BY Marcella Echavarria | February 23, 2010

Mochilas from Colombia at Tory Burch and Ralph Lauren

Every South American indigenous community has its own mochila, a carrier of meaning, function, purpose and life.
Very few places in the world can have at the same time an exuberant beach and a snow covered sacred high mountain. This is The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the north of Colombia, a place where many pre-Columbian cultures found inspiration which they “wrote” in threads always in the colors of the mountain that they adore: white, black, gray and brown…using the elements in their pure state…. From feeding the animals that produce the wool to telling stories in geometric designs, in an archaic yet modern expression.
I love mochilas because they are authentic yet modern, sleek yet rustic.
 The Arhuaca mochilas are sold by Tory Burch and Ralph Lauren in New York and made to order at SURevolution's showroom.