now is to "use that sophisticated touch to cross borders," she told AFP.

She took a big step in September in New York, where she made headlines with her latest collection, "Pachamama" (Mother Earth, in the Quechua language).

"It's the first time a chola women's suit has arrived on the runway. There were 12 international models wearing our designs," she said.

- Turning heads -

Paco's exuberant dresses, vibrant shawls and gravity-defying bowlers captured industry insiders' attention.

"I love cholita clothing. It reminds me a lot of Yves Saint Laurent and the best era of Armani, when he used bowler hats," said Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.

"I would love to take (Paco's designs) to Madrid, to Paris," she told AFP in Lima, Peru, where she was presenting her own collection.

"Until now there had never been a cholita with the marketing sense she has."

Paco said she sees an international market for her designs.

"I think it's possible European women could use the shawls or hats for everyday wear," said the soft-spoken designer with her ever-present smile.

She envisions her shawls accessorizing Western dresses or jeans, she said.

- 10-kilo skirts -

Paco, the daughter of two artisans, takes pride in the quality of her designs.

Her colorful "aguayo" shawls are hand-woven with naturally dyed alpaca or vicuna wool. The best ones take a team of three people two weeks to finish.

The below-the-knee skirts have three or four layers, each using up to six meters (yards) of fabric. They can weigh up to 10 kilos (22 pounds).

A full outfit can cost 1,500 to 30,000 bolivianos ($200 to $4,300).

For special occasions, members of Bolivia's newly wealthy "cholita elite" add gold or silver pins, brooches and jewels that can add thousands of dollars to the price tag.

"To me (the outfit) symbolizes culture, identity, pride and work, because chola women work long and hard," said Paco, who has three children.

"It's also about the empowerment of independent and professional women," she said, sporting an outfit of her own design.

Source: AFP

GMT 11:22 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

to 'eternal style' of late Alaia

GMT 08:08 2018 Monday ,22 January

Uggs, pigs and tartan

GMT 06:10 2018 Sunday ,21 January

Gardiner announces freelance details

GMT 09:07 2018 Saturday ,20 January

Rocky start for Alzheimer's research

GMT 09:04 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Designer Jones quits Louis Vuitton

GMT 22:14 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Stylist fashion editor commences role

GMT 09:52 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Pretty dresses are no longer just

GMT 10:28 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Lacobella appoints 5th House PR
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

bolivian designer exports high bolivian designer exports high

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

bolivian designer exports high bolivian designer exports high

 



GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 09:36 2017 Thursday ,07 December

Heidy Karam’s contract to present talk show close

GMT 10:50 2012 Friday ,20 January

Dusty weather expected in UAE on Friday

GMT 09:35 2018 Saturday ,13 January

New Zealand bat first in third ODI against Pakistan

GMT 10:48 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Meryl Streep's brand under threat

GMT 06:53 2017 Thursday ,11 May

17th Doha Forum To Begin Sunday

GMT 10:30 2017 Thursday ,23 November

Reports underline proliferation of weapons in Arab world

GMT 07:46 2017 Monday ,30 October

Catch it early, treat it early and move on

GMT 08:05 2015 Tuesday ,17 February

Conan O'Brien is first late night host to film in Cuba

GMT 16:17 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Five Saudi women pilots granted GACA licences
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice