Estelle Hanania Captures Danielle Jacqui's 'Craft Work' Universe for More or Less Magazine

Model Ashley Radjarame is styled by Camille Bidault Waddington in ‘Craft Work’, lensed by Estelle Hanania (IG) for More Or Less Magazine. / Makeup by Anthony Preel

As a photographer Estelle Hanania has a long-standing interest in craft work and artisan creativity. She is particularly drawn to self-taught artists operating in the world of fashion imagination.

For the sustainability-conscious magazine More or Less, Hanania’s team visits artist Danielle Jacqui’s “painstakingly constructed garments are a vivid patchwork of colour, like oils mingling on a palette. Rejoicing in their imperfections, these meticulous embroideries put fast fashion in its place.” Text by Alla Chernetska.

The importance of craft work, cultivating and supporting indigenous artisans worldwide, and buying unique, handmade items vs fast fashion is a key topic in the global sustainability movement. The trend of supporting artisans also fosters diversity and inclusivity, writes WWD in Craft May Be Fashion’s Answer to Greater Cultural Collaboration.

“The fashion industry is one of the most important drivers for social communication and cultural preservation. We must use our voices to create positive impact,” Adriana Cachay, a Peruvian-born designer who in 2009 cofounded women’s fashion label Ayni with her Danish business partner Laerke Skyum, told WWD.

Hélène Lucas, a cofounder of French-based Made in Africa footwear label Panafrica, is also interviewed.

“While we really wanted to create a bold and comfortable style, we wanted it to also have a positive impact on people and the planet. That’s why we decided to create a whole ecosystem around us in Africa,” she said. The company produces sneakers with bold patterns crafted from wax print fabrics sourced from Ivory Coast’s Uniwax; woven canvas from Burkina Faso’s Centre of Textile Excellence Afrika Tiss; batik from Ghana, and raffia handwoven by a family workshop in Morocco.

It’s a good day when AOC knows that Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuria’s Cruise 2020 toile du jouy fabrics were produced as wax prints by studio Uniwax, located in the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan.

The Robb Report focused on the extinction of craftsmanship in March, 2020 writing From a Sea Silk Seamstress to a Goldbeater: Meet the Master Artisans Keeping Endangered Crafts Alive. The article was targeted to COVID-delayed London Craft Week, which returned from September – 10 October 2020.

“There’s a strong ecosystem for fine art and a gallery sector supporting it, but there’s not really the same network for craft,” says Jonathan Burton, Craft Week’s managing director. “Many who produce extraordinary work struggle to find a market for it.” That grind has spurred the creation of many organizations dedicated to preserving heritage crafts, such as Nordic Safeguarding Practices in Scandinavia, the American Craft Council in the US and the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) in the UK. Some have even issued “Red Lists,” endangered-species-style lineups denoting crafts in danger of dying out in their respective regions. “It allows us to shed light on the stories behind each craft—the people, their skills, their livelihoods,” says Daniel Carpenter, a research manager at the HCA who oversaw the 2019 edition of its Red List.

Robb Report then focused on some of the most endangered artisans. Read On at Robb Report.

French art critic Alla Chernetska did a deep dive into the dream world of Danielle Jacqui — whose work is the focus of Estelle Hanania (IG) for More Or Less Magazine (link) — in December 2019. Read The Struggle for a Dream: Danielle Jacqui continues her tireless work, creating her own universe.