Since 2005 The Inoue Brothers have specialised in the finest knitwear, using Alpaca and Vicuña wool from the Andean Mountains of Peru.
This story is about the dream to participate in The Chaccu, the Incan ceremony of solidarity. It was their way of harvesting the finest material created by Pachamama. The Incas believed the Vicuña animals were reincarnations of young maidens, rewarded with a coat of pure gold in return for giving life to their civilisation. They called it “The Gold Of The Andes”
Through their many journeys to the Andean plateau, searching for the finest fibre in the world, The Inoue Brothers were fortunate enough to encounter a large variety of communities and extraordinary individuals. A pleasant endeavour finally brought them to the Puno region in southern Peru some 5 years after their first visit to South America. It was here where they met local anthropologist Alonso Burgos. He was amongst the pioneers who re-introduced the ancient Chaccu ceremony to the indigenous people as a socially engaging, sustainable model for community building. For in the end it was these groups who had lived alongside the sacred Vicuña creature for more than ten thousand years.
Read more about the expedition in the travel diary written by Kiyoshi Inoue on mb! by Mercedes-Benz.
The film is 7 minutes long and hosted on Vimeo.
A film The Inoue Brothers
Production by Present Plus
Directed by Roby Kikic & Joppe Rog
Music by Sorenious Bonk
In collaboration with mb! by Mercedes-Benz
Focusing on fashion the brand has been developed through uncompromising ideals, yet total openness of perspective, which has enabled the brand to establish strong bonds with various indigenous communities rich in heritage, culture and craft. With every project, the aim is to create awareness of responsible production methods through quality and design. Until today TIB have enjoyed collaborations with names such as Comme des Garçons, Monocle, Dover Street Market, General Research, Sasquatch Fabrix, Gazelle and Nicholas taylor.
The family business is operated by the brothers and Ulla, Satoru’s wife.