Luxury Craftsmanship as an Alternative to Building Social Fabric and Preserving Ancestral Knowledge: A Look at Colombia

Abstract

Colombia is a multicultural and biodiverse country, recognized for its multiethnicity. This multiethnicity is in part communicated through handicrafts that represent an exaltation to living memory and intercultural dialogue, which evokes tradition and favors innovation as a sustainable and productive alternative. Craftsmanship must be understood as the cultural and material expressions of people with rooted and plural identities. These have been taught through an oral tradition, which has emphasized the union between nature and the human being. In contrast to industrial design and its rational connection to modernity, handicrafts maintain an indivisible line of connection between its creator and its creation, continually reflecting the transformation of culture representation into colors, shapes, designs, and other traditional elements. These elements dignify the indigenous communities while making them visible through craft-making. If we look carefully at the conceptualization of handicrafts and luxury and its diverse characteristics, we understand that the basis of each is the production of exclusive, authentic pieces or services, full of values and stories of its creator. In that sense, a close link is created between the creator and his creation throughout the process and manages to transmit it to the world, generating products with significant symbolic value and durability over time. Sustainability, luxury, and ethics initiate a permanent and unalterable dialogue in the reconfiguration of the fashion system. This dialogue allows addressing in a meaningful manner, the creation of pieces aligned with responsible processes allowing environmental and social balance in a society where luxury cannot exist without sustainability.

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