Mexico Textile Tour
Photo: Tehuana girls by Chloe Sayer.
In March, Selvedge will lead a textile tour of Mexico with world-renowned textile scholar, artist, and curator, Yoshiko Wada. Yoshiko will take us on a journey that goes beyond the surface of a standard tourist experience, with walking tours with local experts, hands-on workshops with artisans, intimate dinners with friends, and visits to small design studios. During the tour we will see traditional candle making, natural dying, weaving and spinning.
The Mexican aesthetic is rooted in an appreciation of materials, energised by a colour palette of indigo, cochineal and sea snail purple. Across the country, technical virtuosity has been inherited alongside a respect for the wisdom of the elders, and these elements ricochet in Mexico’s striking contemporary design scene. Starting in Mexico City, the tour will explore the richness of Mexico’s capital, through to Oaxaca and finishing in Chiapas.
Mexico is steeped in history that dates from the time of the Mayan civilisation, to Spain’s colonial rule. On the tour we will visit Oaxaca, a historic state where you can explore ceremonial sites and sample the famous local food at traditional markets, before exploring Chiapas, a region awash with the legacy of Spanish rule and the remnants of ancient Maya civilisation.
Our tour takes place over Semana Santa, one of the most important festivals in Mexico. Each community celebrates the holiday with its own regional flavour, however, popular with the whole country is the breaking of cascarones, coloured eggshells filled with confetti, over friends and family. Churches will be filled with those attending Mass, and there will be large processions of penitents in the streets. In many cities, important religious images from the church will be displayed, traditional altars are decorated at home and in the streets, and flower decorations and palm crosses will be found everywhere.
If you have a taste for exploration, discovery and a love of textiles and craft, then Mexico should be high on your wish list of destinations. The tour is limited to 14 people, to find out more and book your place with a deposit, visit our Textile Tours page.