Looking Fashion Forward at Perú Moda

The best of what Peru has to offer in the world of fashion made the pilgrimage to Lima this past May for Perú Moda. Held as the main annual event of the Peruvian industry, the extravaganza has consistently drawn the likes of Saks, Marc Jacobs, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret to its catwalk of clothing, textile products and accessories. From the 27 to 29, 500 exhibitors showcased their products to over 9,000 individuals from 45 different countries.

Yovana Candela, our Programs Coordinator, and Grace Schmitz, former Women’s Cooperative Program Director, represented Awamaki this year at the world-renowned trade show. They received a warm welcome from the organizers, reunited with old friends and rubbed elbows with fashionable folk interested in our goods. It was certainly hard to miss the enormous photographs of the products proudly being displayed at Awamaki’s stand–designed and decorated for us by the well-intentioned Cusco government office in charge of linking small businesses to the show. (Maybe they should stick to market access and not booth design in the future, though…)

In order to attend Perú Moda, Yovana and Grace worked on an intensive application for over three months. When asked why they looked into Perú Moda, Yovana explained that Awamaki is always trying to look for fashion events and has wanted to become involved in an event that would showcase its textile products for quite some time now.

The event was a success for Awamaki. We were able to meet many new clients and connect with suppliers who will improve the quality of our exportation business. Yovana described the entire event as an exchange, “Each attendee gained information about Awamaki as an organization and in turn, we learned more about improving our exportation work.”

Awamaki was one of the few NGOs present at Perú Moda this year, as most exhibitors were individual exporters or businesses. We are excited about our newfound participation with Perú Moda and look forward to seeing how our interaction with the Peruvian fashion industry blooms in the future.

About Awamaki

Awamaki is a nonprofit fair trade social enterprise dedicated to connecting Andean artisan weavers with global markets. We collaborate with women artisans to support their efforts towards educational and financial independence by co-creating beautifully handcrafted knit and woven accessories using hertiage techniques.