PIWKE

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Photos  /  Sebastián Mejía

Production  / M. Eugenia Ibarra

Hair and Makeup  / Caro Lazo

Model  / Isabella Attolini

Production Assistant  / Maile Abarca

GENDER CLOTHING AW2015 _Piwke

Ref piwke mew lelin : “see with the eyes of one's heart” 

Text: Francisca Jimenez  

The heart is not only a vital organ but also that of feelings. Piwke is the name of this collection, a word that in Mapudungun means justly heart and which in the structure of the textiles_cc0c9-de-75 refers to the structure of the textiles 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_“innovative design in relation to the original themes treated in Mapuche fabrics”.

Piwke is the concept that led to the creation of this collection and to rescue the luminosity and dynamics of the cosmovision of this town. A culture, whose name translated from Mapudungun is "People of the Earth", is strongly rooted in nature and is based on the fact that everything apparently invisible in a magical and sacred world is consistent with the cosmos that surrounds us.

Piwke is not only the “heart” of this collection, but it is also the driving force that inspired the change of Gender Clothing logo whose essence continues to be the soul of the dress that shelters and protects us.

The influence of the Mapuche culture is seen throughout the collection. In a large part of the designs, elements linked to the number four are seen, which is reflected in the cardinal points and in the four seasons of the year. Specifically, this number is seen on the wooden buttons on which the cross is traced with the lines of the cultrún, an important ceremonial instrument. In addition, the coordinates have been applied in ribbons that go on the waistbands of pants and skirts and in other diagonal lines that intersect in the pockets of the coats. These were also applied to stick weaves, cuffs, waistbands and collars. Other classic elements of Mapuche handicrafts, based on the witral or loom made by the skilled weavers of the area, are the trariwes. These are sashes that contain the shape of the Piwke and are present on the jackets. Also the wangülen -design with a six-pointed star-, appears in capes and vests of the collection in which, transversally, the colors green, yellow, light blue and red predominate.

Piwke is a journey to the heart that was inspired by a tour of an area of Araucanía, near Imperial, at the beginning of 2015. A stay inside a Mapuche community allowed the transmission of ancestral knowledge about dyeing with plants from the area. and the symbology of textiles and the worldview of this original people that is reflected today in these creations.