This March 8th, together at GAN, we join the movement on International Women’s Day. This year’s theme “Financing Women’s Rights: Accelerating Equality” resonates with the history of embroidery and its connection to the struggle for women’s rights.
A connection deeply related to GAN and its social project GAN Women’s Unit, which is made up of women in rural communities in India. Active since 2010, this unit allows them to gain personal autonomy and economic independence through handcrafted work and by creating unique and innovative products, such as embroidered rugs for GAN.
Embroidery has played a significant role in the history of the feminist struggle, as it has been a form of expression and resistance for women over centuries.
Embroidery, although traditionally seen as a domestic art, has been a crucial means of economic empowerment for women, providing a way to generate income in an environment that often excluded them from other economic opportunities.
Furthermore, embroidery has served as a powerful vehicle for expression and visibility, conveying stories of resistance and solidarity, and building and sustaining women’s communities. At GAN, we are committed to keeping the act of embroidery alive as a form of art and activism.
“When we began collaborating with GAN, they informed us about a group of women in India who specialize in embroidery and expressed their interest in incorporating embroidered elements into design. This initiative enables them to secure employment opportunities for these women, which we found to be a very meaningful contribution. We are pleased to consider the positive impact that our work can have on these women, providing them with a consistent source of employment and livelihood.”
Shay Alkalay, Raw Edges
Through the BACKSTITCH collection, GAN gives voice to the fundamental role of embroidery as a form of expression and female activism.
“The inspiration for this collection came from backstage, as its name suggests. We were looking at embroidery backstitch, flipping it over to the other side backstage, and then analyzing all the little details. We then built a collection out of it. We experimented with varying compositions and thicknesses in order to create a visually dynamic effect, where certain details appear elevated when viewed from a distance on the floor, yet reveal intricate spacing upon closer inspection.”
Yael Mer, Raw Edges
The BACKSTITCH collection, created by the GAN Women’s Unit and designed by Raw Edges, not only pays tribute to embroidery by revealing its hidden beauty, but also to the craftswomen who keep it alive, passing down its legacy through generations and paving a path towards equality and freedom.
BACKSTITCH focuses on the universe of stitches that are more ambiguous and irregular, without which the other, meant to be seen, could not exist. What appears chaotic has its own language and adds new value, a new intention, to traditional craftsmanship. By flipping the conventional idea that the back of the embroidery should remain hidden, this creation emphasizes its beauty as a contemporary manifestation of this historical legacy.
The series consists of three durries made of pure virgin wool, soft and warm, produced on manual looms and delicately hand-embroidered by the artisans of the GAN Women’s Unit.
BACKSTITCH consists of three consecutive designs, where the first gives rise to the second, and from the second to the third, in a perfectly orchestrated conceptual progression. The “Calm” pattern initiates the series: almost smooth, punctuated, with a colorful and dynamic area at one end introducing the theme of the collection. “Busy” intensifies the pattern: multiple stitches are added, enriching the composition, and nuances are captured when observing the rug from various perspectives. Finally, “Composition” brings about an explosion that reveals the intention, the complete work. Each of the models is presented in two tones: Green and Brick.
In this context, the BACKSTITCH rugs take on an even deeper significance. Each stitch in these pieces represents a story, a voice that has been heard through the art of embroidery. Therefore, the work of the GAN Women’s Unit preserves an ancestral technique and, at the same time, strengthens the community and promotes gender equality.
