"I love the authenticity of these kaftans and how comfortable they are to wear,” says Holt. I call them my "holiday Heroes: they pack small, work day and night on a beach, in a city, with or without a belt. They are incredibly versatile." It was while living in Texas that Pippa Holt first came across these kaftans while holidaying in Mexico. They were light, practical and yet stylish. They were also reminiscent of far-flung climes and the local craft you find in markets.” Their colours and designs which were bold and original gave her so much pleasure. She teamed them with fashion accessories to create a very idiosyncratic look: –they weren’t strictly fashion but I made them look fashionable in the way I wore them.” And so began a collaboration with this remote community of weavers which includes Felipa, the head weaver who has been weaving for 50 years and senior weaver, Angelica, her daughter. It takes one month to make a kaftan and due to the way they are hand-crafted, no two kaftans are the same. Naturally dyed cotton thread is woven into cloth using a backstrap loom, an ancient weaving technique that has been used by generations in this community. The colours of the threads are dyed from natural processes using vegetables and flowers.
