Peruvian Connection has long been committed to making exceptional original design clothing based on artisan textile traditions. In creating this blog, we hope to encourage a community of textile enthusiasts and to provide a forum for their shared discoveries, ideas and commentary. Artists, individualists, romantics and visionaries, we hope you’ll join in.
Our new Autumn collection is not just about design. It is a mood, a locale, a story and an experience.
Enjoy!
Pg. 42 - Valencia Bolero
Pg. 2-3 Carmina Corset and Tattersall Skirt
Pg. 37 Lace Sampler Dress
Pg. 38-39 Paracas Cardigan
From Goring-on-Thames, England, the headquarters of PC Europe, it is an hour to London, and then 2 hours to the heart of that romantic capital - Paris, France.
I’ve just had a lovely long weekend there. One of the highlights was the Grace Kelly exhibition at the Hotel de Ville on the right bank of the Seine.
It is a superb presentation - a comprehensive & encompassing narrative of every aspect of Grace Kelly’s fairytale life as that glamorous Hollywood star who married a European prince to become Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace of Monaco.
Amongst the clips from her legendary films, the poignant home movies, the evocative photographs, her ‘Oscar’, the moving & revealing personal letters (from Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Rose Kennedy, Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton……), it was enthralling to see her clothes and accessories -- her wedding dress, tiaras, jewellery, ball gowns, coats, hats, shoes and bags.
Especially her bags – of course, Grace and the Kelly bag! I was fascinated by her large leather Hermès bag which gave rise to the classic name ‘the Kelly bag’ after Grace’s portrait with it on the cover of Life in 1956.
And, intriguingly, alongside were small, intricately-decorated purses, just like those we offer at PC. Why not treat yourself to a delicate touch of hand-crafted luxury like that enjoyed by the iconic American beauty whom the Parisians took to their heart as their Princess.
Moonflower Clutch
Lilianne Floral Clutch
Nightshade Clutch
Ice Blue Petal Crochet Bag
It all started with Queen Anne in 1711 and quickly
became a time, each spring and summer, of the English royal court at play, with
the royal family - attended by the aristocracy, the nobility and the gentry - on
parade in the public eye enjoying a number of prestigious social events in
London and south-east England.
As the royal court was the seat of power, it set
the style trends each Season and was instrumental in determining the popular
face of British fashion throughout the realm.
The Season has carried
on for 300 years and, significantly, the occasions are still generally better
regarded for the apparel and accessories (notably hats) on display,
particularly those of our reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth 11 and her royal
court, than they are for the elite activities. The events include:
At Peruvian Connection
we have a wealth of unique, exclusive creations in rare, luxury fibres to make
sure you are elegant, stylish, confident and comfortable whichever event you
are attending this season. And you can
make an effortless start right here, using our website to make your select
choices for your very special society occasion.
Ann Parker-Smith
Pictured: Bohème Hat & La Vie en Rose Hat
We are really excited about our first ever Summer catalog and the addition of a 4th collection to our design house. As a preview to the season please enjoy a small clip from our Oaxaca, Mexico photo shoot. We hired a local Mariachi band for some of the shots and were delighted when they began to perform as the photographer took pictures of the model. A little grainy but certainly fun to watch.
Peruvian Connection is not responsible for the contents of external internet sites.
The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey are a quiet yet iconic image of Turkish tradition. However, most do not know that the whirling dance is a spiritual ritual echoing the revolutions made in nature and in human spirituality. To learn more about The Whirling Dervishes visit this great site.
The men of Kas, Turkey admire our Handknit Corset Tunic. What good taste they have!
Sometimes it is the unexpected events in our lives that yield the most treasured memories. We photographed our Resort 2008 catalogue on the remote island of Kekova, Turkey. The villagers of Kaleköy may have been initially surprised by our eclectic entourage of photographers, stylists, models and equipment but they quickly adopted us during our stay and made us feel right at home.
We were especially enamored by the local cuisine. Mediterranean salads were lovingly prepared for us with a variety of fresh ingredients such as olive oil, mushrooms and eggplant seasoned with newly picked basil. Staples such as fish and yogurt were complemented by warm crusty bread and fruit. But it was the enigmatic island pancake that roused our palette every morning. Our island hosts, noticing our admiration and curiosity about the dish, graciously offered to give us a group cooking lesson.
Under the stars, we gathered around an open fire and our "teacher", not able to speak English, began simply by mixing flour and water into malleable dough with only her hands. Then she rolled portions effortlessly into paper thin pancakes that covered the entire floured table and filled each with handfuls of goat cheese and basil. The large half-moon folded pancake was then browned on a concave iron surface over the fire while her mother attended. Moments later we were all sharing the delicious light pancakes one after another. She even allowed us to try rolling the dough ourselves. This was a disaster of course that ended in both our instructor and her mother laughing out loud at our ugly pancakes. But their generosity and inherent joy fed not only our weary bodies but also our spirits. This post serves as our heart-felt "thank you" to our generous Kaleköy family.
We have just returned from shooting the upcoming first ever SUMMER catalogue (due in your mailboxes early summer 2008!) in Oaxaca, Mexico, and we were struck with the sights and sounds of Mexican Christmas festivities.
Several weeks before Christmas, elaborately decorated market stalls or puestos are set up in the plazas of every town and city. Some people travel for days from remote areas to get to these markets. The puestos offer crafts of every conceivable kind and foods such as cheese, bananas, nuts, and cookies. Street vendors sell intricate ornaments to decorate homes for the Christmas season.
Although the custom of putting up a Christmas tree has become very popular, the real Mexican tradition consists of a Nativity scene...
We just returned from an island off the coast of Turkey where we photographed our Spring 2008 catalogue. As we looked at the film upon our return we are again struck by the beauty of our island hideaway and it's charming yet primitive amenities. It was the perfect backdrop for our new range of woven apparel that will be introduced in our Spring catalogue this January. Get ready...paired with our stunning knitwear collection, these new woven designs will blow you away!
Similarly, while on the shoot our hair stylist tries to tame the windblown hair of our model as they stand on the crenelated wall of a Roman castle. Annie lends an extra hand of safety at her waistband (see above).
On our recent photo shoot to Cuzco, Peru for our Holiday catalog, we had the pleasure to work in the company of a group of camelids. We were immediately in love. They were fuzzy and adorable in a multitude of colors from toffee, black and white spotted to simply pure white. Their Andean caretaker was kind enough to let us borrow them for the day, and with her herding and our patience, we managed to get a beautiful catalog spread. However, we were uncertain if our camelids models were alpacas or llamas.
Over the years we have been told by our camelid-raising customers that the way to tell them apart is that llamas have banana shaped ears and long tails and alpacas have straight ears and stubby tails. Also, alpacas tend to have furry faces and llamas have shorter hair on their faces. To further confuse us, alpacas and llamas sometimes cross-breed, yielding an animal called a huarizo. (Naughty camelids!)
Whatever our creatures were, they endeared us with their big eyes, beautiful coats and gentle demeanor (except for a bad-tempered one that spat at our crew!)
A piece of camelid trivia: one of the oldest alpacas on record, fondly called "Vomiting Violet" lived in New Zealand and died in 2005 at the ripe old age of 29.
The old hacienda that served as the backdrop for The Mask of Zorro also served as the backdrop for our Fall 2007 photo shoot. Literally out in the middle of nowhere, Tetlapaya Hacienda had all the rustic charm and colonial character for a perfect shoot.
