Christian Louboutin x Los Artesanos de Taller Maya for Mexicaba

London - Designer footwear and accessories label Christian Louboutin has partnered with luxury etailer Matchesfashion.com for an exclusive preview of its newest Treasure tote, the Mexicaba.

The new tote bag, which features vivid panels made from handwoven cotton, bright embroidery and traditional handpainted beads was created in collaboration with Taller Maya and the Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya. Taller Maya works with artisans in the Yucatan Peninsula to help preserve their unique crafting skills.

"You only need to visit my house and see all the stuff I've brought back over the years to know I really love the diversity of Mexican design," said Christian Louboutin on his inspiration in a statement. "The heritage is so rich. I love the embroideries, the colours, the pagan motifs of wild animals that are a little naive, and all the images of death taken in such a light way, it isn't scary any more."

Taller Maya is dedicated to offering safe workshops, where artisans, who are predominantly but no exclusively women, to gather together in small groups and practice their traditional artisans skills. Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya (FHMM) facilitates the materials needed to build the workshops were the artisans work and learn from each other, and together with Taller Maya ensures each of the 200 artisans from different communities are fairly paid for their skilled handiwork.

"This has definitely been one of the most important and challenging projects we have been working on as a group since FHMM started, in 2002," said Carola Diez, Director of Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya in a statement. "We knew, in advance, that accepting this challenge would require full time dedication from the whole FHMM team to support the artisans of the communities involved, to ensure that not only would they comply with the established time frame, but also deliver the quality product that Christian Louboutin expected. We truly felt honored to work with such great people."

10 percent of the profits from the sale of each Mexicaba tote sold at a Christian Louboutin store is set to go directly to Taller Maya. The Mexicaba follows on from Christian Louboutin first Treasure Tote, the Africaba, which debuted in Spring/Summer 2016, with each bag featuring a poupette bag charm made by the women of La Maison Rose, in Dakar Senegal. Each Mexicaba bag also features bead work created by the designer labels long term partners in India, and is finished by Louboutin's artisans in Paris.

"Do I love the Mexicaba even more than the Africaba? I don't know," said Louboutin. "I love the lining of the new bag, the Day of the Dead motifs turned into happy ghosts, keeping an eye on your stuff. But most all, I love what links these treasure totes; the satisfaction that they give to the artisans, in Yucatan, in Dakar, in Paris, everyone who worked on their creation. I've always had a global outlook. Working with the most wonderful artisans from all over the world is completely natural for me," added Louboutin.

Photos: Courtesy of Christian Louboutin