Meet The Best Brands Making an Impact at White Milano 2023
Ancient Japanese techniques, eco-printing, pintore crafts, Moroccan craftsmanship, and a significant focus on sustainability is what we came across during White Milano. Find out why and who are the brands that caught our attention during Milan Fashion Week (21-27 February).
Luxiders magazine attended White Milano during Milan Fashion Week (21-27 February). There we discovered fantastic brands focusing on craftsmanship, sustainability, and innovation. Continue reading to learn about our White Milano favorites.
BUNZABURO
The Kyoto-based brand combines heritage with innovation to meet changing lifestyles and promote the attractiveness of tie-dye in areas other than kimono, such as interior design and fashion. The brand introduces Shibori, an old Japanese traditional technique, in modern living, with the concept of “WEARABLE ART”. What’s magical about Shibori, is that it brings a unique identity to every piece of cloth. Some are more dynamic and driving, while others have a more delicate and sensitive look. Bunzaburo also thinks that it is critical to transfer and link significant items to future generations and the planet.
SILVIA GNECCHI
A brand deeply connected with the notion of craftsmanship to demonstrate the meaning of absolute perfection and Italian quality. Every season, the brand analyzes, researches, and presents a new narrative, and a new trend, all to produce outstanding bijoux. It is directed at all-powerful, passionate, and heartfelt women. Small everyday divas, heroic moms, grandmother fashionistas, and those who still believe in the “trinket” as an essential part of a woman’s wardrobe.
PINTORIE
Pintorie was founded on the idea that fusing art, science, and nature is not only a part of Renaissance history but also the means to rediscover consistency in contemporary life beyond simple appearance. The word itself brings to mind images of pure landscapes that the brand wishes to portray in its clothing, as well as the rediscovery of the natural properties of plant dyes and extensive experimentation.
Pintore crafts everything from guaranteed wool or cashmere supplied from sustainable sources and the textiles are colored using exclusively regional flora and seeds. They operate in three ways: eco printing, where plants are placed on top of sweaters to allow the color to transfer to the wool or cashmere, Shibori, the Japanese technic, and simply coloring the entire item with natural colors. Everything in the brand is thoroughly thought out and considered, from the labels on the clothing to the packaging, including the use of sustainable ink for paper and labels.
CALLA
Calla Haynes, a Paris-based designer, grew up in Toronto and studied Fashion Design at Parsons School of Design in New York. She began working at Rochas and Nina Ricci once she arrived in Paris, improving her textile and pattern design skills while learning the savoir-faire unique to French luxury firms. The designer developed a sustainable collection of Babouche slippers that represent responsible design and honor Moroccan craftsmanship. Each pair is handcrafted and one-of-a-kind, recycled from old Berber carpets. The slippers come in a variety of colors and textures, expressing colorful style and care. These Babouche slippers are extremely comfortable and multifunctional. But, through creativity and teamwork, they differentiate themselves by helping local Moroccan artisans and carrying the tradition forward, securing its existence.
SHAKU
Shakera (nicknamed ‘Shaku’) was born in Bombay and comes from a family of dressmakers. Her mother and aunt both taught her the complexities of hand embroidery. Nature was the starting point for the London-based brand. The founder’s love of the natural world inspired her to develop a concept for a collection of luxury scarves – wearable works of art.
As a celebration of femininity and uncompromising craftsmanship, the collection mixes talented hand-drawn artwork with exceptional print technology. Manufactured with premium threads and printed with premium dyes. Shaku is synonymous with time-honored techniques, tradition, and modernity, and it represents slow fashion. Natural threads such as silk, cashmere, cotton, and natural dyes are used to create Shaku patterns. They do not print on polyester or polyester mixes.
“My vision is to enrich the individual style of each wearer by expressing an aspect of their personality” – comments Shakera Tayub.
STEFANOMORIARTI
Stefano Moriarti studies lines and cuts meticulously, which leads the designer to the essence of shape. As a result, the dresses have remarkably pure forms and proportions, are simple yet unique, and are always comfortable to wear, offering a polished and minimalist aesthetic.
Linearity and formal cleanliness, according to Mortari, must first and foremost be cultivated by the quality of the materials. Fabrics such as linen, cotton, cashmere, jersey, and other valuable and innovative fibers are used. Because of ongoing research into new knitting techniques and handcrafted processes, the materials are constantly transformed and reinterpreted. The production is all in the name of a top-quality Italian manufacturer, improving both the exceptional craftsmanship and the most innovative Made in Italy techniques.
ELISA POZZOLI
Elisa Pozzoli, who was born and raised in Brianza, graduated in Fashion Design at Politecnico di Milano in 2020. She felt an urgent desire to develop something unique and to express her notion of sustainable fashion through the creation of products with unique and strong personalities. She produces a high-quality product with an essential handcrafted component through minimal aesthetics, so much so that the quality of materials and responsible methods are at the heart of the brand’s identity. Elisa Pozzoli refers to herself as a “slow wear reality” since she makes her collections on different timelines than the fashion industry. The process of making garments grow slower and more difficult as the search for materials becomes more important, often taking months to find the correct product. The relationship between the brand and an atelier in Milan allows for both clothing design and production to take place in Italy.
“My mission is to make people understand that it is possible, dare I say essential, to be able to dress ethically without neglecting the style and personality that distinguishes each individual.” – Elisa Pozzoli – Founder & Designer.
UP TO YOU ANTHOLOGY
UP TO YOU ANTHOLOGY is a cutting-edge company that develops one-of-a-kind bags inspired by the creative energy of the world’s most visionary talents in Architecture, Design, and Art, and handcrafted by the greatest Italian artisans. Architects such as Zaha Hadid Design and David Chipperfield, as well as well-known designers such as Nendo, Naoto Fukasawa, Vincent Van Duysen, Giulio Cappellini, and others, have already contributed to the project. The company achieves a high-quality product by mixing talented individuals’ free ideas with Made in Italy craftsmanship.
IOEF
Utility and Functionality are what distinguish Ioef, a company founded from Erik Manfredi’s dream of bringing Italian craftsmanship into a whole new world. These exquisitely handcrafted bags are manufactured entirely by hand in Italy, specifically in Tobbiana (Prato), in collaboration with Gamma 3, and do not go through an industrialized procedure. Each collection is inspired by the modern, urban lady who travels and finds new places while also sharing her ideas through her fashion.
MYCHALOM
Elisa Castellari gave birth to Mychalom in 2018. She was in Tel Aviv when she bought some soles and laces and began making shoes for herself, which she then sold to her friends. What started as an Instagram profile showcasing her products has now expanded to over 130 stores around Italy and a few in Switzerland, as well as e-commerce. Mychalom is Hebrew for “my dream,” and it is inspired by what the company believes makes women sexy today: smart, healthy, active, and outgoing. Providing fashionable and high-quality shoes and accessories for women who want to conquer the world. At Mychalom, they believe that every big arrival began by taking one small first step. The shoes are produced in Italy and are designed to be long-lasting, as opposed to fast fashion. To prevent waste, the samples are made up of a few parts. a d the company’s goal is to be able to use only 100% sustainable materials and enhance the production chain, with an emphasis on logistics, to cut CO2 emissions by 2026.
GLOVETOO
Glovetoo’s founder, Valentina Ambrosi, is a multidisciplinary artist who works as an illustrator, graphic designer, and photographer. Valentina’s curiosity was sparked when she discovered a box of gloves belonging to her Nonna Silvana, years later she founded Glovetoo in 2021. Valentina’s vibrant, rebellious, and colorful imagination, fed by culture, is reflected in her one-of-a-kind, glamorous, and modern leather gloves. The Luxury gloves are meticulously handcrafted masterpieces; each piece is a one-of-a-kind item and a work of art that can be personalized in every aspect, from the color to the theme to the decoration, and they have Art Nouveau-inspired rhinestones and bead applications.
Image Highlight: © BUNZABURO
+ Words:
Indira Jiménez
Luxiders Magazine