Our Iconic First Product: The Ecuador Hat

Jun 13, 2026, 3:00 PM•cuyana

15TH ANNIVERSARY: ECUADOR HAT Most of you know us for our exceptional bags, but our journey started with a hat. In 2011, our Co-founder Karla Gallardo visited her home country of Ecuador to reclaim the heritage story behind beautiful, timeless pieces. It was there our first product was made, the Ecuador Hat. Below we share more on the significance of this piece, from the local artisans and their heritage techniques to the renaming of a product still misattributed on a global scale. All these years later, our first product remains as relevant and stylish as when it first debuted and still celebrates the legacy of Ecuadorian craftsmanship and culture.

Our hats begin with toquilla straw, a natural fiber hand-harvested along Ecuador's coast. Local farmers boil and dry the stems to create the fine, pliable straw used in each piece. This meticulous process not only ensures exceptional quality but preserves Ecuador's centuries-old weaving tradition, passed down through generations by skilled craftspeople. Each Cuyana hat is a one-of-a-kind expression of this skill and dedication from the indigenous artisan families who handweave with precision and care.

In 2022, we visited Sigsig, Ecuador and spent time with one family whose daughters weave for a living. We were welcomed inside their home, where they hosted a beautiful meal and told us about the heritage tradition of weaving toquilla straw, which has been a steady source of their income for generations. The tradition of weaving began in Ecuador in the 1600s and is kept alive today by majority female artisans who teach the technique to their daughters and granddaughters, making the hat a story of family, connection, and love.

The Ecuador Hat is often misattributed as the Panama Hat. The hats were created in Ecuador, but exported through Panama in the 1900s. After Theodore Roosevelt was photographed wearing the hat during a Panama Canal construction visit, the name was cemented in popular culture and the true Ecuadorian origin became wildly unknown. By renaming the hat, we are celebrating the legacy and tradition of this art, a centerpiece of indigenous Ecuadorian culture.

Packable Wide Brim Ecuador Hat Dark Natural

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Cuyana

291 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

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