Behind La P.M.: Peruvian Style, Fashion, and Culture – Session 5
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): La Petite Mort
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2016/07/01
Scott Douglas Jacobsen works with various labs and groups, and part-time in landscaping
(lifting, mowing, and raking) and gardening (digging, planting, and weeding). He founded In-
Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing.
Peruvian style and Peruvian fashion, every culture has a unique set of attributes that they are ‘bringing to the table’ with regards to fashion, or even with the fibre they use such as Peru using alpacas as far as I know – or at least that seems to be prominent in that fashion culture. What distinguishes Peruvian style and fashion within the culture apart from other ones?
There’s this thing when it comes to Peruvian style and that makes it apart from other styles. It is the mix of what we really have and what we really wear, and what we used to wear, historically, and the cliche that people have of us. It has all mixed together. So, it’s hard to explain. What we have as our national fibres, that we exploit a lot. I can say that industry has a real skill for cotton. It is a cotton country. We do not produce as well as Brazil, for instance. We are way smaller. In terms of quality of cotton, we are well placed internationally.
It is one of our export products. What we are most known for is the Pima cotton, that’s the softer quality. So, you’re going to see in the US more Pima cotton than others from Peru. You’re going to see a lot of production of brands like Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, and so on, using cotton. Of course, the alpaca fibre. I’m going to say alpaca is the one that is most known. They’re fibres used, historically, by the Inca, but this fibre was so soft and fine. It was limited to royalty. The peasants would never wear it.
We have kept this as a tradition through colonialization. Once we became a republic, we continued to work on it. We call it our flat products like a national product. Indeed, it is super soft and warm. The quality of the fibre will depend on if it is the first time they cut, what part of the body the wool comes from, and so on. For instance, I have decided to work only with baby alpaca, which is a name of a type of fibre. The one that comes from the back of the animal.
I am careful talking about this topic, this prototype. People might think about a real baby. It is the quality of the fibre! (Laughs) The Peruvian government and the Ministry of Commerce decided to work with these materials. So, we can be revisited and become a bit more modern.
They do contests for young designers to bring up collections entirely made out of cotton and alpaca. Why? Because when people think of Peruvians and alpacas, they think of the cliche of the Andean person with the Chullo. It is the name for the hat that covers the ears.
That, in Peru, is a chullo. I know that is something we wear in the mountains because it is cold in the winter. I am not going to deny it is part of our culture, but it is not entirely part of it. I mean, ponchos, of course, but Peruvians have been stereotyped to this style because it is strong and different. That’s why the government is trying to push designers to bring the fibres to a new life. It is to break into new markets.
Everybody likes the chullo. Everybody likes the poncho. However, the ethnic style market is going to be small. You will be limited to people that want to look ethnic. However, what I think
the ministry is trying to do is to push the boundaries is and say, “This can be fashionable today-to-day wear.” Other than that, I can say that even as Peruvians we have imperialized the whole
Inca heritage. I know that when I started my project, La Petite Mort, and I was explaining the project to other Peruvians.
They said, “You’re going to have Inca signs with Inca patterns.” I said, “Not necessarily, they might be of use at some point in one collection, but I’m not going to close the design to that.” They said, “You should know people abroad will love that.” I said, “Yes, of course, a share of the market will like it.” I try to keep open design-wise. I am super proud of the heritage contribution to us, but I do not want to close it. It would be as if Americans only designed things with stars and red and blue stripes.
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