I've never glamourised the world of fashion on this site. In fact I think there is nothing glamorous about fashion at the moment. Rather than showing you vitally important purchases for my own wardrobe, I've also often reminded my readers that, yes, there is still a terrible crisis out there and many people are still losing their jobs.
Yet, despite my apocalyptic tones, there is a bit of optimism in my heart and a tiny bit of hope.
This hope is definitely not given by catwalk shows, but by discovering exciting things about the more technical aspects of the fashion industry and about specific manufacturers that are trying to get on despite the difficult financial situation we're going through.
If, like me, you're interested in discovering more about the less glamorous and more technical aspects of the fashion industry, starting from yarns can be very educational and also quite fascinating. The best place where you can discover further about this topic and find out about new trends is definitely Pitti Filati.
Taking place twice a year - in January and June - in Florence, the fair gathers in one place the most advanced yarn manufacturers and offers to visitors very interesting visual stimuli and inspirations.
I will try and look at some of them in the next few days, but for today's post let's just look at one of the first stands the visitors can see at the fair (on until tomorrow), Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia (a manufacturer that already appeared a while back on this site) and Chiavazza's.
In a way Zegna Baruffa/Chiavazza's stand sets the tone for all the rest of the fair since it's subtly stylish and offers quite a few inspirations.
A corridor showcasing different bodysuits introduces to the main themes for the Spring/Summer 2013 and leads onto the main area for buyers.
This corridor includes pieces made with classic yarns “Millennium” and “Today”, but also with “Brand New Wool”, a Super 120 hi-tech highly hygroscopic wool yarn ideal to produce easy-to-wash and to dry knitwear.
Other new yarns include “Sirio” in sparkling shades of gold and silver, and “Maui”, “Bering” and “Acqua”, natural fibres such as wool and cotton mixed with viscose that can create interesting glossy, matte or shantung effects.
Cashmere worldwide leader Chiavazza came up instead with a collection based on blends that retains all the brightness of linen and the softness of cashmere (an example is the “Venere” yarn).
There is a further surprise at the end of the corridor: a selection of swimwear, tops and shorts in '50s style made using Zegna Baruffa yarns by Ko-Na Design, the label of Japanese textile designer Kyoko Nagasawa.
The best thing about these designs? A beautiful palette comprising blues and aqua greens, intricate motifs and surface elaborations and, last but not least, the weight. All the pieces are indeed extremely light, guaranteeing in this way maximum comfort and performance.
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Thank You so much for the history and background regarding Baruffa Lane Borgosesia. I recently came across a stack of their knit patterns and have been devouring them. Most of them are very classic. What talent and very beautiful yarn. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world. I live near Colorado Springs Colorado and the sweater patterns are perfect for our mountain living. Janis Heliniak
Posted by: Janis Helminiak | January 13, 2013 at 08:08 PM