“I felt it was for this I had come: to wake at dawn on a hillside and look out on a world for which I had no words, to start at the beginning, speechless and without plan, in a place that still had no memories for me.”
In words far greater than those that could be conceived by my wonderfully small brain, here the great Laurie Lee captures the tingling wonder that comes with travelling to untrodden lands. There is nothing quite like arriving somewhere new, away from the comforts of home with no idea what's going on, who you're going to meet and how the experience will change you. My brother and I have been on the hillside at dawn a few times across our lives and every single time it feels uniquely special. This feeling of endless possibility and abject freedom is what we want to bottle up and serve as iquique.
With our grandfather being in the merchant navy, traversing the globe, we have been exposed to travel and all its delights from an early age. Tom set off to Asia at age 19, as did I a few years later. Trips continued for both of us in the following years, from the Philippines to the Andes we spent any money we could save on these experiences. From working at Asda, Sainsbury’s and as takeaway delivery drivers to being able to set something up ourselves is a dream. Iquique is more than just a passion project, however. It embodies a change in our approach to fast fashion by offering a slow fashion alternative for travellers.
Beyond being a brand for backpackers, we are a brand for conscious consumers. That’s why rooted in our expressive love for travel is also a love for our planet. No travel on a broken planet hey. To experience these golden hour vistas, beach beers and post-hike hammock coffees we have come to adore we need to protect the planet we love to explore. That’s where a huge part of the iquique ideation stemmed from, to make a slow fashion, forward-thinking, brand for those that wish to travel more consciously.