Well Wandered
Travel Tips & Wanderlust with Jeanne de Kroon of Zazi Vintage
A few years back Luke gifted me a copy of Majestic Disorder for my birthday. Lying on the beach, soaking up the sun as well as the plethora of insight and inspiration within the pages of this magazine, there was one particular article that I kept returning to; an interview with the founder of Zazi Vintage, a company that sold Hendrix-esque coats handcrafted from repurposed Suzani textiles; meet Jeanne Zizi Margot de Kroon.
Jeanne and I had a lot in common; we had a transformative experience in San Marcos Guatemala, we both practised yoga and we were both utterly fascinated by global artisan textiles. On a deeper level, I connected with Jeanne’s honesty and her values – she spoke so passionately about the failures of the fashion system.
Since then Jeanne has taken on the fashion world, working directly with the United Nations Ethical Fashion Initiative and aligning herself with multiple NGO’s whilst continuing to produce some of the most covetable dresses and coats, all crafted from repurposed textiles.
As you can imagine Jeanne is often travelling, so we chat to her here about the value of travel and how to take care of yourself on the road.
As you work with pre-loved textiles, you spend a lot of time scouring vintage markets across the globe; no doubt there are many, but what is your most treasured overseas purchase?
The pieces of fabric we cherish the most are always interwoven into our own lives in a very special way. Collecting stories of connection is what truly drives me to travel and they happen 80% through cloth. The way women have translated the divine and their world all around the globe with needle and thread is what makes me most excited. I guess a recent story that really taught me a lot is my encounter with the Huni Kuin women in the deep Amazon earlier this year. The Huni Kuin tribe (roughly translated as the ‘True People’) have a long legacy of working with the forest spirits and weave their tales into cloth. When I arrived in Boa Vista, the village of Txana Ikakuru, I noticed that I kept on having appearing dreams of spiders. I have to say that I have never been really into spiders and was wondering why this little creature kept appearing into my dreams. The following morning I went to Bunke who led the women's artisanal work in the village and asked her different things about the way they weave the jungle cotton on this small backstrap loom. Diana Yaka who organised the trip into the forest explained to me that they learned how to weave because the ancient spider goddess Basnun Puru appeared in their visions. The little spider that lives inside of the cotton plant took pity on the unprotected humans in the forest and taught them to weave. Until this day now, they honour the spider goddess when they weave. Of course, I bought one of their scarves and when I returned to Berlin, my father called me and told me that my last name ‘De Kroon’ came from a 17th-century Dutch weaving machine.
My early inspiration for travel was a) to impress Luke who I had a big crush on and b) because I was fascinated by global fashion. What inspired your love of travel?
The first big travel I did was to Nepal when I was 20. I think for me it really originated from a deep feeling of knowing that there was a place for me to bloom but so obviously seeing that the framework that I was in, was not seeing me as me. At that point, I was a university drop out because I didn’t see myself in a 9-5 at some law firm. I was the most unsuccessful model in the world after leaving the New York fashion world because polyester and make-up was not my thing and I’m not the best street musician. I was really searching for my authentic being and felt pulled to move further than the worlds that were in front of me. It was really in the smallest back alley in Kathmandu that I found what got me most excited. A connection with a stranger over cloth. Sparkly eyes about glitter tops.
Looking back, what do you wish you had known before setting out on your first overseas adventure?
Not to listen to the voices of fear around you (or within you). I remember that people around me kept telling me scary stories about solo female travellers. The truth is, is that the moment you let go and trust the natural flow of life, you will be provided for.
How do you look after your health, physically and mentally while on the road?
This is a hard one, to be honest, and really took me some time to master. I think I have discovered my rituals now and it is within these personal rituals that you can really find peace while travelling. I always have my first coffee and won’t open my phone before I finish my yoga practice. I travel with a yoga mat, a little mental magic bag full of tarot cards, natural incense, copal and a travel journal. I travel with a bag full of natural teas, adaptogen mushroom mixes, a little coffee maker and all the things that give me my little rituals.
People often say that travel can be quite transformative. After living in San Marcos la Laguna, Guatemala, where I know you’ve spent some time also, I felt my perspective on life shift and my values come into focus. Is there a certain place in particular that has had a lasting impact on you?
Love San Marcos! Such a special place. Personally, I think it is so important to travel to become aware of your social conditioning and to really open up a space for the true ‘you’ to come out. Mostly it has nothing to do with travelling to a far place but having a space where you can rewrite your own narrative and let the natural flow arise. For me, this place will always be Varanasi as it was the first place I discovered that I could rewrite my own narrative.
It was in between the babas along the river, the 45 celsius days in second-hand silk sari’s and the conversations about death, I realised that I was missing out on so many magical layers that life had to offer. Varanasi is still in me and almost like a spirit, I feel like I can call her in when I need her.
Does your beauty routine change while travelling?
Not at all but I definitely need to remind myself more of what foods I nurture myself with and the space I give myself to just be. I do love exploring local beauty routines and my favourite thing in the world is massages and natural healing methods. From the healing plants in the amazon and the ayurvedic herbs in India, I always try to learn a bit more about my body and mind through the ancient practices of the world.
You often adventure to quite remote places – like your recent trip to the Amazon for example. Do you have any tips for travelling safely?
Stay with the locals and learn how they move in their country. Learn about the remedies they use for the local sicknesses and be open-minded. The more you fear, the more fear becomes a part of your experience.
As a nomad it can be hard to feel at home, I love travelling with incense and Luke used to travel with yellow cellophane so he could have warm soft lighting wherever he was. Do you have any tips/habits for making a temporary space feel like home?
Yes, I now really travel with a whole package of special things. I love creating a little altar from local finds. Whenever I have time, I try to do a little ritual to introduce me to the space I am in to clear it. I really love the idea of the yellow cellophane though! I guess I always travel with candles but the yellow cellophane could be more handy!
I absolutely love your style, I especially appreciate that when you travel, your style doesn’t change, you continue to wear clothing that expresses who you are, rather than opting for standard “practical” travel apparel. What are your tips for maintaining your sense of style while on the road?
For me, dressing is really like carrying the voices and stories of other women on me. I feel their spirits through my clothing and I always carry the ladies with me that I think would make sense there and try to get to know new ladies by figuring out what the local way of dressing is. When you travel to a country that you don’t speak the language of, it is the most magical thing to connect to other women through cloth. When I am walking around in India in a 90-year-old Transylvanian dress with Maasai beading work, I notice that the Gujarati women communities come to me directly and start exploring all the work that I carry. Creativity is an international language and clothing for me is such a way to connect. Humans have a million different ways of translating their world and it is in this celebration of being, we can find our authentic connections and ways of togetherness. Beading work is as international as English and ikat weaving can be found in Guatemala to south Indonesia. If we listen to the stories of cloth, we can truly start weaving our existence together.
Like us, you’re very passionate about sustainable fashion and business practices – what about sustainable travel? This is something I am striving to improve because I do find it difficult when you’re travelling. What does sustainable travel mean to you and how do you practice it?
Sustainable travel for me has absolutely nothing to do with visiting eco yoga resorts but really has to do with a mindset of truly wanting to connect to culture, humans and land. I believe that we are living in an unsustainable system by definition and the current green luxury is 99% our failed attempt of trying to form a new capitalistic narrative. Don’t get me wrong as I am so much a part of this but the more I travel and learn about different cultures, the more I understand that the truest form of travel comes from a space of co-creation and absolute respect. Honouring the nature you are visiting, the protectors of the local land, learning about their way of being and celebrating existence, will enrich you.
What are your top 3-5 travel tips?
Set a clear intention of why you feel called to certain land and make it sacred
Package your own travel meals and don’t forget to buy a water filter
Dress local
Stay curious
Take a moment when you arrive to connect to the land by walking barefoot and introduce yourself