The Fashion Trade

24 x 36″ Watercolor on Claybord

I find it fascinating that much historic trade between cultures was driven by fashion and luxury goods, as it continues to be today.  Consider that as the early trapper/traders came over to the “New World”, beaver skin hats and other goods made from the fur became the height of fashion. Items from Europe such as copper pots, metal knives, and trade beads were highly desirable to the Native Americans, and thus trade was established.  Beads were highly desirable as trade goods because the technology for making them was confined to very few countries and was highly guarded. Thus, this painting prompts thoughts about how human’s desire for fashion and adornment was something that drove early trade practices and contributed to the intersection of cultures. Trade in fashion and resources where items are manufactured continues to shape today’s global trade.