Vice.com interviews Kilomet109 about sustainable fashion design, working with natural dyes, and Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage…
New York City, summer of 2016. We had an opportunity to sit down with a reporter from Vice magazine’s The Creators Project. The resulting article features Kilomet109 founder, Thao Vu, and is titled “A Vietnamese Designer Is Updating Eco-Design with Ancient Knowledge.”
Crushing yam root with a handmade mortar and pestel, a component of the yam dye preparation.
Vice reports on the enduring craft processes that Kilomet109 uses to create our sustainable fashion collections. Also highlighted, the natural dyeing and weaving workshops that Thao leads to Cao Bang, Vietnam, part of her collaboration with the online learning platform Vacation with an Artist (VAWAA). VAWAA workshops provide an opportunity for creatives with a passion for textiles to directly with artisan communities in Vietnam.
“Partnering with VAWAA is one small attempt to preserve the oral tradition of passing techniques down from one creator to another, adapting craftsmanship to an evolving world.” – Vice.com
Prewashing fabric in a local stream before dyeing
Outfits made from homeade silk and natural dyed from Kilomet109 collection “KHOI” – 2015
VAWAA workshops provide an opportunity for creatives with a passion for textiles to work directly with artisan communities in Vietnam.
Vice notes how some local artisans were at first skeptical with some of Thao’s dye experiments. Specifically, some were resistant to the new shades of indigo that Thao was creating which were different than anything they had done before. As Vice observes, “In the intervening years, Thao and the women perfected 10 unique shades of indigo that Thao uses in Kilomet109 designs. She introduced the villagers to traditional dyes from her own ethnic group, and is constantly looking for new natural ingredients to source locally.”
It was a great opportunity to sit down with The Creators Project and vice.com. It is one of the dynamic online magazines covering the creative scene out there.
To read the full article, please click here: Vice Creators features Kilomet109
