Lightness is definitely one of the key words for the Spring/Summer 14 yarns. The Marche-based manufacturer of fine yarns Cariaggi decided to take the theme of lightness further and developed not one yarn but an entire collection called “Ultralight” and ideal for fine gauge knitting.
The collection includes Gelso, a 100% silk yarn (finesse: 2/120); Jaipure, a 70% cashmere and 30% silk (2/120); Soffio, 100% cashmere (2/140) and Alzir, 100% Tussah silk (2/120 and 2x2/120).
Another remarkable piece of news for the next season is the development of Sirius, the first carded silk ever produced in the world. The result of the new manufacturing techniques developed by the Cariaggi research centre, this is a 100% silk (originally from four Chinese provinces – Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hunan) yarn with a 2/46 finesse. This yarn looks like cashmere and has a kind of opaque consistency.
The main colour for next season is a tender shade of pink as showed also by the swatches employed in the installations at the Cariaggi booth at Pitti Filati 72.
The fun twist in the new collection is given by the well-researched names of the yarn colours: a pleasantly vibrant yellow is called “Roi Soleil”, while an entire colour selection inspired by the “Rare Bird of Fashion” mood - a tribute to Iris Apfel and to her flamboyant style - features exotic colours going from amber to a sensual golden yellow.
The theme of lightness was interpreted in a minimalist key at the Cariaggi stand via vintage images of kite flyers and swatches in fine yarns mounted on Constructivist metal kite-like structures (a reference also to the Chinese traditions and their love of kites and therefore a hint at the fact that Cariaggi recently expanded in Asia opening an office in Shanghai?)
Visitors and buyers must have liked that, as Cristiana Cariaggi, member of the board of directors of Cariaggi Filati, stated in an official Pitti Filati press release: “We are pleased with the number of people visiting our stand, they met our expectations. I noticed many Japanese and French visitors and, in general, a lot of foreigners. The appeal that Florence has on foreigners favours Pitti Filati”.
Cariaggi is currently an Italian success story in financially bleak times: the company closed 2012 with a turnover of 100.5 million euros (34% of that turnover comes from foreign markets such as the U.S.A., China and Japan).
One of the key points of their success comes from innovation and research, two areas that the fashion industry partially neglected as busy as it is producing one collection after the other. Cariaggi invested instead in different areas, developing unique fibres through cutting-edge resources and researches.
The company recently announced that this year it will invest 2.5 million euros in innovation: competitors should maybe start worrying since, in times of crisis, that's a bold step that may lead to further exclusive discoveries yarn-wise.
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