Textiles Today

In the mid-to-late 1800s, changes to textiles worldwide were introduced, such as aniline dyes and synthetic fibers. Aniline dyes do not fade as quickly as natural dyes, but the colors run when washed. They are also brighter than natural dyes, which made them attractive to native weavers. Rayon yarn, introduced in the early 1900s, was less time-consuming than spinning natural fiber because it came already colored. Andean weavers refashioned Western products like acrylic yarn by re-spinning it to make it of sufficiently high quality for their own weaving, and used ricrac, sequins and buttons as decorative objects sewn into textiles in ways that were meaningful to them.

For example, ricrac represented qenqo (zig zag) designs from nature. As men traveled to the city for business, women were more likely to make and use traditional textiles. In addition, textiles carry cultural meanings: wearing their special clothing allows Andeans to identify themselves and incorporate themselves back into the community. Tourism has played an important role in the recuperation of natural dyeing for example, and old techniques are being rediscovered.