Atavios: The Roots of Colombian Fashion

by Benjamín Villegas, Benjamín Villegas Jiménez, Jimmy Weiskopf (Translation)

The result of a three-year collaboration, this remarkable volume sets out to display traditional garments, jewelry, and ornaments of the indigenous cultures of Colombia in joyous and unprecedented abandon. Using his experience as a choreographer and costume and set designer, the photographer has created an extraordinary series of theatrical tableaux where myth and memory, fashion and fantasy intermingle in a riot of rich color. The variety of attire and ornament featured on these pages represents diverse pre-Colombian cultures, among them the Tairona, Kogi, Calima, and Nariño. Far from the typical representation of such artifacts in neutral and serene museum surroundings, these objects are modeled by nude men and women—their bare skin the perfect canvas for gleaming gold and soft natural fibers. The result of a three-year collaboration between photographer Nacho Marín and publisher Benjamín Villegas, this remarkable volume sets out to display traditional garments, jewelry, and ornaments of the indigenous cultures of Colombia in joyous and unprecedented abandon. Using his experience as a choreographer and costume and set designer, Marín has created an extraordinary series of theatrical tableaux where myth and memory, fashion and fantasy intermingle in a riot of rich color.

The variety of attire and ornament featured on these pages represents diverse pre-Colombian cultures, among them the Tairona, Kogi, Calima, and Nariño. Inspired by priceless museum pieces, talented craftsmen in Colombia today have re-created gold bracelets, nose rings, necklaces, breast plates, and a wealth of other personal adornments as well as beadwork, masks, cotton, and wool garments, carvings and ceremonial objects. Far from the typical representation of such artifacts in neutral and serene museum surroundings, these objects are modeled by nude men and women—their bare skin is a perfect foil for gleaming gold and soft natural fibers.

Nature and artifice are blended here in unique and unexpected ways. From the roots of ancient cultures and crafts, endless new possibilities spring forth for adventures in design and fashion. This book offers an entertaining dialogue between traditional concepts and contemporary style, and provides novel ways for looking at design based on historical precedent.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1996