Volume 1, Issue 2
Volume 1, Issue 2

Photo Credit- Courtesy Voz

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Voices of Change: Voz Fashion
indigenous women design a sustainable future

IMG-AUTHOR-Paul-Miller@2x
BY PAUL D. MILLER AKA DJ SPOOKY
EDITOR-AT-LARGE Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. Miller has collaborated with an array of recording artists, including Metallica, Chuck D, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono. His 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at #3 on Billboard Reggae. His books include the award-winning Rhythm Science, published by MIT Press in 2004; Sound Unbound, an anthology about digital music and media; The Book of Ice, a visual and acoustic portrait of the Antarctic, and; The Imaginary App, on how apps changed the world. His writing has been published by The Village Voice, The Source, and Artforum.
http://www.djspooky.com/books
Tucked away in Soho NY near my studio space in Tribeca, is a cool spot that I check out from time to time. The term “Voz” in Spanish means simply “voice,” and it’s a term that reflects so much of our time could use more of. Founded in 2012 by Jasmine Etoile Aarons as a way to give more of a stakeholder relationship to some of the most talented women in the world—the Mapuche weavers from southern Chile who make incredible geometric patterns in wool gear. Voz works to make collaborations and exchanges between indigenous women from all over the world and is a B Corporation that gives women a full equity stake in the processes that generate a bunch of very cool, new fashion designs and gives them a platform that makes a deep statement about how design can affect social change.
Photo Credit- Courtesy Voz
"If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to support more innovation and designs to solve the myriad problems facing humanity."
Women lead the way! According to Aarons, fashion is always a place of transformation. She puts it like this: Our mission is to celebrate the indigenous values of sacred adornment and ecology through modern, handmade fashion and textile art. The VOZ approach is more than aesthetic and social— it is spiritual. Each piece connects its wearer to the divine feminine—a force that lives within everyone, empowering us to become our best selves.
Photo Credit- Courtesy Voz