The textile tradition in Peru has very ancient origins: thanks to the discovery of textile finds in various archaeological sites, it is in fact possible to date the first evidence of textile art back in time to 4000/3000 BC, in the heart of the Inca tradition. As also demonstrated by the excellent state of conservation of the archaeological finds, Andean textile production has always been of exceptional quality, but it has not always been used for modern purposes such as the manufacture of clothes, but rather for narrative and communicative uses; with complex interweavings of colored threads, ancient knowledge and skills could be passed down and real cosmogonies narrated. For centuries, textile art has continued to be practiced according to absolutely natural and artisanal methods. The very precious alpaca wool and the equally precious qualities of cotton (such as the very soft and shiny Pima cotton) are worked by hand or with mechanical belt or pedal looms, and dyed exclusively with natural extracts. The quality of the textile workmanship is undeniable, and over time weaving has become a pillar of Peruvian craftsmanship. Rural communities still proudly maintain their patterns and colors, and here weaving is a source of livelihood.
Around the 1950s, Peruvian craftsmanship found itself in a moment of radical evolution, if not of turning point. In this period, in fact, thanks to the interest of religious missionaries and international solidarity campaigns, local craftsmanship appeared on international markets, creating, without particular development plans but simply in response to market demand, artisanal products intended for external sale. In the years to come, the demand for artisanal products was increased by the boom in tourism, which created opportunities for easy earnings for those who proposed themselves as intermediaries in these commercial exchanges. These earnings were often made at the expense of the artisans, exploited for nothing, and to stem this corruption, the Peruvian government created the Allpa organization in 1982 to help artisans trade fairly. The economic imbalances caused by the boom in tourism are also behind the events in the village of Ccaccaccollo, in the Peruvian Sacred Valley. The arrival of foreign visitors in fact encouraged tourism, with luxury hotels and restaurants that have made the fortune of many cities. But while some were getting rich, poverty was rampant in other areas, with native people forced to leave their lands and try to make ends meet as street vendors. And that’s how many women from Ccaccaccollo ended up selling costume jewelry in Crusco, but in 2005, thanks to the Planeterra Foundation for Sustainable Development, they rediscovered the value of their traditions and began trading in handcrafted alpaca clothing. After an unfortunate accident due to natural causes that destroyed the Ccaccaccollo factory-workshop in 2007, it was later rebuilt, allowing the rebirth of the yarn trade and the preservation of the artisanal spinning technique for future generations.
Today, Peru’s ancient textile tradition, which still survives in the artisanal realities described above, also has a high fashion dimension, as demonstrated by the Perumoda event held every year in Lima, the most important event of the year for the entire fashion industry of the nation. The event brings together both local companies and foreign ones that import local products,
