Noir Mud Silk is Marcella Echavarria’s tribute to a 2,500-year-old textile tradition shaped by the shifting tones of the Pearl River. Each limited-edition release of Noir appears only when this rare fabric is available, echoing the river’s natural rhythms and hues. Wearing mud silk is the closest you can come to donning a piece of living ceramic—fluid yet enduring, a nod to Marcella’s passion for ceramics. These unisex, one-size garments are intended for layering and built to last, reflecting Marcella’s devotion to quality, ancestral geometry, and the principles of slow fashion.
A lifestyle specialist and entrepreneur for over 25 years, Marcella has been guided by her enduring love of textiles. With Noir, she unites her admiration for mud silk’s storied heritage—rooted in 2,500 years of craftsmanship—with her vision for a sustainable future of fashion, one that honors artisan skill and respects those who make it possible. Beyond Noir, Marcella runs her own branding and creative communications consultancy. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s in Sustainable Development from Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Her editorial career spans editing for Selvedge, Harper’s Bazaar Latin America, and Hand/Eye, alongside contributions to publications such as Vogue, House and Leisure, and Wallpaper—a testament to her steadfast commitment to preserving and celebrating the world’s finest craft traditions.
MUD SILK
Guangdong mud silk is a storied textile whose every thread echoes nearly 2,500 years of craftsmanship. Its signature two-tone surface—black on top, brown beneath—emerges from a painstaking, season-specific process that has remained virtually unchanged since the Ming Dynasty in the fifth century. Artisans in the subtropic river deltas of China’s Guangdong Province rely on a special, iron-rich mud to achieve these profound hues, bonding the silk fibers to the earth itself. The result is a fabric that feels both ancient and alive—naturally antibacterial and antiviral, yet astonishingly modern in its fluid drape.
Entirely organic, this tradition honors the rhythm of nature: each bolt is soaked, dried under the sun, and immersed in mud again until it takes on the deep, lustrous tones for which mud silk is revered. Like donning living ceramic, mud silk envelops the wearer in a rare tactile experience—smooth and cool to the touch, yet infused with the warmth of centuries-old wisdom. In an age often ruled by speed and technology, Guangdong mud silk endures as a testament to the artistry, patience, and reverence that give rise to true heritage.
PRESS
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