Quite a story
While the myth of Eldorado appeared in the Bogota region in 1536, the golden-roofed pagodas of Burma, described by Marco Paolo, are thought to have contributed to the origin of this legend.
A custom of the Chibcha Indians also contributed to the myth of Eldorado: once a year, the lord, covered in gold dust, bathed in the waters of Lake Guatavita while the villagers threw gold and other precious objects into the water.
At that time, the rumor spread like wildfire and immediately sparked the greed of the Spanish conquistadors. The fabulous treasures of the Incas were then plundered, and the Inca Empire, which stretched from present-day southwest Colombia to central Chile, including almost all of Peru, Ecuador, a significant portion of Bolivia, and a fraction of northwest Argentina, collapsed.
Frank Sorbier
Yet, Eldorado has never ceased to inspire and endure.
Some myths die hard!
Voltaire used this magnificent land in his philosophical tale, Candide,
or Optimism, during the heyday of the Enlightenment, two centuries later.
Since then, new «Eldorados» have emerged: black gold, the conquest
of the Land of the Rising Sun, the gold rush, Silicon Valley, cryptocurrency,
the Middle Kingdom’s luxury market… Today, artificial intelligence… Soon,
space tourism…
Eldorado is always at the heart of current events. The word adapts and changes its face with the times: it most often remains synonymous with treasure hunting.
This miraculous word, used in all its forms, has entered the language of «business,» the reality of our insatiable societies.
I wanted to show the gold of the Incas, the armor of the conquistadors, a folk image that could cross continents, a lady from Lima immortalized by Irving Penn in 1947, an angel from Cuzco, a baroque ecclesiastical outfit, a bride with a pure soul.
Golds, terracotta hues, black, and touches of wine lees, cauldron, sienna, and immaculate white.
Tumultuous compressions of gold…
Velvets, wrinkled, draped…
Metallic organzas, draped, hand-ribbed…
Ancestral guipure lace and lace cut and scalloped by hand…
Colorful and tangy pastel embroideries…
Woven, intertwined, wavy silk satin ribbon…
This collection is a tribute to Andean culture, which has never
departed from its original identity.
For our small company, Eldorado, it would be to work in better conditions, without fear of tomorrow, with a serene soul, in order to best cultivate our garden.
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