As discussed in a previous post, in the past there was a very strong connection between fashion houses and the manufacturing companies behind a collection. For example, the name of a textile manufacturer may have appeared in the advert for a new collection, almost as a "thank you" note to the factories that had collaborated with the fashion house in developing the new designs.
As the decades passed, this practice went out of fashion for different reasons: in some cases designers decided not to reveal the name of the manufacturer for privacy reasons; in others, fashion houses started working with a variety of companies, ending up assembling a design in a location with parts arriving from factories based in other countries (as opposed to making it from scratch in just one place).
Besides, most fashion companies started favouring campaigns that did not focus on the quality of a fabric or textile, but that featured celebrities, influencers and other high profile personalities who can easily attract followers on social media and convince them to buy a specific product.
But things may be changing and some companies may be looking once again at the maufacturing plant as inspiration and locus where creativity can meet know-how and where a collection can be developed.
An example? Margherita Maccapani Missoni, daughter of Angela, granddaughter of Rosita and current Creative Director (appointed last October) of the lower-priced line M Missoni, staged during Milan Fashion Week a fun presentation. The latter consisted in a tramway ride around the city centre with an eclectic cast of models (selected from the streets, but also including family friends such as Jessica Hart and Bianca Brandolini d'Adda).
Yet the lookbook accompanying the collection wasn't shot in the streets, but at the Missoni plant: models posed in front of knitting machines producing colourful textiles, among rows of yarn spools and colour cards.
Margherita Missoni actually employed the factory as research space: here she found yarns from previous seasons' left overs and dead stock textiles originally made for the company's home collection and reused them all, giving in this way also a sustainable twist to the new collection.
Besides, she looked in the factory archive and researched the history of the company (that celebrated last year its 65th anniversary) also for what regarded motifs and patterns that she could reuse, picking a print designed by her grandfather Ottavio "Tai" Missoni, a vintage Missoni Sport logo and an abstract motif from the '80s.
As a whole the collection was versatile as it featured a wide range of pieces that can be mixed and matched - from skirts and shorts to shrunken knits and long cardigans, along with accessories comprising smartphone cases and straw bags - that will easily fit in any sort of wardrobe. The designs will be produced in a wide range of sizes (from XS to XXL) that also means this is a collection for all shapes and silhouettes.
Before rejoining her family Maccapani-Missoni worked on collaborations with various brands and companies, including Splendid for sportswear, Yoox for children's sleepwear and Away for luggage. Now that she's back in the family, manufacturing company Gilmar SpA will be the production partner for the M Missoni line.
You may argue that no actual workers are featured in these images from the M Missoni lookbook, but choosing to shoot the lookbook where the historical family makes its designs is already a first step. Hopefully, the "fashion-factory" relationship will continue to be rediscovered, allowing a younger generation of fashion fans to understand that chaotic and unglamorous spaces like manufacturing plants (where workers' rights are respected) are still creative places.
The factory floor as fashion inspiration may turn into a proper trend soon: Louis Vuitton is currently doing a series of documentaries by French director Loïc Prigent that take people to factories, with episodes filmed for example in Asnières, France, and in Fiesso d'Artico, Italy (you can watch them on LV TV channel on YouTube). While these episodes are shot with a fun approach in mind, they also show the skills, talent and devotion of the artisans behind some of the company's products. Looks like the real influencers may not be the ones going to runway shows and sitting in the front row, but those behind the scenes, doing all the hard work in the factories.
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