The rarest piece I saw in the Banana Republic Archive was this example of the Wakamba Bag. How rare? It was only featured once, in the Summer 1986 Update. “Using an ancient method unique to their region, the Wakamba women of Kenya twine these sisal bags by hand after dying the fibers with natural bark dues. At our request, they added the silver-plated conch and solid metal studs. Sturdy and capricious, each bag is woven in its own distinctive stripe pattern.”
Robyn's fascination with Banana Republic began in 1984 when her Alaskan adventurer father began buying the clothing and giving her the catalogs. She loved the clothes and as an artist she was drawn to the illustrations. She went on to study illustration at art college in BR's hometown of San Francisco and worked for years as a background artist for animation. She is now based in Oakland, CA as a graphic designer and illustrator with Secret Fan Base . She's been collecting and archiving at Abandoned Republic since 2011. 
Newly Updated! 1985-1988 Available.
No Comments