If a customer wanted a silver and yak fabric I would first ask: why? To understand the intentions of use, to know the fibres - in the hope of rebuilding an Italian supply chain.
Mauro's Ecological Vision. This is the meaning of Maeko, a vertical company specialising in natural yarns and fabrics made in Italy. After leaving his job as an osteopath in 1998, Mauro Vismara dedicated himself to research and selection of raw materials, starting a small textile production dedicated to hemp. Thanks to the meeting (in 2009) and Cinzia's support, a company was born that in the space of eleven years was very successful in the natural textile sector, reaching important production volumes. Cinzia Vismara explains: «We are and want to remain artisans, just these days I thought that we have not become big but we are strong. Our aim is to process all native or European fibres with special characteristics, creating products for each customer that tell a story, starting from small quantities, we are able to give everyone the opportunity to realise their own projects». Etro, Ferragamo and Vivienne Westwood are among Maeko's customers.
In Milan is the operational headquarters, in Biella the spinning mill, in Riva di Chieri (in the province of Turin) the shuttle weaving mill, in Varese the jersey weaving mill and in Como the dye works. These are tesserae of a mosaic that has been built up over time. «The Filarte spinning mill in Biella is a business we came across at the beginning of last year (in 2019). We didn't want to buy it, but we wanted to find a space to test the hemp supply chain. When we arrived, we saw a perfect, working plant that looked like a clockworks. This prompted us to expand our plans. Even though the pandemic slowed us down, we did not give up. We closed the deal this year,» says Cinzia Vismara. All the plants, the employees working in the spinning mill, the last owner and her son (third generation at the helm of the family spinning mill) have been taken over and continue to work in the factory. The fibres are processed mechanically, without the use of chemicals that could change their original structure. The natural fibres used are animal - wool (sheep, alpaca, Merino, Yak), silk and crabyon (obtained from crushed crustacean shells) - or vegetable - hemp, nettle, bamboo, organic cotton, Tencel (a fibre obtained from wood cellulose) and seaweed (harvested in the Icelandic fjords and processed in Austria). To these must be added the biodegradable Amni Soul Eco Nylon, a fibre made from organic matter (biomass) capable of decomposing in only five years in an anaerobic environment (compared to the hundreds of years it would take for a synthetic fibre). Maeko also uses metallic fibres such as Silver and Copper. In controlled doses and after a special treatment that adapts the metal fibres to the fabric, the natural properties of these elements make the garments antibacterial, thermoregulating and more resistant. Thanks to the Filarte spinning mill, Maeko products, having passed the minimum processing steps in Italy, acquire the classification of preferential origin Italy.
... read more on lampoonmilano.it
