Orady and her husband, the lord Outhong Souvannavong, 1960

A Heritage
Soie de Lune, or moon silk, is a collaboration between Anoupahethong Thammavong, a French designer born in Laos, and Daniel Marcus, a British businessman. The story started many years ago in the 1950s when Anou’s grandmother, Orady, a noblewoman of the royal Lao court, decided to set up a weaving workshop that would cater to the ladies of the capital, Vientiane, who were becoming more fashion-conscious in the post-colonial world. She modernized classic Lao silks by simplifying the complex patterns and myriad colors, while ensuring that the result would hew to a traditional, as well as modern, context.
Orady invented new patterns based on her favorite flora, such as the ginger flower, and built a small business from scratch. However, with the change of government in 1975, her family left the country. They were split between France and Australia, where she now lives, and the business was forgotten for many years.

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