
2006
Ana Tafur meets the harsh reality of fast fashion. Unsustainability, pollution, and the grind of life in Shanghai brings Ana to realize that this simply is not the life she intended to live. Upon leaving her position as product line manager of one of China’s largest apparel manufacturers, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads her throughout Latin America where she begins her search for innovative biomaterial alternatives for the fashion industry.
2011
After learning different ancient techniques and reflecting on the environmental awareness of the communities that she visited during her travels, Ana arrives in Peru and founds SAKE. SAKE is the fruition of a dream that began with the search for something more intimate: a fashion brand whose main characteristics are sustainability and respect for nature and human life.
2012
Ana creates a mobile laboratory and travels throughout Peru; she learns from the country’s diverse cultures in search of new and innovative biotextile techniques. She experiments with and creates formulas for a vegetable-based leather tanning process. As with any innovation, the project’s early stages are riddled with iterations of trial and error. Ana’s determination to produce garments free of carcinogenic compounds eventually proves successful.