sheep's clothing by carlos ortega

sheep’s clothing by carlos ortega – top image: view of the installation which was designed by architects ROW//studio

fashion designer carlos ortega presented a collection of five sweaters produced with traditional mexican wool and manual looms at antiguo colegio de san ildefonso during the abierto mexicano de diseño.

in collaboration with enredarte, an association devoted to generating networks between craftsmen, designers, industry and government institutions in order to promote fair trade. the display was designed by architects ROW//studio and consists of an irregular ruled surface constructed with raw wool yarn.

the five sweaters were produced by a third generation master craftsman using manual looms and raw wool, dyed using all natural pigments and processes. each piece involves the work of a whole family and takes about one week to complete.

the goal behind this collaboration is to reactivate an economy that is about to become extinct as a consequence of industrialization and the popularization of fast fashion over limited production and higher quality. aesthetically, the pieces are meant to be an updated interpretation of the sweaters produced in the indigenous regions near mexico city and popularized in the early 60s by george barris’ photo shoot of marilyn monroe, some of the last pictures taken of her before her death.

carlos ortega at the abierto mexicano de diseño
portrait © designboom

sketches showing the sweaters and cardigans – some of which reference the abierto mexicano de diseño logo