Daisy Wende | |
|---|---|
 Wende in 1963 | |
| Born | Daisy Urquiola Sarmiento (1929-08-03)3 August 1929 Quime, Bolivia |
| Died | 10 June 2025(2025-06-10) (aged 95) La Paz, Bolivia |
| Alma mater | Western Michigan University |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Spouse | Ernesto Wende (d. 2013) |
| Honours | Order of the Condor of the Andes (2005) |
Daisy Urquiola Wende (née Sarmiento, 3 August 1929 – 10 June 2025) was a Bolivian fashion designer. She was one of the first national designers to see the potential of Alpaca wool for high fashion and export. She created the women's triangular poncho in the 1960s, a time when the poncho was related to masculinity.
Early life and education
Wende was born on 3 August 1929 in Quime, Bolivia.[1] She studied at the American Institute in La Paz, graduating in 1947.[2] She made her graduation dress herself.[1] Wende then studied Business Administration at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, graduating in 1950.[3]
Career
Wende was one of the pioneers of cultural fashion in Bolivia as one of the first national designers to see the potential of Alpaca wool for high fashion and to incorporate traditional arts into her designs.[1][5][6] She was inspired by the clothing of milk sellers, morenada, diablada, tinku and waca waca dancers and Bolivian folklore.[2]
In 1962, Wende founded her brand Artesanías Titicaca, which promoted the export of traditional Bolivian fabrics and alpaca, llama and vicuña wools.[7][8][9] She said that: "our objective is to raise the Bolivian standard of living by making as many families as possible self-sufficient. Some 3,500 families produce goods for us in their homes that we export to the United States."[10] By the mid-1960s, Wende was President of the Bolivian Chamber of Trade.[9]
In the 1963, Wende created the hand-woven women's triangular poncho at a time when the poncho was related to masculinity.[11][12][13]
When Lidia Gueiler took office as the first President of Bolivia in 1979, she wore one of Wende's creations, a hand-embroidered dress inspired by the stepped design of the Tihuanaco archaeological site.[2] Wende was a member of the Federation of Business and Professional Women, and attended a conference in Washington D. C., United States, in 1983, where she gave a garment from her brand to the American First Lady Nancy Reagan.[2]
In 2005, Wende was appointed to the Order of the Condor of the Andes (OCA), the highest state decoration of Bolivia.[7] The same year she named one of her collections "Cholita Nueva" (New Cholita) in honour of the Bolivian cholas, whose garments and hats she reinterpreted. The collection used traditional Andean aguayo cloth and lace.[14][15]
A book of Wende's design work, El universo de Daisy Wende (2017) was published by the Bolivian Catholic University San Pablo.[16]
In 2024, Wende showed designs at the Laboratorio Boliviano de Diseño de Autor y Moda Diseñarte Bolivia.[17]
Personal life
Wende was married to Ernesto Wende, who died in 2013.[18] She died on 10 June 2025 in La Paz, Bolivia, aged 95.[1][19]
References
- ^ a b c d Ruiz, Jorge Manuel Soruco (23 June 2025). "Adiós a Daisy Wende, pionera de la moda nacional". Visión 360 (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d Pozo, Jerusa (23 September 2019). "Daisy Wende cumple 90 años: "He sido una influencer y una pionera"". Brújula Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Daisy Urquiola de Wende, '50". Western Michigan University (WMU) Alumni. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Daisy Wende Archive: A window into Bolivian history, now on Wikimedia Commons". Diff. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ Getty, Nilda C. Fernández; Forsyth, Robert J. (1975). Contemporary Crafts of the Americas. H. Regnery Company. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-8092-8254-8.
- ^ Aliaga Colque, Ximena; Mariaca Cardozo, Cecilia (1 October 2022). "Daisy Wende y el rescate cultural a través del diseño". Actas de Diseño (in Spanish) (41): 327. ISSN 1850-2032.
- ^ a b "Daisy Wende: un legado de moda boliviana preservado en Wikimedia Commons". Ruta1825 (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ Guide to La Paz : Who, What, Where, Why?. American Women's Club. 1977. p. 19.
- ^ a b Lewenhak, Sheila (1992). The Revaluation of Women's Work. Earthscan Publications. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-85383-115-7.
- ^ Greenberg, Arnold; Greenberg, Harriet (1975). South America on $10 a Day. A. Frommer. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-671-22727-2.
- ^ Chamorro, Cristina (7 October 2019). "Daisy Wende: la diseñadora boliviana que creó el poncho femenino en los años 60". Vogue México y Latinoamérica (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Noticias de Bolivia y el mundo". El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ Lanza, Andrea (28 November 2024). "Reflection of Change". ReVista. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ Loza, Alison (27 August 2020). "DAISY WENDE: EL EMPODERAMIENTO DE LA PRENDA BOLIVIANA". buenasvibrasbolivia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Cholita Nueva. Una hábil propuesta de Daisy Wende". Bolivia.com (in Spanish). 18 July 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Gucci regresa a Florencia". La Razón (in Spanish). 15 June 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ ""Apthapi de moda", la pasarela boliviana donde convergen diversos estilos y diseñadores". Visión 360 (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Ernesto Wende, otro patriota que se fue". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). 20 October 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "FALLECE A LOS 95 AÑOS DAISY WENDE, PIONERA DE LA MODA CON LANA DE ALPACA EN BOLIVIA". Radio Luis de Fuentes-Tarija (in Spanish). 23 April 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
