Meet Kené Kaya, the Fashion Brand bringing Shipibo-Konibo Artistry to Los Mirlos’ Signature Looks

A rhinestone bustier, a leather newsboy cap, and high-waisted pants with a studded belt might bring to mind the voice behind “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom.” Statement sunglasses, painted nails, and a mix of gender-fluid silhouettes might evoke Bad Bunny.

An artist’s signature style can express their identity and music before they sing a single note.

For Los Mirlos, a Peruvian band from Moyobamba, coordinated green, white, and orange ensembles with Amazonian motifs are as recognizable as their psychedelic cumbia.

Their latest looks feature embroidery and Kené prints by Kené Kaya. The brand’s founder, Peruvian designer Alessandra Durand, collaborates with artist Olinda Silvano and her Shipibo-Konibo community through the Shinan-Imabo Collective.

For their NPR Tiny Desk debut, Los Mirlos paired their ensembles with a vibrant set that brought Amazonian artistry into the intimate performance space. As Jorge Rodríguez Grández of Los Mirlos explains:

“Many people aren’t familiar with the jungle, including some people in Perú, especially if they’ve never had the opportunity to travel there. They may know it from movies, videos, or books, but it’s a completely different experience actually to be in that environment. We try to recreate some of that so that people who’ve never experienced it firsthand can feel the essence of the jungle when they look at us and can imagine where our music comes from.”

Flowers on the microphones represented Moyobamba, the “City of Orchids.” The set also featured Kené-adorned ceramics, sculptures of Amazonian jaguars and monkeys, and a poetry tribute to activists who’ve lost their lives defending Amazonian lands and forests.

Rodríguez elaborates, “Since our songs and instrumentation pay homage to the jungle, we wanted to honor Amazonian Indigenous craftsmanship during our Tiny Desk performance through custom outfits featuring fabrics by Kené Kaya and the Madres Artesanas of the Shinan-Imabo Collective.”

Kené Kaya founder and designer Alessandra Durand has worked with Shipibo-Konibo artists for more than eight years, helping preserve and amplify their cultural heritage through a horizontal, nonhierarchical approach. The brand brings ancestral techniques and hypnotic geometric patterns to contemporary designs, from suits and ties to skirts and dresses.

Its garments have traveled from runways to concert stages and awards shows, earning official recognition from Marca Perú as part of the country’s cultural patrimony. Through the partnership with Los Mirlos, Kené Kaya’s creations have appeared at the band’s historic Coachella performance and at Premio Lo Nuestro, where their embroidered suits and ties earned a spot on the best-dressed list.

Durand describes the creative process: “Our creative process is a dialogue rather than imposing one person’s vision. We aim to preserve the Shinan-Imabo collective’s artistic identity while also maintaining what the music band is known for. Since Los Mirlos emerged in the ’70s, we designed elongated collar tips and incorporated Kené embroidery to stand out in the camera close-ups. Every member wore a representation of the Amazon’s ayahuasca flower on their chest, but no two were exactly alike since the artisans brought their own interpretations to each embroidery.”

The brand’s cooperative structure reflects Durand’s commitment to the Shipibo-Konibo community’s creative autonomy, including its right to control how its intellectual property is used and receive fair compensation.

That commitment matters when designers reproduce Kené prints without informed consent or compensation, and when government officials implicated in violence and displacement also appropriate Indigenous cultural heritage.

Kené Kaya’s work with the Ucayali Shipibo FC girls’ fútbol team extends that commitment to the next generation. During the World Cup, the brand released a jersey collection to increase the team’s visibility, with 20% of proceeds supporting the athletes.

“When younger generations from the community see their culture represented, it creates a sense of pride that helps preserve these art forms. I think seeing Kené in different formats inspires them to find their own creative ways of expressing it, which can also motivate generations of designers and artisans to launch their own brands, which is exciting to see,” Durand enthuses.

Olinda Silvano left her Paoyhan community along the Ucayali River as a teenager and later settled in Lima’s Cantagallo neighborhood. There, she has championed her Shapibo-Konibo community through art, singing, healing, and activism alongside the Shinan Imabo collective. She tells Hip Latina:

“We want to bring more visibility and opportunities to our community. We love to participate in fairs and showcases around the world because selling our art is our source of income, which allows us to support our families with education, healthcare, and food, especially when many suffer from illnesses like diabetes. It’s important that the people we work with also speak about us and help open doors to international opportunities for us as artisan mothers.”

For Silvano, each embroidered and printed garment carries a piece of the Amazon. Kené says the good energy is healing and protective, imbued with the spirits of the Amazonian medicinal plants ayahuasca and priri priri.

Silvano says it was an honor for the collective to embroider outfits for Los Mirlos.

“We bring our talent and inspiration to our embroidery, which is made with so much love. We hope Los Mirlos consider us family, just as we consider them our brothers from the Amazon. Kené is a marvelous art form, and as Indigenous women, we value working with Alessandra Durand, who recognizes our hard work in the designs we create with Kené Kaya.”