Millefili's stand at the latest edition of Pitti Filati was as colourful as ever. As you may remember, music was the main theme last season, with references to remixes and "spinning" records. Since then the company moved on, attempting for the A/W 2013-14 a comparison between yarns and technology.
Usually the stand is divided in two parts, with an introductory section dedicated to the most playful aspects of the main themes that inspire the new collection. This is usually the section where most grown up visitors feel the irresistible need to turn into children and forget for a while the reason why they came to the fair in the first place (get ready to fight in this part of the stand if you're a photographer because you'll find too many people in your way, most of them having great fun and unwilling to move from your field...).
Last season visitors were invited to play with colours, perfumes and candies, this season it was all about creating a new language and “connecting” using alphabet puzzles (yes, I admit it, I played with them as well... View this photo), colourful bracelets made with Millefili's cotton yarn or picking two unusual flavours of refreshening juices and mixing them.
Leaving behind the fun, once you stepped into the main part of the stand you were instead introduced to the main theme with screens projecting visual elaborations of knitwear designs, and tables where you could see (and touch) various swatches.
Millefili is known for its riot of colours and the Autumn/Winter 2013-14 season will include many bright shades, yet this time the focus wasn't just on colours.
Indeed the technology and yarn connection seemed to mainly work on two different levels, materials and surface elaborations.
Various swatches showed how to combine together rubber or even small branches and wool, others tried to reproduce instead elaborations borrowed from the digital world and from architectural futuristic digiscapes.
Unusual colour combinations and faded intarsia motifs were maybe references to pixellated images and to the codes of the so-called New Aesthetics trend, while bubble/laser cut-like effects, plasticised surfaces, cell structures (probably the trendiest effects at the moment, think also about scientific/medical discoveries about particles and cells...) and three-dimensional embroideries showed visitors that traditional materials can be perfectly employed to interpret futuristic themes.
Millefili also created what could be described as the best swatch sample package of the entire fair: a swatch box that looked like a smart phone, but, once you opened it, you discovered inside a series of wool, cashmere, extrafine merino superior, mohair, angora, silk and cotton swatches and stitches framed in paper to imitate a phone's screen ("Smart Tones & Stitch", says the box).
Call it "iYarn" or - even better - "iKnit", this is the sort of package that may prompt a new generation of fashionistas to finally get into the wonderful world of yarns and discover more about them.
In fact, Millefili, if you're reading this, could you please start selling DIY knitting kits like this one to make small accessories? I'm sure they would be a great introductory course to yarns and stitches especially for those of us who never learnt kntting and may want to try.
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Awesome yarn design! you are incredibly amazing there's no doubt about it!
Posted by: xlpharmacy.com | September 19, 2012 at 05:06 PM