Description
The Story
Kaiku or lekeitiarra is a traditional coat from the Basque Country. The arrantzaleak (fishermen) used to wear it when fishing in the Bay of Biscay. It was made with a very dense wool fabric, perfect for the heavy northern rain and wind in the sea.
In the ‘20s, a new street version appeared and the amonak (grannys) started to make them for their grandchildren and children. It became the most popular coat in the Basque Country. Nowadays, it is about to disappear.
Fabric & care
- Composition: 50 % linen 50 % cotton
Linen is the oldest vegetable fibre used by the human being to create fabrics and, for centuries, it was one of the foundations of the economy in the Basque Country. Many farms cultivated linen and all the garments and textile elements of the household were made with it.
Linen is one of the most sustainable fabrics, as it needs very little water and space. Its fibres have the virtue of absorbing the heat and the humidity, as well as of evaporating water very fast. That is why this fabric is so fresh.
Care: Steam iron your item of clothing to eliminate the wrinkles caused by use. Avoid excessive washing, unless necessary. Dry-clean your garment at the end of the season and storage it, preferably on a hanger, in a dry and ventilated space, with no direct sunlight, until the next year.
Traceability and Sustainability
This time, we have worked with the 100-year-old Moutet house in the French Basque Country. For 5 generations, they have woven the traditional linen blankets that were used to cover the oxen in the Basque farms. In the course of time, they have also modernized this unique fabric that we are now using in this collection.
This garment has been handcrafted with loads of love by tailors and seamstresses from Gipuzkoa (Basque Country).
We start sewing some of the models after the order has been made, so we prevent overproduction and wasting fabric. This is known as #SlowFashion.