where it started
Starting as a dream seedling of creating a brand that celebrates women's collectives, artisanal craft and our connection to the earth and its cycles, Jeanne de Kroon went to India on a mission to seek direction and inspiration for this dream, leading her to Madhu Vaishnav of Saheli Women. Madhu had just formed her women's social enterprise in the small rural village of Bhikamkor where she gathered women from her community together with their sewing machines to encourage community development through creativity and drive to facilitate women's economic and social rural independence.
After listening and learning with Madhu and the rest of the Saheli Women, Jeanne fell in love with their stories of strength and also fell back in love with fashion again. Inspired by her travels to India and a deep found respect for female co-creation and human stories, ZAZI was formed in Jeanne's small student bedroom starting with just 7 ikat dresses.
INTERWOVEN RELATIONSHIPS
The inherent circularity and connectedness to nature, community, and culture that Jeanne discovered in these first collaborations would inspire a growing vision to platform and celebrate artisanal craft, nature, and weaving women's narratives through cloth. Little did we know that our community of storytelling women would keep growing 8 years later.
Each ZAZI piece is a result of intentional collaborations designed with over 1100 artisans from all corners of the world. With our partner families, we weave traditional and ancestral techniques with contemporary ideas to co-create garments imbued with the cultures, places, and stories of which our artisan families wish to tell.
ZAZI is created on the principles of true collaboration and co-creation, allowing space for regrowth and working in harmony with our land, local biodiversity, seasons, and the incredible humans that weave our products into existence.
Our hope at ZAZI is to truly celebrate our artisan partners and their craft.
COLLECTIVE AT THE HEART
For us, it only makes sense that if we choose to weave creations in a different part of the world, we honor this creation as something inherent to their culture. Especially, as the picking and choosing of 'inspirations' leads to the appropriation and erasure of communities’ cultures and history, we stress true collaboration. In doing so, we respectfully celebrate every element of our partner family’s culture: from the people themselves, their stories, and their history of the craft.
When we choose to work with an artisan community, we want to create a family. Together, we come up with a design that meets the desires of our ZAZI customers but also represents every symbol they wish to tell. We foster a continual creative process with our new family members, rather than focus on trends and seasonal drops.
HONORING THE VALUE CHAIN
In addressing resource sustainability, learning of the bio-cultural history of the region, indigenous-led land protection and revitalisation efforts, and cultivating reciprocity with the eco-regional landscapes of our artisan homes is crucial for our choice of sustainable materials. In choosing to work with an artisan community, we also become part of a local economy in which the natural resources we use are local and regenerative to the region.
craft
CO-CREATION
COMMUNITY