Shining a light on Ethiopian culture: Welana
Welana is a social, female-led business selling handwoven, high quality textiles from extraordinary weavers in Ethiopia, whose purpose is to empower local communities. Founders Anna Papadopoulos and Welella Negussie are two childhood friends, who grew up in Berlin - closely linked to the Ethiopian culture through Welella’s family. A trip to Wenchi Crater Lake, 155 km outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, left the pair stunned by the beauty of Ethiopia and its people: “It was really there when we decided that more people should be exposed to what Ethiopia has to offer.”
Earlier this year, I was commissioned to write an article about cultural appropriation for BBC Culture and talked to Anna and Welella as an example of how cross cultural collaborations can actually work - for both parties. The result was an example of best practice, sensitively practised, showing the fashion industry just what it is possible when the beauty, historical weight and skill of other cultures takes over.
Bel: Fashion has always taken inspiration from a variety of sources. Why/how is cultural appropriation different?
Anna: Through our globalized world, all of us are very much exposed to and inspired by different cultures and traditions. This does not only hold true for fashion but for all aspects of life, be it food, music, architecture or any other realm of creativity. In essence, this is a beautiful development because it helps us grow our understanding of different cultures and celebrates diversity. However, cultural appropriation differs in that, it is defined as the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of tradition by a more dominant culture. With our label, we precisely aim to do the reverse, putting traditional Ethiopian weaving culture, local communities and their artisans at the forefront by collaborating with local partners in Ethiopia and with whom we are empowering local communities through sustainable income development and by providing global visibility of their craft.
Bel: Cultural appropriation has been a common issue in industrialised fashion.
Welella: Yes, but luckily, there is a growing consciousness and desire, especially among younger generations, for more transparent communication not only about designs and fashion styles but also about ethical production processes, fair-trade and the overall impact fashion has on climate and the environment. As a small slow fashion label, we welcome this growing awareness and hope that designers, fashion labels and costumers alike strive to ensure that local communities and artisans can, at most, be at the center of fashion that is inspired by them and, at the very least, benefit from it.
Bel: Why have these issues come to the fore now? Is there a new awareness of cultural imbalances and colonial histories?
Welella: We have definitely seen a shift in consciousness and awareness among customers. Increased access to information from different sources and platforms as well as major global events have made us question the status quo, have contributed to this shift. Scholars, social justice and climate change activists are working hard to not only challenge consumption habits and the concept of fast fashion but also to advocate for a more accurate, balanced depiction of diverse cultures and history telling. This change is slowly reflected in mainstream narratives. In fashion in particular, this change is showcased by enhanced transparency in all steps of the production cycle as well as in the demand for fair treatment of and respect for the artisans. The movement #whomademyclothes is a perfect example of this.
Bel: Tell me about your local partners.
Anna: We selected our local partners Sabahar and Maraki, based upon the principles of fair trade, dignified treatment of employees, fair wages, provision of health insurance, overall community support and the use of natural fabrics for our products. Our weavers produce the fabrics locally, under fair conditions and the products consist of 100% Ethiopian cotton and Eri silk, which our partners source from local vendors within Ethiopia. Purchasing cotton locally contributes to a sustainable production cycle and empowers small local enterprises in the country. Our whole concept revolves around shining light on the beauty of Ethiopian artistry and empowering the community responsible for it.
Bel: What are the ways of working that make this possible? How can each partner in a collaboration ensure that voices are fairly represented?
Anna: Through regular exchanges and transparent communication about successes and challenges that not only we face as a label but also local artisans and local markets, we ensure that mutual respect and care for each other is exercised and mirrored in our work. In particular, Sabahar is keen on supporting intercultural exchanges by inviting international designers to their production site and by promoting local staff to visit weaving workshops in countries like India. These are precisely the type of exchanges which foster new ideas and cultural collaborations.
Adopting a full cycle model, we also promote a responsible and ethical production process and support an environmentally friendly approach to reuse and recycle textiles. For this, we have partnered with the label SCHMITD. The label focuses on creating unique forward-thinking garments and trans-seasonal products for the contemporary citizen and are perfect fit for our reuse & recycle program. In 2020, we collaborated with SCHMITD on the production of masks from Ethiopian textiles, whereby we donated with the purchase of one mask, three to people in need in Ethiopia. It is our goal that the reused products do not lose their uniqueness, namely the Ethiopian elements, but rather that they will - through a redesign or refunctioning - gain an additional cultural component. Welana products are created with traditional weaving techniques and include patterns typical to Ethiopian culture.
Welella: We wish to prove that doing good and doing well are not mutually exclusive; supporting the fair and dignified treatment of collaborators - no matter what part of the world they come from. Making sure that all partners and collaborators, including the artisans, have a seat at the table and meet on eye level is core for this. A good and fruitful collaboration is based on mutual respect, transparent communication and a common vision and goal.
