Balea

Our collaboration

Maar Hats is a creative project centered on millinery, designed for contemporary individuals. Its priorities lie in form and its development, approaching the creative process from a craftsmanship perspective.

Our collaboration emerged naturally through conversations between creatives who share a common approach from different disciplines.

Research and Documentation

With Galicia, its landscape, and its untold stories as our shared ground, we began this project by researching Galicia’s whaling tradition and searching through public archives for documents and photographs on Atlantic seafarers’ clothing.

Inspiration and design

Balea is inspired by the iconic hats and oilskin garments worn by Galician sailors in the past century, as well as by the anatomy of whale tails and fins.

Its structure is built upon a round six-panel crown, from which extends a brim that shields the face and ears, transforming into a flowing tail that drapes sinuously from the shoulders down the back.

Materiality

All materials used in Balea are locally sourced and closely tied to Galicia’s recent past.

This is why it incorporates naturally and artisanally dyed cotton, using pine and oak bark, replicating an ancestral Galician technique known as encascado. This method was traditionally used to dye, darken, and protect fishing nets and ship sails when they were still woven from natural fibers.

Beyond the dyeing process, Balea‘s fabric is hand-waxed and waterproofed with whale spermaceti.

Spermaceti is the largest organ in the skull of these odontocetes, and its function remains a mystery. While some speculate that it plays a role in echolocation or buoyancy, its true purpose is still unknown.

Aside from its poetic and enigmatic nature, spermaceti has properties that lie between the viscosity of beeswax and the crystalline appearance of paraffin, making it an exceptional waterproofing agent for cotton, a quality already known and used in the past.

Stories of Our Common Landscape

The Caneliñas cove, at the heart of Costa da Morte, is the geographical and emotional center of Galicia’s whaling tradition. It is also the place where the last whale was processed on our coasts in the mid-1980s, marking the end of a long history dating back to the 13th century.

Purpose, Memory, and Commitment

All design and production processes for Balea have been conceived under ethical and sustainable principles, minimizing its impact on the territory. To archieve this, we have used industrial surpluses from both past and present, sourced local raw materials, and collaborated with local workshops for manufacturing, labeling, and packaging.

Balea is a limited edition of four pieces. An exclusive work that remains faithful to tradition without contradicting innovation.