Ecuadorian designers reinvent indigenous style for the modern age

Riobamba, Ecuador

AFTER years of taking a backseat to Western style, indigenous fashion is re-emerging in Ecuador, thanks to a new generation of designers who are reimagining traditional clothes.

"Make the turn snappy!" says Juana Chicaiza, who founded the modelling agency Awkis y Nustas - Princes and Queens in the Quechua language. She is teaching her young charges how to best show off the anaco, a traditional Andean skirt, on the catwalks.