The Lotus Flower: A Textile Hidden in the Water

Part of the mission of Loro Piana, the Italian luxury clothing and textile company, is to source its materials in the most sustainable and responsible ways, while still remaining innovative and producing goods of the highest quality. The latest textile treasure discovered by Loro Piana grows in the waters of Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar: the fibre of the lotus flower. This extraordinary raw material of vegetable origin is obtained from the aquatic plant that was sacred to the Buddha. The Intha people, -children of the lake-, use ancient techniques passed down across generations to transform the fibers into a very fine thread - working exclusively by hand.
In six chapters of photographs, the volume leads the reader through the magic hills of the Shan plateau and among lake pile-dwellings, where the slow rhythm of a timeless existence in total harmony with nature is measured out in the harvesting of the lotus, the catching of fish and the cultivation of fruits and vegetables in floating gardens.
Every year during the rainy season, the Intha harvest the stems of the lotus flower and extract the fibers that will be spun into thread, just over a hundred grams in a full day's work, performed according to the slow rhythm of tradition. By using this thread in their products. Loro Piana hopes that this tradition will now become a source of livelihood for future populations as well.