Stories of Sapa did not start out as a fashion collection. Stories of Sapa was born as a tale.
Stories of Sapa did not start out as a fashion collection.
Stories of Sapa was born as a tale.
A wonderful celebration of the creativity of the women of the Sapa plateau, in Northern Vietnam. A remote corner of paradise and a hope: preserve and pass on the ancient textile production processes from the plant to the product. Out there, for this story, we climbed to the peaks, among the sleepy rice fields and the winding dirt roads that still separate the most industrialized Vietnam, from the enchanted land of its most authentic origins.
Who are the artisans of Stories of Sapa?
Our artisans are part of a tribe called the Black Hmong.
The Hmong are a group of people native to the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam. The average Hmong woman makes one set of clothing for her family every year. Their work is complicated, intricate, design-oriented and time-consuming. The Black Hmong artisan uses local indigo plants to dye the fabric, proceeds with the artisan technique known as “batik” and embroiders each piece by hand. The women of this plateau are designers at the same time master in the art of creating beautiful fabrics.
How do we support these women?
Là Fuori aims to provide these artisans, who inspire the “Stories of Sapa” collection, with a flexible source of income as they work to preserve their precious traditions. By paying the price they ask for the production of 30% of our garments and allocating 10% of our profits directly to their families, we help build a sustainable lifestyle for these women, mothers of life and seamstresses. We were indebted to these Hmong women who proudly collaborates with us in creating beautifully detailed garments, which represent a form of expression of their lifestyle, but also a dreamlike narrative, as well as the hope of reaching other women.
An all-female sustainability
As per our collection, La Fuori provides a production process focusing on women’s traditions that produce fabrics for years. For the “Stories of Sapa” collection, materials which are grown directly in the homes of our artisans in the mountains of North Vietnam have been used. These modern heroines are not only seamstresses but also real farmers, who plant and harvest hemp for weaving and grow indigo for dyeing. The cotton used is 100% organic and all batiks are handmade with organic bees wax. All other colors come from the local markets.
What art and techniques does our collection draw on?
Stories of Sapa is mainly inspired by the technique of embroidery and batik.
Embroideryis very popular with communities in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam because women can embroider anywhere, at the market, in the fields or while sight seeing. Women learn to embroider at an early age and traditional patterns are followed and passed on from generation to generation.
Most of the motifs that appear in traditional Hmong embroidery are inspired by nature.
Batik is instead a very ancient dyeing technique in which a part of the fabric is protected with wax during the dyeing process. Patterns are drawn on to the fabric with melted wax and a variety of hand made tools made from curved copper and small bamboo tubes. When the wax is dry and the design complete, the fabric is dyed several times in a natural indigo bath and dipped in boiling water to melt the wax. As the wax melts, the protected patterns appear as a light color against a rich indigo background.
During our stay with the Hmong tribe, we personally experienced this process and also through a careful photographic work of ancient fabrics made with this technique, we arrived at a conceptual review of these geometric designs for our collection “Stories of Sapa”.
INDIGO, the secret soul of our forms
It is traditional to include the indigo plant in the clothes that the Hmong tribes create every year. Indigo has a spiritual significance and is representative with honor and devotion. Our artisans grow indigo plants and turn the green leaves into a bright blue dye through fermentation. All the indigo used for dyeing in our collection is homegrown.
Wearing “Stories of Sapa” means exploring a new lifestyle
Là Fuori celebrates the value of women dedicated to their profession, their culture and their families. Each garment is a unique and priceless statement made with care by the craftsman, to give other women the opportunity to appreciate a culture different from their own.
Vidur Adlakha, stylist and founder of the Là Fuori states:
“With this collection, I wanted a celebration of personal expression. It feels good to know someone by the story told by their clothes “
“Accompanied by you wearing Lanh My A silk
My market trip crossing the river seemed to be reduced”
Many times, these lines have been hummed by men and women on boat trips.
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