Process
As a hat designer, I like to travel the world to learn about the best used practices for hat making, hat millinery details and hat couture. I particularly love to work with toquilla straw hats from Ecuador, which produces one of the best quality straws in the world, as recognized by UNESCO. The famous ‘panama’ hat does in fact originate from Ecuador. It was a few decades ago, when the hats would pass through the Panama canal upon export from Ecuador, which is why they got their name as ‘panama hats’. Some time ago, I went to Cuenca, Ecuador to design a new collection, to visit a few factories and to identify producers I could source from directly.
For me, it was essential to understand the complete process of the straw woven by the artisans, and then picked out by the producers, which would continue further on in the process to be soaked, bleached, dried, molded, heat-pressed, ironed and sewn.
We discussed a variety of fashion concepts with my producers and then proceeded to design together, Palo de Yucca’s Del Mar, Havana and Riviera collections. Each hat tells a story; each strand of straw is different and woven by hand. The craftsmanship of these hats in Ecuador is astounding which is why the ‘paja toquilla’ hats are the most famous hats in the world. Palo de Yucca is proud to work with artisans from across Latin America, each within their field of expertise.
