Pamela Alarcón

My mom used to say to me, “Your clothing is your business card.” What does a business card include? Perhaps the most obvious, what we tend to focus on, are the personal details: your name, phone number, email, job title, company, and anything else that indicates who you are, what you do, and how people can contact you. In terms of clothing, this would be equivalent to mentioning a t-shirt, a skirt, pants, socks and shoes. But that’s superficial; it doesn’t really say much about who you are.

In a business card, what ultimately makes an impact and leaves an impression is the visual aspect: the type and size of the font, the colors, embellishments, textures, type of paper, size, thickness and material, among other details. This is what gives the card its identity and represents you in the chosen field. That’s what my mom was referring to. Every community, every culture, every country has its own identity, reflected in its clothing. However, for a long time, in Latin American countries, this identity has been fractured because of the tragic events of colonization in which Western life was idealized. Today, there is a significant shift in the way we rethink identity. More and more people feel a deep desire to reconnect with their traditions and roots of pre-colonial people.

Bolivia, where I am from, has been an integral part of this process. I reached out to Bolivian fashion designers, including the organizer and founder of Bolivia Fashion Week, Pamela Alarcon; Carmen Camacho Sandoval with her foundation Awaj Warmi; Varinia Vera with the brand  VariVera; and Isabel Alvarez with the brand Folk (de los Pueblos), as well as Peruvian fashion designer and researcher Olga Zaferson. They shared their perspectives and vision, emphasizing four main themes: the complexity of identity that stems from the blend of traditions; the importance of remembering and considering ancestral knowledge; the idea that identity is also found in material things; and the fact that as multicultural countries, remembering and using what is ours can help empower us. But first, let me give you a bit of background.

Colonial Disruption

During the colonial era, the peoples of the Americas were not only stripped of their lands and possessions, but also of their practices, causing a deep disruption in their identity. The conquest involved a power struggle, in which converting Indigenous peoples to Catholicism was key to eliminating elements that contradicted the imposed ideals. In the Andes, textiles were one of these elements. For Andean traditions, weaving was a system of communication between the origin of life and the present, encoding ancestral knowledge, traditions and communal beliefs. These textiles, essential in both work and rituals, reflected the identity and lifestyle of each group, adapting to the climate and carrying the essence of the sacred. With the formation of Tawantinsuyu, the four regions or “suyus” that made up the Inca Empire, textiles became an essential commodity that drove the empire’s economy. Recognizing this, the Spanish burned large quantities of textiles and banned their use, stripping the people of their roots.

Due to syncretism, but also racism and classism, many aspects of life, including clothing, began to change. Women stopped wearing their anacos (the pre-colonial name for women’s clothing), chumpi (a type of belt), lliclla (a mantle), tupayari (a brooch), ñañaca (a head covering) and usut’as (sandals), among other items, and began to wear, as the Indigenous women of the Bolivian Andes known as cholas do today, polleras (pleated skirts), blouses, mantillas, pins, shoes and hats, closely imitating the clothing worn by Spanish women. These social differences remained deeply rooted, and this identity was further affected by the growing and dominant idealization of Western culture.

However, in recent decades, Indigenous peoples and the Bolivian population, as well as Latin Americans in general, have begun to reconsider their cultural identity, seeking to reconnect with our roots and origins. This process has involved a conscious effort to accept and embrace the Indigenous heritage that has long been marginalized but is essential in defining who we are as a people. This struggle for identity has been notably reflected in fashion, which has served not only as a tool to reconnect and recover our roots, but also to reinterpret them in a contemporary context.

Vari Vera

We Are a Mixture of Many Things 

When we think about reconnecting with our roots, we realize the dissonance between who we are and how we see ourselves. In Bolivia, it’s difficult to categorize the population in the way one might in the United States. We all share a common tradition and culture that, rather than being defined by race, could be distinguished regionally, whether by the highlands, the valleys, the eastern lowlands, or even by departments (states). As we begin to understand and internalize that we are not just Indigenous or descendants of Spaniards, but a mix of both heritages, it becomes evident that textiles are a fundamental part of the culture and tradition of each region. Textiles are an integral part of Bolivia’s visual landscape. Designer Varinia Vera had this idea in mind when she created her brand, VariVera, as she wanted to create a brand “that reflects how [she] sees Bolivia… with all the colors in the fabrics that adorn the landscape.” In her pieces—among them jackets, hats, and blouses—we can see a play of colors, textures, silhouettes and elements that, combined with the colorful aguayo that adorns the garments, offer us clothing that perfectly fits this new identity. Similarly, designer Isabel Álvarez of the brand Folk expressed her desire “to create something that was not only useful but could explore all forms of local identity.” In the creation of her garments, she believes that identity is something forged every day, as a way of understanding the environment and oneself as well. This can be seen in her pieces, which include kimonos, vests, jackets and more, all of which fit a contemporary vision of fashion while always remembering the local identity, in her case, from the department of La Paz.

Remembering Materiality, Locality and Knowledge

We often forget that when we talk about identity, we are also referring to the place we come from, which includes native materials. Pre-colonial clothing was made exclusively from materials sourced from the region or nearby areas, primarily cotton and camelid fibers. The fiber from camelids, especially alpaca wool, is one of the softest and finest in the world, making it a very special and coveted material. Many designers have chosen to work with this material, such as the late Beatriz Canedo Patiño, known as the “Queen of Alpaca,” and Carmen Camacho Sandoval, who has been using alpaca exclusively in her pieces for over 30 years. Camacho explains that using alpaca not only involves making use of an accessible resource, but also results in empowerment when we recognize the importance and potential of this material.

Carmen Sandoval

We must also consider locality as a fundamental element in the search for identity through clothing. Every place has its own beliefs and knowledge, which in many cases have been forgotten or not given the importance they deserve. In this locality, besides materials, are the thoughts and wisdom of each region, which can be represented in clothing. As I mentioned earlier, Andean textiles carry a crucial part of local beliefs. Brands like Folk strive to incorporate these elements into their designs, which can be seen in the shapes or patterns of their garments, reflecting in a more abstract or modern way what is found in traditional textiles. Another brand worth mentioning is Juan de la Paz, which seeks to revalue the ancestral knowledge of various Andean communities. Carmen Camacho also does this, though in a more direct way, through her work with Awaj Warmi, a sustainable civil association that collaborates with artisans who produce the textiles used in her creations.

Working with handcrafted textiles requires taking into account the principles, traditions and beliefs that accompany the creation and use of this knowledge. For example, in Andean tradition, textiles should not be cut, as their entirety encloses ancestral knowledge, and cutting them diminishes their integrity and the meaning behind their production. Varinia Vera mentioned that this is why she continues to use industrial aguayo, as working with handcrafted textiles requires adapting to this knowledge and being well-informed about their nature within the tradition they belong to.

Challenges of Multiculturalism in Fashion

In the search for a unique identity, we encounter obstacles that arise from the multicultural nature of countries. For example, Bolivia’s borders were not drawn based on cultural or geographical affinities but were the result of territorial divisions established after independence and subsequent wars with neighboring countries. This has created a nation rich in diverse traditions and knowledge that, despite sharing geographic regions, maintain their distinctiveness. This diversity makes it challenging to create a unified Bolivian fashion identity, especially when compared to established fashion traditions, like Italian fashion.

This year, Pamela Alarcón and her team from the “Imilla K’aspi Chaki” project won the Eco-Sustainable Fashion of Latin America contest in Milan, Italy, with their collection “Hilos de Mestizaje,” inspired by the chola. This collection is an explosion of colors, materials, garments and symbols that embody resilience and the path to emancipation. The chola, now a powerful symbol of identity and struggle, is the central focus of this collection, which seeks a deep connection with Bolivian tradition. To navigate the complexity of this tradition, which is almost synonymous with multiculturalism, the project involved a large group of people of different ages and regions from all over Bolivia, each expert in a specific area, such as the creation of caporales costumes, a folkloric dance that emerged in the late 1970s in La Paz, Bolivia, bringing diversity from the hands of specialists across the country.

Pamela Alarcón

I Have the Body of Mama Okllo and I Can Dress Like Her

It is essential to recognize that part of reconnecting with our roots involves accepting that our body shapes don’t necessarily align with Western body standards. Much of the clothing that arrives in Bolivia is designed for an audience with a different body type than ours, meaning it doesn’t always fit Bolivian bodies properly. Understanding this, Isabel Álvarez’s proposal with the brand Folk (of the people) addresses designs for different body types through the use of weaving and knitting techniques that restore harmony between the body and the garment. Wearing this knowledge on the body empowers, but this empowerment goes hand in hand with accepting the Indigenous traits that set us apart from the Western world.

Olga Zaferson, a Peruvian artisan, folklorist, researcher, teacher, and ethnic fashion designer, offers a different perspective on reconnecting with roots and accepting our identity. She describes her style as “cultural fashion,” which focuses on rescuing and transforming traditional garments without losing their essence. For example, she reintroduces forms like anacos, creating pieces that combine modern materials with structures that incorporate ancestral knowledge and traditions. Zaferson applies this concept of cultural fashion to various types of clothing, from wedding dresses to everyday wear. Her success lies in her deep understanding and continuous study of Andean dress, both in its archaeological and contemporary contexts, as well as her knowledge of textiles and their symbolism. Her approach connects identity with an effort to reconnect with the past and transform the idealization of Western fashion.

Olga Zaferson

Another designer with a more radical approach is Adrián Ilave Inka, whose brand Kunpi focuses on the idea of arqueomoda (archeo-fashion). His clothing is not just a tribute to Andean archaeological dress inspired by pre-colonial clothing but a reconstruction and revaluation of it. For Adrián, reconnecting isn’t just about remembering; it’s about taking a step back, understanding, and living the ancestral knowledge embedded in the clothing.

More Names and Other Visions of Fashion

The designers I’ve mentioned are just a small portion of a long list of those working in the same areas. For instance, Daisy Wende is a Bolivian fashion legend who created the female poncho. Another is Beatriz Canedo Patiño, known as “The Queen of Alpaca,” who was the creator of the suits for former president Evo Morales. Another brand making a big impact is Juan de la Paz, created by the duo Juan Carlos Pereira and Andrés Jordan, who have fused creativity into versatile looks made with regional fabrics. They also initiated the cultural center “Diseño y Autores Bolivianos” or DAB, which aims to revalue and empower fashion creators, rescue techniques and narratives, generate exchanges, exhibit their work to the world and attract international attention to Bolivia. Eliana Paco, for her part, is a leader in chola fashion, showcasing the complex components of her attire. Other important names include Liliana Castellanos, Hijos de Ramón, Carla Quiroga, Made in Chola, Burbank, Diabla, Ïndigo, Munay, Ponchos Rojas. However, it is also essential to consider the textile artisans who are fighting not only to preserve their tradition but to make it known and valued in a globalized world. What undoubtedly unites all these designers and artisans is their pursuit of revaluing ancestral knowledge and traditions in search of a new identity where pride and origin are the guiding inspiration for their creators.

Uniting Past and Present

Fashion has been a constant companion to the changes and struggles that have taken place not only in Bolivia and Peru but in Latin America in general. Fashion has become a powerful tool to recover and revalue cultural identity, which for centuries has been fragmented and marginalized due to colonization and the idealization of Western culture. Through the design and creation of garments that reflect both ancestral traditions and contemporary needs, designers are achieving a deep reconnection with their roots. This movement not only celebrates the region’s rich multiculturalism but also challenges imposed beauty and style standards, empowering people by reminding them that their identity and history are valuable and worthy of expression. Fashion, then, becomes a dynamic and multifaceted reflection of who we are, uniting past and present in a narrative that reclaims our heritage and projects us toward the future.

Andrea V. Lanza Aliaga is a Bolivian senior at Harvard College concentrating in Archaeology and Social Anthropology. Her interest lands in Andean studies, textiles, memory and museum studies. She is passionate about music, dance and textile craft.