The Silk Road: Worms to Nagas
Presented by the Textile Society of Hong Kong.
A talk by Joanna Smith
November 2006
The Helena May, 35 Garden Road.
6:30 drinks (cash bar) for 7:00 talk
Members $50, non-members $100
Those who would like to stay on at the Helena May for dinner afterwards will be most welcome to do so, on a shared-cost basis.
Weaving is part of cultural identity and the dangers of global homogenisation are very real. Based in Luang Prabang, the former capital city of Laos, Jo and Veo co-founded OckPopTok - the Lao translation of ‘East meets West’ - working with this as a design principle, and drawing inspiration from ethnic clothing, and Asian and Western designs, Jo, a magazine photographer in search of a new career, was first introduced to the art of weaving and dyeing by Veo, who comes from a family, village and area of renowned weavers. Their aim was threefold: to promote Lao and Lao textiles abroad; to train their team in a way that encouraged commitment and pride in each other and in the group; and to provide a working environment that recognised an individual's skills and initiative and that produced a better quality of life. Their ethical policy was the basis of their success.
Since then, Jo and Veo have presented fashion shows and worked with London-based textile designers, one collection being based solely on indigo. The designs created at OckPopTok express Lao culture and tradition, demonstrating that Lao design is evolving whilst firmly rooted in its heritage by maintaining a strong design ethic, based in Lao culture. They will talk to us about the different steps involved in producing a silk wall-hanging, illustrating the talk with photos and also bringing with them samples of cocoons, yarns, natural dyes and textiles.