From Himalayan mountain tops to Milan catwalks

08/12/2025

On a cliffside, about 2 000 metres high in the Himalayan mountains of Bhutan, a woman weaves on a backstrap loom while chanting into the wind – a centuries-old spiritual craft of storytelling. In the village of Goenpa Kabab thrives a Buddhist, matriarchal community where women take immense pride in weaving intricate silk Kishuthara dresses. Some have even historically served as royal weavers for Bhutan’s queens and princesses.

In these mountain communities, weaving is a tradition passed on from mothers to daughters. As the main earners for their families, women spend the day at their looms, turning their artistry into income while keeping their heritage alive.

Sherab Tshomo is a 41-year-old weaver who has been mastering the art of Kishuthara since she was eight. The craft of the dress is more than weaving itself; it is the careful process of dyeing raw silk with local plants like indigo, then cleaning, boiling, sun-drying and spinning it into yarn, which is finally handwoven on a traditional backstrap loom using a technique called trima to create raised patterns and intricate motifs.

These woven pieces are highly valued both within the country and abroad; yet many women artisans continue to face challenges in accessing broader international markets, including the global fashion industry.

“We have to rely on people who travel from our village to deliver the woven fabric to urban areas. We also don’t have much knowledge of entrepreneurship, bookkeeping or marketing. With new technologies coming in, we do have access to smartphones but still face challenges in making good use of them,” Sherab says.

Connecting mountain communities with the world

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Royal Government of Bhutan, are connecting the country’s weavers with the wider world. Through the Mountain Partnership Secretariat’s  Fashion for Fragile Ecosystems project – funded by the Italian Development Cooperation – FAO and Bhutan’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment facilitated collaborations between an international fashion brand and artisans from remote mountain communities, helping to launch traditional textiles onto the international stage.

Under this initiative, Mountain Partnership Goodwill Ambassador and fashion designer Stella Jean visited Bhutan, where she worked closely with local designers and women artisans from Goenpa Kabab village to co-create a capsule collection featuring Kishuthara. Together, they blended traditional weaving, appliqué and embroidery to develop a vibrant, contemporary collection which was showcased at Milan Fashion Week.

“Before this training, I had never considered the potential of international markets for contemporary designs. I had only thought about weaving in the traditional way, making simple bags and tablecloths for tourists visiting Bhutan. Now, I understand international market opportunities and how to collaborate with others in the textile industry,” Sherab shares. 

The collaboration also drew on the expertise of two Bhutanese designers whose contributions were instrumental to the collection: Chandrika Tamang and Tashi Zangmo. Chandrika Tamang blends zero-waste design with recycled materials to create meaningful clothing and textiles while empowering women, especially single mothers.

Tashi Zangmo, known to many as Wangpe Couture, is an entrepreneur from Thimphu, Bhutan. She began her fashion journey in 2015, blending her business background with her lifelong connection to Bhutanese textiles. Raised in a family of skilled weavers and inspired by her mother, she developed a deep appreciation for traditional craftsmanship that continues to shape her design identity. Through this project, she sees a new generation of weavers exploring innovative techniques.

“Traditional weaving is an art of patience—one piece can take months, sometimes even more than a year to complete. Yet, I see these challenges as the very essence of our craft. Unlike machine-made fabrics, every piece we produce carries the hands, the patience and the soul of its maker. That is what makes it irreplaceable,” Tashi notes.

The craftsmanship of Sherab, Chandrika, Tashi and the other Bhutanese artisans has now hit the fashion runway, introducing the world to ethical mountain fashion traditions while promoting female entrepreneurship and improving the livelihoods of mountain people.

For the co-created collection presented in Milan by Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean, the Bhutanese designers and artisans retain the intellectual property rights, enabling them to continue producing and selling the garments through their own channels to global customers.

The MPS also trained 18 women artisans on product branding, sustainable value chains and certification processes as part of the Mountain Partnership Products (MPP) initiative. As a result, Kishuthara and Yathra textiles now carry the MPP narrative labels that share the story of their craft and origins with buyers.  

Fashion for Fragile Ecosystems begins by connecting artists and artisans from the remotest regions of the world with international fashion brands. But its impact transcends ethical fashion: it demonstrates how tangible cultural heritage can evolve, blending generations of knowledge with innovation to build new opportunities for mountain women.