High fashion in the Andes

Titian-haired ceramicist Eibhlin Cassidy (right), from Fermanagh, runs a thriving fashion business called Hilo in Cusco, Peru’s ancient Inca capital high up in the Andes, where she is one of only two Irish residents. With colourful prints, carefree flamenco styles and baroque laces, her dresses are popular with both visitors and locals alike.

Travelling around South America, she fell for Cusco’s laid-back atmosphere, and having first worked in an Irish bar (owned by the other Irish resident, Gerry Feeney from Carlow), she set up her clothes shop with her partner, Avi (they’re know as Evi and Avi). She buys fabrics from Lima, buttons from La Paz, and has a sewing machine at the ready to make any adjustments or alterations. Many customers are Irish: “Looking for something to wear to a wedding,” she says, and at $100 to $150 for a dress, they get something special and unusual. Though she returns home occasionally, Cassidy remains enamoured with Cusco’s bohemian spirit and is happy to stay put at the moment. Her partner Avikal Elphee, an astrophysicist from the UK, is now adding a few masculine jackets to the clothing rails, which are proving equally popular with male clients. Hilo, Carmen Alto 260, Cusco, Peru.