At the heart of the process lies self-sustainability, which we understand as the first step towards genuine sustainability. We firmly believe that there can be no sustainability without self-sustainability. This means that, for an artisan and their community to be sustainable, they must meet not only their basic needs but also develop their talents and capabilities.

By understanding and harnessing their skills, these individuals can find ways of living that are not only dignified but also enriching. This not only improves their quality of life but also strengthens their families and communities, creating a multiplying effect in the region.

For over twelve years, MAZ has built something that goes beyond a brand: we are a Colombian, contemporary, and culturally conscious company that has become a reference in ethical sustainability within Latin American fashion. Our purpose is clear: to dignify artisanal knowledge through real collaborative processes, to create design with identity, and to generate social, cultural, and economic value from Colombia to the world.

We are not a foundation. And that matters. We are a structured company that has transformed the way art and fashion are created from the region. We’ve done this through a 360° sustainability model that encompasses co-creation with communities, full traceability, pedagogy, network building, and original textile development. This is not an assistentialist effort. It’s a solid business construction that generates employment, shared knowledge, and a new way of creating luxury with purpose.

We are a creative textile laboratory.

We don’t just design clothes: we develop textile innovation processes using ancestral techniques, applied with respect, intention, and quality. We’ve created products, collections, and original materials alongside over 850 artisans from eight regions of Colombia, with whom we’ve worked consistently for over a decade. Techniques include macramé, manual machine knitting, bead embroidery, horizontal and vertical loom weaving, leatherwork, ceramics, glass, and more.

Our model is built on co-responsibility.

The prices of each collaboration are defined by the master artisans who participate in our textile labs. These leaders in their technique decide the fair value of their work and are the same people who carry out final production. With this value pre-established, they invite other artisans and communities to join each project. This avoids extractive or vertical dynamics. We don’t impose rates. We don’t fragment processes. We accompany with continuity and respect.

We build community, networks, and legacy.

Those who worked with us on our first projects are still part of our network. They are the ones who invite their peers when the projects grow. This mutual trust has strengthened artisanal clusters, made endangered techniques visible, and activated intergenerational transmission of knowledge.

Radical transparency is a principle.

Our processes are fully documented and publicly available. We created the MAZ Artisanal Directory as a living traceability tool that shows the names, regions, techniques, and types of collaboration we’ve developed. Our digital platforms share each step of the process not as marketing, but as a shared and consented visibility exercise.

We educate, share, and strengthen the ecosystem.

We’ve developed over 25 educational programs for communities, designers, and institutions. These address cultural sustainability, creative identity, and self-sustainable models. A highlight was the program with the Government of Cundinamarca, which trained over 150 participants in project structuring and value creation through craft and design.

For us, luxury means time, technique, and living culture.

Our view of luxury is based on the intangible: on what takes time, on what holds history, on what is built with rigor and soul. We champion garments not led by trends, but by deeply human, collaborative processes.

We do not use symbols or imitate cultures. We create from shared present.

At MAZ, we don’t operate through appropriation. We design through dialogue. We apply ancestral techniques in their original and manual form, without distorting their meaning or origin. We don’t use sacred iconography or external cosmogonies. We use living technique—shared, respected, and transmitted by those who sustain it.

Our work has been recognized globally.

We were the first Colombian brand to speak at the United Nations, within the Fashion and Lifestyle Network, on cultural sustainability, regeneration, social impact, and ethical traceability in fashion. We were also finalists at the Latin American Fashion Summit as Impact Project of the Year. Our adidas x MAZ collaboration—more than 600 unique pieces crafted by over 60 families—was the first global artisanal collection in adidas history. All of this is the result of a model built with ethics, vision, and coherence.

This is our manifesto.

We are a design, culture, and sustainability company based in Bogotá. We work through humanity, technique, and radical transparency. And we will continue doing so with deep conviction.

MAZ is not just a brand. It is a living model that proves it is possible to create art and fashion from the roots, with respect, and real impact. We speak to an audience that values cultural identity and process. Our vision is global, sophisticated, and timeless—rooted in local, ethical impact.

Welcome to MAZ.

MAZ | Manuela Álvarez