Chile Textile Industry

The quality of Chilean manufacturing meets or exceeds international standards. Its numerous
competitive advantages include compliance with a range of global standards and certifications,
standardized production, and specific-need product development.

As a result, concept stores and other specialist multi-brand retailers are far and few in between.
And although the legacy of the country's textile and handcraft industries has brought about the
emergence of a handful of noteworthy local designers, most remain on the fringes of the market.
Even fashion e-commerce, Vodanovic says, is remains weak in Chile, in spite of high Internet
penetration rates, because of worries about fulfilment.
Outside the capital, which accounts for about 46 percent of Chile's population, its even more
conservative than one might expect. "Santiago is still a lonely king," she quips. "The provinces
have not made the same upgrades in terms of understanding fashion. In the south, in Concepcin
and Punta Arenas, people are still buying with [old notions] of wearability like 'I have a pair of
boots; I dont need another,' whereas in Antofagasta, where there is a lot of money because of
mining, miners wives have money to spend but no place to show the clothes they can buy,
because there's lack of a cultural space to do so."
"Having said that, I dare say that, all in all, there's a big evolution [happening]. We're embracing
our urban style tribes more and we can already see two other groups forming. One is wealthy
people with an educated eye, still classic in style, but prone to [discreet brands] and noble
textiles. On the other hand are the younger generation of the new middle classes, who fall for
alternative design but don't have much money to spend. This a very creative group who now
dress mostly at vintage stores, which, by the way, have been a great success recently in Chile,"
she adds.
"I think things will be changing even more quickly going forward and the only thing we can
expect is further opening both in terms of culture and fashion.

Five years ago, Chile's textiles and apparel industry was reeling under a massive inflow of
Chinese imports with many fiber makers closing shop. But a successful restructuring campaign
has helped shore up the trade which is expected to grow 16% this year, according to Arnaldo
Flores, president of leading textiles industry lobby Instituto Textil de Chile (Intech).
"Many textile companies have turned into importers while others have transformed into high-end
apparel manufacturers and exporters," Flores said, adding that 70% of companies that made
mass-market fiber and clothing went bankrupt.
According to Flores, the industry's pleas that the government help quash Chinese imports buy
raising duties went unanswered, forcing many undercapitalised companies to become importers
of cheap apparel instead of competing against rock-bottom prices.
Textiles and Garments

The Chilean textiles and garments sector boasts a range of competitive advantages in terms of
both fiber development and responsiveness to product development and shipping requirements
under tight deadlines.
The industry encompasses two subsectors:
1) Textiles: Includes yarns and wovens made from vegetable, animal, man-made, artificial and
blended fibers.
2) Garments: Includes manufacturers of outerwear, underwear, and formal and casual wear made
from knitted and woven fabrics and cloth.

Competitive Advantages

Own textile fibers available throughout the country.

Highly skilled labor.
Ability to quickly adapt to market trends and a changing economy.
Quality, efficient and responsive after-sales service.

Leading Products

Animal fibers and blends.

Vegetable, man-made, and artificial fibers.
Plain weaves and the like.
Knitted fabrics and garments.
Garment production.
Hosiery.
Lingerie and foundation garments.

What do Chileans wear?

Chilean clothing largely mirrors attire worn by western nations, although women dress relatively
conservatively and men wear clothing in dark colors. As in other nations around the world,
Chileans wear different types of clothing for different circumstances, such as work and at home.
Additionally, younger Chileans dress in modern styles; younger women wear skirts and dresses
for parties and outings, while young men dress in jeans and casual shirts.

Chilean clothing varies depending on age as well as geographic location. Chileans in rural areas
still wear traditional Chilean clothing, while city-dwellers and urban residents adopt modern
clothing styles. Traditional Chilean clothes include chamantos (decorated ponchos), chupallas
(classic hats) and flowered dresses worn by women for dancing to the Chilean national dance.
Chamantos are made of silk or wool and feature a variety of decorations, including flowers,
grains and crops like wheat and barley, the national flower or images of birds. Chamantos have
two sides: one contains darker colors and the other lighter tones. Men and women living in the
country wear traditional hats made of rice or wheat. Women sport colorful dresses covered with
floral patterns and accessorized with white aprons and handkerchiefs for dancing. In the cities,
younger Chileans follow fashion trends, although Chilean clothing for both genders feature
modest and conservative Designs.

This section focuses on Chilean fashion, and the up and coming Chilean designers carving Chile
a prestigious position on the international fashion landscape.

Chilean fashion in general is widely considered to be fairly conservative, with Chilean women
not favoring overtly provocative or revealing dress, and although to some extent having adopted
a more Western style of dress, it is not uncommon to find traditional Chilean clothing on the
countrys streets even today. Indeed, many fashion designers have reintroduced traditional
pattern and design into their clothing, or fused these ideas with more contemporary styles to
bring about new vibrancy and innovation.

The countrys effort to expand its fashion market is reflective of the nations overall progress and
creativity; Chile was host to Latin Americas first edition of the International Fashion Festival in
2014, a three day event showcasing prestigious European brands to Chilean fashion buyers and
manufacturers. The potential for economic growth with the expanding of Chiles fashion
industry is substantial.

Traditional Mapuche clothing

The indigenous Mapuche people make up Chiles largest indigenous group and a majority of
Chileans claim some Mapuche ancestry. Though many of the Mapuches traditions have been
lost after centuries of Spanish and Chilean influence, there are still elements of Mapuche dress
you can see in Chile today, especially in the southern regions, the ancestral land of the Mapuche.

Chile's indigenous Mapuche people will celebrate one of the most important events in their
calendar: the Day of the Sovereignty of the Mapuche Nation.
In a series leading up to these independence celebrations, Chile.Travel is exploring various
aspects of the vibrant Mapuche culture that is still very much active today. In this, our second
installment in the series, we will look at the textiles and expert weavers that play such an
important role in Mapuche culture - and we talk to an artist who is bringing Mapuche textiles
into the 21st Century.

The history of Mapuche textiles

As in many indigenous Andean cultures, production of textiles was an integral part of Mapuche
society. To this day, textiles are used as a source of income for some Mapuche families, and
highly skilled weaving techniques are passed on from mothers to daughters as has been the
practice for multiple generations.

Archaeological evidence of woven fabrics in Chile date back to the 13th century. From the 15th
century onward, Mapuche textile designs were influenced by contact with the Incas from Peru,
though the Mapuche maintained the use of their traditional kulio (spindle) and witral (loom).

Mapuche textiles are traditionally woven from the wool of the guanaco (a llama-like animal
indigenous to Chile), though sheep's wool was used extensively after the animal's introduction by
the Spanish in the 17th century.

In the Mapuche culture, weaving is done predominantly by women. Weaves usually consist of
geometric shapes adjoined in a range of complexity, and many are brightly colored using
vegetable dyes. Traditional dress for women is a square cloth tied at the waist known as a chamal
or kepal, while men wear loose pants known as chiripa as well as maku, the Mapuche's poncho.
Textiles in mythology and modern society

As well as its functionality, the practice of weaving is bonded to the Mapuche's complex belief
system. In Mapuche mythology, it was Chooiwe Kuze, the god of fire and one of the most
important gods to the Mapuche, who sent a large spider, Lalen Kuze, to a Mapuche girl to teach
her the art of weaving.

Weaving in the Mapuche culture almost died out in the 20th century, but has experienced a recent
resurgence, according to Guillermo Bert, a Chilean artist who has worked closely with Mapuche
weavers in the town of Nueva Imperial in Chile's southern region of Araucana.

"Mapuche textiles played an important role in their society. The designs were predominantly
geometrical or tesselated, though some designs bore symbols representing fertility or
cosmological tokens," Bert told Chile.Travel. "Most importantly, a wearer's textiles would
represent their social or spiritual stature. Weaving as a part of Mapuche culture was almost lost,
but a new Mapuche generation has taken a keen interest in weaving, and I hope my work will
continue this."

Inspired by the similarity between designs of Mapuche textiles and the latest form of barcode
used on smartphones, QR codes, Bert has worked with weavers and poets in encoding Mapuche
oral history into large textiles that can be analyzed and read by smartphones.

"There has been a lot of interest in the project, and the young people in the community seem
really receptive to this overlap between their ancient culture and modern technology," Bert said.
"This project is at least a gesture of some kind in keeping the Mapuche's traditions alive."
TEXTILES.

Chile's textile and garment industry faces strong international competition from Asian
manufactures such as China, India, and Indonesia. In order to remain competitive, Chile has
broadened its export market and sought new trading partners. In 1998 the top exports were denim
cloth, polyester viscose, and combed wool. The leading purchasers of these exports were
Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. Despite international competition, this sector of the Chilean
economy has been able to remain efficient and has even expanded production and sales. Between
the years 1993 to 1997, garment exports rose from US$148.2 million to US$208.6 million.
The textile sector has been growing due to Chile's new international trade agreements.
MERCOSUR (a free trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile)
has been the greatest benefit to this industry, accounting for 37 percent of all foreign sales in
1998. The leading buyers of Chilean-made garments in 1998 were Argentina (purchasing
US$33.1 million worth of men's and women's suits, ensembles, and hosiery), followed by
Bolivia (US$27.8 million), and Mexico (US$21.9 million).
Chile has approximately 2,000 textile and garment companies, with around 30 of them having
foreign sales of greater than US$1 million. Some of the top exporters of 1998 include Machasa
Chile's largest producer of denim fabricswith US$23.1 million in sales, wool fabric
manufacturers Bellavista Oveja Tome with US$16.3 million, and Textiles Pollak Hermanos with
US$12.3 million.
As of 2000, the textile sector of Chile was the most labor-intensive of industries, with around
160,000 workers. The Textile Institute of Chile, a trade organization, estimated that 9 to 10 new
jobs are created with every US$10,000 invested in this industry.

Chilean clothing & design

Welcome to Unawi, a small Chilean clothing company, created by two friends sharing a common
passion: designing / creating 100% hand made clothing and accessories

Unawi Custom
We are proud to offer full apparel customization to our customers.
You tell us your size, colours and type of apparel, and we make it up for you.
Why customization in our Chilean clothes & accessories?
Our hand made process allows us to control every step of the textile creation:
We pick up the fabric from our local providers in Chile.
We design it, cut it, sew it and then screen print in our labs.
We do it like in the good old days; your clothing is made with full quality commitment & love.
Nowadays, unfortunately, clothing industry is dominated by impersonal mass production. At
Unawi in Chile, every item is unique.

Unawi Ethnic

We love to design ethnic clothing in the memory of the Chilean & pre Colombian native ethnies
and cultures. We use typical ethnic designs / logos and print in casual clothes to offer a really
nice blending between ancient spirit and modern clothing. We deal with several native cultures
like the diaguitas, rapa nui, mapuche, quechua, onaand still explore all the great cultural
heritage from South America.
Why ethnic clothing?
We are proud and deeply attached to our roots, and dedicated to save whats left from these great
cultures, in the way we love: designing clothes

Unawi Eco

We are really keen on limiting our impact on the environment in our activities We shop local and
we make local, all in our small lab in the VIth region of Chile.
Besides, we try to use more and more ecological products for fabric and screen printing inks
(organic cotton, organic ink, eco friendly emulsion)
Why ecological clothing?

Unawi logo is a tree, as a symbol of the great nature of Chile. We are really conscious about our
environement and are trying hard to educate people. In the way we do clothes & accessories, we
aim to be as green as possible!

Unawi Fashion

Although our style is casual, as textile designers we love fashion, and are always fond of creating
original fashion clothes.

Why fashion clothing?

We would love to push up fashion clothing in Chile, as there are heaps of good textile designers
out that truly lack of exposure. Somehow, Chile has to struggle to be considered as a real
designer country and not only as a craft wear one.