Fashion runways started again last year after the long break due to Covid-19 and, by looking at Instagram posts, you may have thought that nothing really changed in the industry, as many posts on social media reshifted the attention on the most superficial aspects of fashion and on the various collaborations between this or that influencer and a specific fashion house. Yet, there have been brands that have proved change is possible, among them there's also French label Patou that has just launched its first knitwear capsule.
"Patou Neige" features four items, sold exclusively on the brand's e-commerce site - a turtleneck sweater, a scarf, a beanie and mittens in aquamarine, cappuccino and ivory.
What's so special about the hand-knitted pieces? They are made in collaboration with Stitch 22, a Bosnia and Herzegovina-based social enterprise that empowers women through traditional skills such as knitting, providing in this way a source of income for them.
The enterprise was founded by Nadira Škaljić, a social entrepreneur from Sarajevo and has been going for quite a few years now.
Stitch 22 started employing a large number of female knitters from both urban and rural areas who would fall under the "difficult-to-employ" category because of their age, but who had unique skills in traditional handicrafts.
In 2018 Stitch 22 produced over 30,000 items and exported them in Europe, America and Asia. Exports grew in the following years and the enterprise established solid business relationship with wool manufacturers based in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Austria and Peru, and started providing consulting and networking services in the international fashion and textile markets.
The successful developments of the social enterprise in foreign markets and the fact that it started selling not just its products, but collaborating with famous fashion brands and historical houses, indicates that in future markets may start taking more seriously social enterprises, considering them as valuable drivers of economic growth.
These are the sort of stories that, at the beginning of a new year, fill you with hope in a more fair fashion fashion system that may prove genuinely ethical and socially responsible.
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