Threads that Unite

I, the Moon, want to tell you about the day when an artisan discovered my magic. It happened one morning when she found a shining thread on her worktable. Filled with curiosity, she decided to follow it with her fingers until the textile began to come alive and extend, forming a luminous path before her.

Without thinking twice, she decided to continue. The thread led her to an ancient tree in the garden. Upon touching it, a light enveloped her and, suddenly, she found herself in a valley surrounded by mountains she had never seen before.

A small pear-shaped creature wearing glasses jumped in front of her. “Welcome to Chiapas!” it exclaimed, adjusting its glasses. “Few can see my magical thread, fewer still have the courage to follow it.”

The artisan looked at the landscape in amazement. Under the shade of a tree, a group of women worked on wooden looms, their hands dancing among multicolored threads that seemed to shine with their own light.

The eldest of them approached without stopping her weaving. “We have spent centuries creating stories with our hands,” she said. “But our art fades in a world that prefers speed over beauty.”

The creature explained that I, the Moon, had woven this bridge between worlds. “Crafts made with purpose contain magic that can heal the earth.”

During days that seemed like hours, the artisan learned ancestral techniques. Her fingers, clumsy at first, soon began to create figures that came to life under my light.

Upon returning home, she brought with her not only new skills but a mission: to create pieces that connected people with the earth and with each other. Each embroidery, each weaving that came from her hands had special properties: some purified the air, others made plants grow where there was no life.

Soon she formed a network of artisans united by invisible threads. Together they created beauty with purpose, teaching the world that less is more, especially if it is made with love.

I, from the sky, contemplate how that small thread I planted has grown, uniting distant worlds and weaving a future where handmade is not a luxury, but a necessity for a planet seeking to heal.

Process

Our Collaboration 46 unites two distant worlds that share a vision: Barcelona and Chiapas.

Through Loona, we have created a bridge connecting the sustainable fashion project Autre Aura with the skilled hands of Chiapas artisans, giving life to a collection that celebrates fantasy, craftsmanship, and commitment to a more conscious future.

Autre Aura is the project of Aura Chavarria, an art historian and Catalan designer with more than two decades of experience in the textile industry.

Founded in 2022, the brand emerged as a response to the accelerated uniformity of consumption in today’s fashion. “Autre Aura was born from the conviction that things can be done differently,” explains Aura, who has conceived her project as “an ode to play, craftsmanship, and community as the center of life.”

The connection between Aura’s vision from Barcelona and the artisanal traditions of Chiapas was facilitated by Sharon Drijanski Guillermo Jester of Dos Tierras, who built the necessary bridges for this creative dialogue.

“It has been fantastic Sharon and Guillermo of Dos Tierras, have been an incredible gateway to the artisan universe of Chiapas,” comments Aura. Despite the physical distance, the Collaboration flowed naturally, paving the way for what could become a lasting and closer creative relationship in the future.

For this Collaboration, Aura worked alongside her friend and artist Andrea Carandini, responsible for the prints and embroidery that bring to life the fantastic characters that characterize her collections. “We started with some elements and characters that Andrea and I worked on for a future collection. They are fantastic and whimsical characters, like us,” Aura shares about the inspiration behind the pieces.

The collection integrates artisanal techniques such as hand embroidery and crochet, created on fabrics made on manual looms.

“We start from ancestral techniques and work with artisans to create contemporary pieces,” explains Aura. “Unfortunately, all these techniques are currently being massively replaced by machine-made ones, which is why it’s extremely important for us to protect this legacy, project it into the future, and sustain it forever.”

Among the most outstanding pieces is a crochet bag featuring Perito, a character that Aura describes as “a very curious and bookish pear, but a bit nearsighted.” Achieving the final result required numerous tests, given the manual nature of the technique. “Even the labels have Loona’s name hand-embroidered, each letter in a different color,” details the designer, emphasizing the importance of these details that, although imperceptible to many, constitute the heart of her creative philosophy.

For Aura, collaborating with Loona has been “a dream come true,” especially for the opportunity to connect with Mexican artisanal traditions. “Mexico is a country with an incredible tradition, an unparalleled legacy of craftsmanship,” she affirms. This Collaboration represents for her another step in her mission to protect and celebrate craftsmanship, betting on a business model that benefits everyone involved and generates a positive impact.

“I don’t want to participate in a business model that only benefits a few, that generates infinite waste,” declares Aura, who sees in projects like Loona “a ray of light” to transform consumption habits. Her message is clear: “We need to educate consumers to buy less and better. We don’t need to have a closet full of garments that we wear twice and, moreover, are identical to the rest of the pieces that everyone wears.”

This Collaboration celebrates the beauty of Chiapas craftsmanship, while inviting us to reflect on the transformative power of textiles and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage. As Aura says: “The decisions we make when consuming are political actions with strong consequences; we must become aware of this and act from a more conscious place.”