Notes on Trama
The Trama design. How it was conceived, the inspiration behind it and its roots.
“Everyone has a different perception of beauty”, says Alexander, alongside Cecilia in the study and development of the bags. And rightly so: behind every object there is a story, a plot. And it is no coincidence that this is the name chosen for one of the styles for the Summer collection. “Trama” means story line and like all beginnings to a story, it had to find a way to come to life, to become, as it were, narrative.
Trama in Tobacco and White
Striped jacquard fabric
The weaving: form and perception.
“The biggest challenge is the selection of materials: to take something inert and make it come to life, to make it dance through the weavings executed by the skilled hands of the artisans. That’s how it comes to life. Trama is stimulated not only by the sense of sight but also by the sense of touch”. In other words, “the visual consistency”, which is something different yet again, “is created by the shape, the color, the model, the pattern. It is tactile sensation, an idea that is visually perceived, without needing to touch the final product».
It is the “visual depth”, another spatial concept that defines a different way of understanding the object. “Each design has its own personality, its own character. It is characterized by different formal and visual aspects, by different proportions and by different functions. Each one has its own psychological characteristics which evoke something unique. Like architecture, even a bag evokes sentiment. First and foremost it should convey a feeling of beauty: it is the narrative of the object, of the weaving, of the Trama»
Handwoven textile on footloom , Guatemala City
Palorosa’s workshop, Guatemala City
Trama on the portable loom, in Black and Cream
Striped samples, San Marcos
Origins and ties with Guatemala
The story behind Trama takes us back to Guatemala, to the traditional baskets that are – above all– the matrix. “The most important part is the experimental groundwork along with the inspiration that goes into creating the prototype. One often has to make numerous prototypes before coming up with the perfect one.” That’s where people come in. “It is essential to be able to work alongside artisans and to give form to ideas through their craftsmanship. Creating a “technical” challenge with them is the key to the artisanal process. The development and design of a product go hand in hand with the artisans’ skills: in this case the artisans engaged are the Maritza and Santiago brothers”.
We have to back to the beginning. To the origin, which is where the essence can be found. For Palorosa, the essence is always color and this time it is woven into a narrative which tells a story. Optical white combined with cream, black with palm green and cream. Colors ranging all the way up to tobacco, another of the territory’s essential symbols, together with the timeless Midnight Blue, which evokes the longing for summer and which is a color – and a feeling – so deep that you can touch it.
(NDR Alexander, architect, is head of development and production of Palorosa.)
Trama in Black and Cream
