VOZ
Honouring Artisans Creativity
VOZ, which means "Voice" in Spanish, is an ethical fashion brand with a mission to protect the livelihoods, well-being, and cultural values of rural indigenous women in South America.
Based in New York, VOZ produce a sophisticated and contemporary fashion collection from sustainable fibres and processes while providing artisans with a living wage.
The collection consists of fluid silk slip dresses and coordinates paired with textured hand knitted sweaters from Peru and luxurious hand loomed ponchos and wraps from Chile, many featuring traditional woven borders and patterns.
The artisanal ponchos are made from noble materials from the Andes, including cotton, merino wool and alpaca. Items are designed collaboratively with indigenous Mapuche women artisans living in rural poverty in Chile.
Giving the artisans creative licence in the development process has led to successfully bridging the gap between traditional artisanship and contemporary fashion.
The highlight of the collection is the Mapuche handweaving, with the silk coordinates the complimentary canvas that showcases their rich texture and pattern.
Sweaters are hand knit in Peru as well as by Mapuche artisans in southern Chile from organic cotton, Italian linen and baby alpaca. The sleek silk dresses and coordinates are made from silk charmeuse, habotai and silk linen blends and constructed in New York to perfectly colour coordinate with the hand knit and handwoven designs, making a totally interchangeable monochromatic coordinating collection.
Working primarily from their rural artisan education centre in Temuco, Chile, VOZ focuses on working with Mapuche artisans. The centre provides opportunities for indigenous women living in rural Chile with design leadership and training programmes. Working in collaboration with Mapuche artisans helps bring economically marginalized women into fashion’s value chain through the joint creation of the VOZ collection.
The Machuche are the single largest indigenous group of people in South America, estimated at around two million strong, with most living in Chile. Living in small, autonomous, scattered communities, the Mapuche lived a predominately agrarian lifestyle in pre-colonial times. Famous for their 350-year struggle against the Spanish, the Mapuche are fiercely independent and were never conquered.
After independence from Spain, the Chilean government relocated the Mapuche to reservations, which they collectively farmed and owned until the 1980s. When ownership was transferred from collective to individual, their non-intensive farming methods resulted in a cycle of debt for agricultural supplies, too often resulting in loss of their land.
The Machupe are renowned for their skill in textiles, a tradition that has remained unbroken since pre-colonial times. Examples of excellence in complex weaving techniques have been dated as early as AD 1300. Textiles held enormous importance in Andean culture and were considered a status symbol. Wealth was calculated on the size of an individual’s llama herd, with the fibre serving as the raw material for their weaving, although it was later replaced by sheep’s wool which was introduced by the Spanish.
Mapuche clothing is covered in geometric symbols, many of which are representations of nature, with the spider, toad and snake common symbols. Women were traditionally responsible for spinning and weaving, with knowledge of techniques and patterns often specific to a locality, and knowledge transferred within families, between mother and daughter.
Founded in 2012 by Jasmine Etoile Aarons, VOZ is a Benefit Corporation producing ethical fashion and employing fair trade principles, providing jobs for over 100 workers throughout their supply chain. Their mission is to honour and empower artisans creatively, economically and culturally through a collaborative business model that showcases, preserves, and supports traditional art forms, while using sustainable fibres and processes. VOZ specializes in revitalizing ancient, indigenous weaving techniques specific to Southern Chile.
Many of the artisans they work with have not had access to education or the same opportunities granted to men in their community. By offering training to women, VOZ is helping them to support their families in a totally new way.
VOZ provides artisans with a living wage, not just a better wage, thereby affording just compensation for every textile woven and garment sewn. They also offer artisans a stake in the company, making them co-founders and owners with the ability to shape and adapt their own work. The Mapuche master weavers infuse each design with generational knowledge and symbolic designs and patterns creating a haven for cross generational practice and supporting the retention of familial tradition and weaving know how. The collection is a celebration of female artisanship and indigenous tradition.
