Along the narrow, cobbled streets of San Blas, the artisanal quarter of Cusco, Peru, is an atelier called Hilo, home to a slow fashion brand founded by Irishwoman Eibhlin Cassidy in 2003 in the historical centre of this ancient Inca capital high up in the Andes.
Cassidy, who is from Fermanagh, studied ceramics in the National College of Art and Design and, after her BA in fine craft design, lived in Madrid for more than two years before completing a postgrad ceramics degree in Edinburgh College of Art in 2001.
“It was while I was living there that I had a yearning to travel to Mexico and Peru, and within a month of finishing my degree I was on a flight to Mexico and working in the studio of Gustavo Perez (the celebrated Mexican ceramic artist),” she says.
On holiday in Chiapas in the southernmost state of Mexico on Christmas Day 2002, she slipped on stairs in a hostel while carrying a heavy backpack. The accident left her with broken bones in her hand and ultimately ended her ceramics career.
“The local hospital put on a cast, but a month later in Costa Rica, where I went to have the cast removed, the bones hadn’t healed at all and the doctors said I needed to return home for surgery and get pins inserted.”
Defying that advice, she made her way down to Peru by bus and boat, arriving in Cusco in February 2003, and was immediately captivated by the city and its bohemian spirit.
“I was really inspired by the culture, the life that was so vibrant and colourful, the festivals and costumes, and so I started experimenting with second-hand clothes, cutting them up and remaking them in a new way,” she says.
It also marked a turning point in that she didn’t return home for three years, eventually going back only for her sister’s wedding.
Within a few months of arriving in Cusco, she had opened a small store selling one-off pieces of clothing – colourful, playful and original – that became an instant success with both locals and tourists.
Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store
Hilo is now an established business known for what she calls “elevated everyday wear with a twist”. Her collections for both men and women work exclusively with Peruvian-sourced fabrics – vibrant jumpsuits, skirts, trousers, dresses and shirts are patched, overdyed, pleated, embroidered and hand stitched.
In recent years she has been using natural dyes with plants from the Sacred Valley of the Incas in the highlands, in an ongoing project with women from the Pumaqwasin co-operative community in Chinchero.
“I found it easy setting up a business, and what started out as playing with cloth developed quite naturally – my store was the only creative business on the street and it’s now where Cusco and international creatives open up shop. It is full of little cafes and artisan boutiques,” Cassidy says.
Her success also led to her designing costumes for blockbuster films including Transformers and Paddington.
Cusco has a vibrant social life, she says. “It’s easy to meet people from all over the world and make friends. And locals are so open and friendly. Being part of a supportive community has helped me build a local client base, which adds to the many international clients who visit the store.”
She lives around the corner from her shop in a four-bedroom house “filled with wood and glass” that has a small garden.
Rents in the area can range from US$300-1,000 a month, while a two-course meal in a local market costs about €2.50. Eating out in a restaurant ranges from €8-€28, while the local market is full of fresh local produce, and tropical fruit juices can be bought for around €1.20.
“A fun fact is that Peru is the birthplace of the potato, with over 4,000 varieties,” Cassidy says.
The downside to living in Cusco? “Bureaucracy can be tricky and dealing with paperwork and legal stuff can be super frustrating. It can be chaotic, but that’s part of the appeal as well.
“Stomach issues are common, mostly due to local bacteria, so you must be a bit careful.”
She explains that the city relies heavily on tourism, mostly from the US. “We do get some Irish visitors, though not too many – it is still a bit off the beaten track.”
She travels back to Ireland once or twice a year with her 10-year-old son, spending a month in the countryside and with family.
“Arriving back, the altitude (Cusco is at nearly 4000m) hits hard for the first day or two. Climbing the endless steps here can make you breathless, but I love and appreciate my life here.”
