Nomads looking for economic opportunities in the age of artificial intelligence. For fall, Stella Jean took that idea as a chance for reflection while working with women from Mali’s desert. Just as people travel across a land, so does their creativity. At her showroom, Jean referred to “putting fibers at the center of cooperation, made up of hands and memories when nomads—displaced by forgotten crises—come together with residing tribes, welcomed by wise sedentary women.”
Fabrics can be a vehicle of trade, equal opportunities and conscious development. Employing centuries-old textile knowledge, a group of Malian artisans, guided by Madame Collette Traoré, found themselves a temporary space of co-creativity with Stella Jean, called the Laboratory of Self-Taught Craftsmen and Anti Algorithms. “It is both craftsmanship and tailoring that bring Africa to Europe, the North to the South,” said Jean. Her collection incorporated narrow cloth strips woven by Malian artisans with motifs referring to of their wandering, violence and discrimination, alongside cotton poplin, thick wool and European Prince of Wales fabrics. Among the textiles ‘Gaufré’ stood out: a thick cotton canvas dyed with tree bark and leaves, it’s an exceptional resource and was a highlight of the collection.