Adventurous Style, Artisan-Crafted
True sustainability means considering our impact on the planet and the people who bring our vision to life, so we choose our partners as carefully as we choose our materials. This season, we’re proud to continue sourcing textiles from small-scale artisan groups in India. Incredibly beautiful textiles made with organic cotton and skills passed down through generations. Here are some of our favorites from spring and the hands that made them. . .
“Supporting the makers in these communities keeps viable jobs close to home and ensures their unique traditions live on.”
–Lynn Siodmak, Outerknown Senior Textile Designer
Our Miro Stripe fabric above is bold, beautiful, and amazing paired with some of our breeziest styles. We love the imperfection and blurred lines of hand-loomed ikat — the slight texture adds to the charm and makes for a light, breathable fabric in the heat. We source authentic ikat from the experts: an artisan collective near Hyderabad, a.k.a. the heartland of ikat weaving. The group was formed in 1980 to support and safeguard the time-honored craft of ikat weaving, keeping local traditions as vibrant as their textiles. Traditional ikat is an intricate process that has been passed down through generations — threads are individually dyed in sections, then they’re woven in one by one, slowly and carefully revealing the design.
“The techniques reflect the unique characteristics of each culture and the handmade aesthetic comes from the personal touch of each artist.”
–Lynn Siodmak, Outerknown Senior Textile Designer
High-contrast stripes in light-as-air organic cotton make for a bold look on the sands. Our Fes Stripe fabric is unlike any other — it’s woven in small batches by a GOTS-certified dobby weaving mill nestled in the heart of South India, a region with a rich history in printing, weaving, and heritage hand-loomed textiles. This cooperative was founded in 2014 to revive a once-thriving local textile industry by providing training and professional development for employees. The workforce is mostly made up of female artisans.
“I’m so happy to share our traditions with the world, and now I can provide a living for my family and an education for my children. This is everything to me.”
–Artisan
Our Wildflower print is a showstopper and takes our best-selling Canyon Dress to another level of beauty. Flowers get printed with an age-old hand block printing technique by an artisan collective in Bagru, a small village in northern India. Teak wood is carved by hand, dipped in dye paste, carefully lined up on the fabric, and pounded to transfer the dye. In a swift and methodical process, highly-skilled female artisans work together to bring a design to life, one color at a time. We find the slight irregularities and inevitable overlaps to be beautiful and a sign of authenticity.
We hope you feel good in our artisan styles, knowing they honor both people and planet.
