From Haute Couture to Hand Embroidery: Gimena Romero on Preserving Mexico’s Textile Heritage

In this episode, Beth Ellicott and Gary Parr sit down with embroidery artist and researcher Gimena Romero to explore her journey from university studies and a career in haute couture to becoming a devoted preservationist of traditional Mexican needlework. Gimena shares the story behind her book, The Embroidery of Mexico: A Vibrant Celebration of Traditional and Modern Designs, and the years she spent traveling across Mexico connecting with different communities to learn their embroidery techniques firsthand — work documented in striking photography by Pedro Aragón. The conversation covers everything from a spontaneous street embroidery workshop she led in Mexico City to Lavín embroidery, a rare and experimental technique that incorporates human hair as thread. It’s a rich look at how one stitch can carry the weight of culture, memory, and identity. Listen to the podcast: This show is also available on FlossTube. Watch the video You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Podbay, Podbean, and many other podcast sources. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses. Here are some links: Gimena Romero’s website Gimena Romero on Instagram Gimena Romero on Facebook Gimena Romero on TikTok We hope you enjoy this conversation with Gimena Romero. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show. To add yourself to our mailing list and be notified whenever we post a new podcast, provide your name and email address below. You won’t get spam and we won’t share your address.