In the bag
Bilums catching on as a world-wide fashion accessory
Every
bag tells a different story. From carry all to marriage symbol to fashion item, bilum bags are hot right now.
The Papua New Guinean woven bags have been discovered by socially conscious fashionistas around the world who want something unique.
Australian textile designer Caroline Sherman fell in love with
bilum bags during a visit to a Pacific Island trade fair in Sydney in 2014. A month later she travelled to PNG, where she realised the women’s conditions were basic and they needed a way to earn money.
Sherman founded Among Equals, a social enterprise, in 2015 to market the bags online, and 100 per cent of the profit goes back to the community.
Each bag is different, handwoven using natural fibre, coloured wool or acrylic fibre. Back in Sydney, Sherman adds pom poms, tassels or amulets as a contemporary twist.
“The bags are beautiful and, once you hear the story, each one is like an art work; the more you know the more enriching it is,” says Sherman.
She originally asked the women to follow her designs but it didn’t work. "I realised these were women telling their stories and it wasn’t about me or my idea of what a story should be,” she says. Sherman works with 100 women in four areas: Goroka, Mount Hagen, Madang and Sepik. She hopes in five years she will be working with 500 women. The money raised by Among Equals has helped to build a safe house for the women. The Blue Haus has electricity, running water, a concrete floor and walls and the women can go there to cook, sleep, weave or take shelter. A recent exhibition of the bags at Koskela Gallery in Sydney was a sell-out. The bags were originally only available online but Sherman is now liaising with stores in Los Angeles, New York and London to stock Among Equals bilum bags.
The PNG woven bags have been discovered by socially conscious fashionistas around the world who want something unique.