First of all...Proud Mary is going to Mali in December!! I'm beyond excited to travel to this incredibly textile rich West African country. I'll be spending 3 weeks in December working with mud cloth, tie-dye, and leather artisans to create our next collection, Spring/Summer 2012. What a dream come true!!
I've been researching all things Mali this weekend and discovered an incredible Malian photographer, Seydou Keïta. Keïta worked as a portrait photographer in Bamako until retiring in 1977. His slides were discovered in the West in the 1990's and he is regarded as a master of the portrait genre. The images are so regal and the textiles (on the women) to die for!