To Regain Consumers’ Trust, It All Starts Again With Materials

When everything seems emptied of meaning and value, where does the consumer go? The significant growth of the second-hand sector and of brands that make materials and processes, rather than style, their cornerstone, seems to indicate that the recovery of traditions and the enhancement of craftsmanship are the keys to winning back the hearts of customers, and the latest fashion shows have shown a clear change of direction, moving from quiet luxury to the rediscovery of techniques that seek a handmade effect even when they are the result of industrial processes.

A shift that is also reflected in the choice of materials, as Maurizio Cecioni of Cieffe Filati, a leading company in the production and distribution of embroidery and sewing threads, explains. «People are tired of basics, of fast fashion. In recent years, demands have changed and there is a return to products with a more artisanal vocation: natural and “raw” threads, which once processed, even at an industrial level, recall the dimension of handmade work».

The goal is to give the illusion of a product made in the workshops of the past, one that has personality and that recalls the items in our grandmothers’ wardrobes, those which in the common imagination had greater quality and durability.

«Companies are looking for wool, cotton, hemp, linen: prestigious yarns, with even particular finishes. And demand changes not only in the type of material, but also in its technical characteristics: in the past, for example, the most requested cotton for embroidery was very fine, now a thicker count is sought, to alternate with the fine one to give precisely the impression of handmade work».

A change that is reflected not only in materials, but also in the production and supply chain: «My role is to conduct research on production cycles, so that real meaning can be given to the word sustainability», Cecioni continues. «Fashion must recover the mindset more than the processes of the past, and enhance its tradition, which remains indispensable. If you do not have artisanal culture, you cannot create something beautiful and authentic». And the consumer is no longer willing to compromise on quality.