At the turn of this century, the revival of regional crafts and materials gathered pace with the search for identity in Argentinian design. Against the fast-paced rhythms of the industry, these practices uphold forms of production that prioritise manual labour and the passing-on of knowledge from generation to generation.
Founded in 1996 by Clara de la Torre and Diana Dai Chee Chaug, the Manto label has over the years built up a network of spinners and weavers in northern Argentina. Sheep’s wool and llama hair are transformed into coats with austere lines, whose cuts and asymmetries link traditional craftsmanship with urban tailoring.
Santos Liendro, a label founded by Roxana Liendro in Vaqueros, Salta Province, brings the goldsmithing skills that Roxana learnt in her father’s workshop to clothing. Using embossing and chiselling techniques, she integrates metals such as nickel silver and copper into regional barracán and aguayo textiles. This crossover transforms the family legacy into a contemporary expression of Andean identity.