What will you be exhibiting at Pitti this year? 

We’ll show our ONE&ONLY collection. It's our core collection, all designed using a wheel of fortune that gives the information to the knitter on how to make each piece unique. These are all made by hand in Shanghai. Then we’ll show new pieces that we’re developing in Europe using deadstock yarn from an Italian yarn mill [and] produced on an electronic knitting machine. Working on these machines is more challenging in terms of using deadstock yarn, so we have developed garments from simple shapes. We’ve also developed some hand-crochet accessories, made from deadstock Italian handknitting yarns. The idea is that these will also be available for people to download to make using their own leftover yarns.

How do you ensure a responsible production process? 

All our materials are from surplus stock. We do not dye anything, we only use what’s already available. This season we have started this to work with Filpucci yarn mill and use their deadstock (we actually met in Pitti Uomo this January). Regarding production, we hire the knitters and make sure they have good working conditions.

Can you talk us through your SS23 collection?

[Our] garments exemplify a sense of modernism through the lens of culture and craft, defining the traditional ideas which we grew up with. An oblong, Margn’s human symbol, is used to form symbolic patterns mimicking interconnectedness among humans. Hand-crafted traditional techniques like Sujani become functional outerwear, complemented by modern and bold knit patterns. Non-conforming silhouettes and layers are re-fashioned, bringing a touch of rebellion to staples. We’ve [also] continued to use upcycled parachutes and deadstock fabrics/yarns.

How do you ensure a responsible production process?  

We collaborate with smaller local communities of farmers for raw materials and artisans for our hand-knit garments. It’s a symbiotic relationship between us locals, learning from and uplifting each other. All our handknits are developed by an all-women team from Kullu, India. With this collection, we have continued our partnership with the all-women community residing in the northern Himalayas [who are] responsible for creating our signature pieces such as argyles and ikats. 
We’re conscious of our carbon footprint so we use less water and energy-intensive materials such as Kala cotton (which is a completely rainfed variety of cotton), organic and regenerated materials such as upcycled sack bags, parachutes, mats, deadstock yarns/fabrics among others. We try to keep our production as local as possible. 
 

What will you be exhibiting at Pitti this year? 

Bennu is exhibiting ORIGINE, a collection developed with Fondazione Archè’s Sartoria Sociale, a foundation that accompanies vulnerable children and families in building social, housing, and work autonomy by providing support and care services. ORIGINE celebrates a renewed bond between mankind and nature with a collection made by reinterpreting tailor-made garments and fabrics recovered from unsold stock. It is a spokesman for a change of pace in production and consumption and a new harmony in our relationship with the environment.

How do you feel about the fashion industry’s current sustainability efforts? 

I feel confident because people are getting more and more conscious of the environmental and social issues in the fashion industry. I’m not saying that it will be an easy and quick process, but the path is the right one, and [we] have to walk this path hand in hand. Also, brands have to position themselves as educators [and] set a responsible approach as the main pillar of their project. They have to create a new way of communication through their creation.
 

What will you be exhibiting at Pitti this year?

I will be exhibiting a unisex line called Break Free. It represents the freedom of classic suits into more fun and colorful functional workwear. This year my collection again uses the medium of sustainability and craftsmanship. We have worked with artisans in India to make handwoven fabrics, which are 100% cotton Khadi, a yarn used during the independence of India. We are also using sustainable indigo and natural dyes for denim, for which we work with artisans in Italy. All our production is done in Italy by a factory in Milan that helps us make our small capsule collections.

How do you feel about the fashion industry’s current sustainability efforts?

There is a lot of noise on sustainability and it has become a kind of trend. I am happy to see lots of new ways and processes that are coming and people making the effort to find various mediums through crafts, technology, and cultural awareness.
 

What will you be exhibiting at Pitti this year? Can you talk us through your collection?

We started to think about the theme of the collection based on the motto: “Boys in shorts love flowers.” [The] slogan was written on a vintage t-shirt that Martin found at the flea market in Brussels. This sentence was very catchy, simple, and direct, exactly the tone that we wanted for this collection. We approached the floral theme from a florist's point of view — it’s a poetic and sensual approach mixed with the reality of a workshop's daily routine. [Thus] the collection is also influenced by workwear shapes and colors: grey, electric blue, off-white, color blocks) with a touch of sensitivity.
Each season, we partner with a workshop to promote their know-how and create collaborative clothing projects. For this season, we are working on a project that will be produced in Ukraine with the manufacturer Lener Cordier who is based in Hazebrouck (France) but also in Ukraine where they do their best to maintain their production since the beginning of the war. We will produce some of our clothes with them with the aim to participate in maintaining the local textile [industry].

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