Latin American Textile Heritage in Fashion: Ethical Use vs. Appropriation
- Britta Cabanos
- Jun 15
- 5 min read
Long before the concept of 'fashion' existed in its modern form, textiles were the most valued art form in Mesoamerica and the Andes. Aztec and Maya leaders famously gifted textiles to Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century — cloth outnumbering gold and jade because, from an indigenous perspective, fabric was the paramount commodity and the highest expression of prestige, skill, and cultural identity.
That tradition has never stopped. It has adapted and survived colonialism, globalization, and centuries of appropriation — and today, it is finally receiving the international recognition it deserves, not as a source to be borrowed from but as a living creative force shaping global fashion. As the FIT Museum's landmark exhibition Moda Hoy noted, Latin American fashion has historically been dismissed by Eurocentric voices as underdeveloped — yet it is, and always has been, a powerhouse. [1]
The Foundations: What These Textiles Actually Are
In the Andean highlands, Quechua and Aymara weavers use backstrap looms to produce intricate geometric fabrics that encode kinship ties, cosmological beliefs, and community identity. In Chiapas and Yucatan, Mayan artisans continue to weave huipiles using techniques that date back centuries — garments whose motifs encapsulate creation stories and mark social belonging. In Oaxaca, Zapotec communities in Teotitlan del Valle have woven woolen textiles for generations, with designs that carry documented cultural provenance going back well before commercial fashion existed. [2]
These are not craft items or regional curiosities. They are sophisticated visual languages — design systems built over generations that communicate identity, lineage, and worldview more precisely than most contemporary brand aesthetics manage.
Johanna Ortiz: The Benchmark for Ethical Integration
If there is one designer who demonstrates what ethical engagement with Latin American textile heritage actually looks like at scale, it is Johanna Ortiz. The Colombian founder built her label in Cali, starting with a small swimwear line in 2003 and growing it into a global luxury brand now stocked in more than 30 countries. Crucially, the brand is 100% made in Colombia, and she collaborates with 23 indigenous communities and artisanal associations, supporting more than 260 artisans across Colombia and Latin America. [3]
Her Escuela Johanna Ortiz, founded in 2016, provides free couture-level seamstress training to women from vulnerable communities — turning the fashion supply chain into an actual vehicle for social mobility rather than a system that extracts craft knowledge and leaves artisans without recognition or income.
This is the model. Not borrowing aesthetics from indigenous traditions and crediting them in a press release. Building structures where the people who hold that knowledge are compensated, trained, employed, and visible.
The Appropriation Problem: What Not to Do
The counterexample is well documented. In 2019, Carolina Herrera's Resort 2020 collection, designed by Wes Gordon, used embroidery techniques and sarape patterns directly traceable to indigenous communities in Mexico — without credit or compensation. Mexico's Secretary of Culture wrote an open letter in El País demanding an explanation and restitution. [4] It was not the first time: Isabel Marant, Zara, Mango, Michael Kors, and Louis Vuitton have all faced similar criticism.
The pattern is consistent and worth understanding: the aesthetic is borrowed, the designers and communities who developed it over generations are erased, and the profits flow upward to the fashion house. The indigenous designs are too old to be protected by copyright, so legal recourse rarely exists. What remains is the ethical question — and increasingly, the reputational one.
For fashion designers and brand founders, this is not just a cautionary tale. It is a template for what to avoid, and a call to think more carefully about where influence comes from and who benefits from it.
What Ethical Engagement Actually Looks Like
The fashion industry is slowly developing better models for working with indigenous textile traditions. A few principles that hold across the best examples:
Credit specifically and publicly. Name the community, the region, the technique. Vague references to 'Latin American inspiration' are not credit.
Pay fairly and above market. If you are profiting from craft knowledge that took generations to develop, the payment to artisans should reflect that value, not just market rates for generic labor.
Build long-term relationships, not one-off commissions. The Johanna Ortiz model is instructive: sustained partnerships with artisan communities, not seasonal trend sourcing.
Give artisans visibility. Feature them in campaigns. Link to their work. Name them as collaborators, not suppliers.
The Latin American Fashion Awards, which now operates with events across Milan, Paris, and New York, represents the industry's growing structural commitment to giving Latin American designers access and visibility on their own terms — not as a source to be mined, but as a creative force to be engaged with equally. [5]
Why This Matters for Independent Designers
If you are building an independent fashion brand and you draw inspiration from Latin American textiles — as many designers do — the question is not whether to engage with this heritage, but how. The answer is always: transparently, compensatively, and in relationship.
The designers who are doing this well are not just making better ethical choices. They are building brands with deeper stories, more authentic aesthetics, and more loyal customers. In a market saturated with trend-driven sameness, genuine cultural heritage — honoured properly — is one of the most powerful differentiators available.
Want to build a brand with genuine cultural depth and visual identity?
Download the ifd Fashion AI Starter Kit — including tools for research, brand storytelling, and building an ethical design process from the ground up.
SOURCES
[1] FIT Museum — Moda Hoy: Latin American and Latinx Fashion Design Today. https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/moda-hoy/index.php
[2] Meer — The Enduring Influence of Pre-Columbian Fashion (2025). https://www.meer.com/en/86422-the-enduring-influence-of-pre-columbian-fashion
[3] FashionNetwork — From Cali to Paris: Johanna Ortiz Shows at Paris Fashion Week. https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/From-cali-to-paris-colombian-designer-johanna-ortiz-shows-at-paris-fashion-week,1492974.html
[4] Mexico News Daily — Designer Accused of Plagiarizing Indigenous Designs (2019). https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/designer-accused-of-plagiarizing-indigenous-designs/
[5] Latin American Fashion Awards — The Awards. https://latinamericanfashionawards.com/awards-latin-american-fashion-awards/
Editorial Disclaimer
The information in this article was researched and compiled with the assistance of AI tools and reflects sources available at the time of writing. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, regulations, timelines, and industry developments can change. IFD recommends verifying specific compliance requirements with a qualified legal or regulatory professional before making business decisions based on this content. Links to third-party sources are provided for reference and do not constitute endorsement. Inside Fashion Design is not liable for decisions made based on information contained in this article.
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It's great to see these designers and their communities finally getting the recognition they deserve for their incredible textile heritage. Supporting brands that prioritize ethical collaboration is so important. When I'm looking to buy pieces that honor these traditions, I always make sure the platform has reliable support, like checking https://poshmark.pissedconsumer.com/customer-service.html before purchasing.