BIAS

CONTRIBUTORS

Cotton has played a significant and controversial role in the history of the British Empire, the United States, and India, and is inextricably linked to the highs and lows of human endeavour. Today cotton is still our firm favourite, accounting for 65% of all fibres used for clothing and home furnishings. What accounts for its preeminence? Cotton is comfortable, absorbs moisture well, is strong and easy to launder; but perhaps it is its ability to retain colour that has accounted more than any other for its success.This issue we appreciate the appeal that pretty printed cotton feedsacks would have had during the great depression: and the appeal also of work clothes re-purposed into attractive, albeit necessary, quilts across the southern United States.

Our love affair with cotton can be seen in the enduring appeal of printed cotton, from artisanal producers to Japanese prints, as well as in the resurgence of interest in selvedge denim jeans.The designer Carin Mansfield uses high quality cotton in the small-scale production of her heirloom quality clothing, available in white, black and indigo. Like cotton, the appeal of indigo crosses continents from Asia through Africa and back to the Americas – and everywhere in between. Rosalie De Ory has been a convert since visiting Central America fifteen years ago, and has pursued her passion with verve.

The vibrant colours of traditional Mexican cotton textiles provided inspiration for our cover photographer Anne Menke as well as the contemporary upholstery company A Rum Fellow.We follow the trail to its source in Oaxaca, and on further to the San Blas Islands of the Panamanian archipelago. I hope you find inspiration wherever you follow the sun this summer.

Polly Leonard, Founder

We asked our contributors to tell us how they keep cool in the heat...

KATE CAVENDISH pg 14

Growing up on Prince Edward Island, I sailed about my day with a cool ocean breeze all summer long. But now that I’ve relocated to the heartland of America, I’ve developed strategies for avoiding a summer swelter. I love to wear dresses that flow – a gently fitted A-line is perfect – and I choose textiles in double-weight linen or a smooth, lined-cotton. I’ll also trade my leather bag for an array of block printed, lightweight cotton bags from India.

NINA FUGA pg 96

RINNE ALLEN pg 28

The best way to keep cool in summer is to go to Venice Lido for a swim first thing in the morning, armed with a selection of colourful hand dyed pareos to make improvised beach shelters. The heat forces you to work at a slower pace; I draw with my studio windows open, making the most of the longer days. Summer is my favourite season, when I can finally wear large straw hats that add a chic style to any outfit, particularly light cotton dresses and high heeled sandals.

Because I live in Georgia in the American South, it gets hot, hot, hot in the summertime. The best way to stay cool outside and in, I have found, is by choosing the proper clothing. It may seem like a Southern stereotype, but I do wear a lot of linen in the summer, and dresses and skirts made from natural fibres. And, I also try to swim as often as possible in the nearby swimming hole, too.

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