Lucy from The Design Files...is showing us the incredible work by Australian Caravana...
{Caravana designers - Cathy Braid and Kirsten Ainsworth, photo from Vogue}
Caravana is an inspiring Australian fashion label. Young
designers Cathy Braid and Kirsten Ainsworth started Caravana in 2003
with a unique shared vision. They established their company not only
with the aim of creating stunning garments inspired by age-old
traditional techniques, but also as a means to empower culturally
marginalised women in remote areas of central asia.
The pair
recognised early on that they could not achieve their goals from a
distance, so in 2003 they saved up some money, got on a plane to
north-western Pakistan, and took up residence in a remote community in
the Himalayan mountains.
{Some close-ups of Caravana's unique fabrics}
The result has been amazingly successful. After facing some
significant opposition initially, Cathy and Kirsten teamed up with a
locally run NGO, and were able to establish work centres managed by
local craftspeople. In the last few years Caravana’s beautiful designs
have steadily gained popularity and international interest, and the
pair now employ over 500 women across India and Pakistan, in the arts
of weaving, embroidering, dying and piecing together the most
beautiful, detailed garments for the Western market. The women
Caravana employs are proud of their work, and are able to provide for
their families in a way their culture deems acceptable. These women’s
work has come to be highly valued by their families and community.
{Some close-ups of Caravana's unique fabrics}
On
average, a Caravana garment takes up to 27 days to complete, and passes
through the hands of 10 talented women before completion. This
approach to manufacturing means that each garment is truly unique –
there are subtle differences even between pieces of the same design,
and each design tells something of the traditions of the artisans who
created it.
Without question, the most popular and recognisable
feature of Caravana’s work are their custom-designed fabrics. The
painstaking embroidery and incredible colour combinations are truly
breathtaking.
{Caravana-springsummer06-07}
{Caravana-Spring/Summer 06/07, photo from Vogue}
{Caravana-Some of Caravana’s early designs}
