Yerevan Fashion Week - Home and Away

Home and Away
*The Yerevan Portraits

written CHIDOZIE OBASI

Nestled amid the nature-meets-brutalist setting of a vibrant city, Yerevan Fashion Week provides a compelling backdrop for emerging and established design, merging threads of innovation and tradition with potential for consumers and insiders alike.

While Spring might feel like a faraway fantasy, that needn’t be reflected in your wardrobe offerings. A surefire way to make a wealth of occasions slightly more appealing? Choosing to eschew traditional cuts and volumes for breezier kinds – or at least, integrating some flashes of colour into the mix. The Wave’s sculptural pieces; Manuk Aleksanyan’s beading; Loro Piana’s timeless classics; Faina’s naturalesque details: from longline dresses to conceal under coats, to the pieces sure to enliven any outfit, LE MILE shows you 8 ways to channel your eclectic style.

dress THE WAVE

total look LORO PIANA

dress MANUK ALEKSANYAN
loafers LORO PIANA

total look BRIONI

dress THE WAVE
boots PREMIATA
eyewear CALVIN KLEIN via Marchon Eyewear

dress FAINA

blazer + skirt FERRAGAMO
shirt TORY BURCH

photography  LIDIA VIRABYAN
fashion direction  CHIDOZIE OBASI
fashion  LISA MANCINI
model  SOFIA
video  KARO TERTERIAN
fashion assistants  INGA and VALENTIN
project coordination  ELEN MANUKYAN and VAHAN KHACHATRYAN
special thanks  @fdc_armenia

SALZWASSER - Lennart Henze on Sustainable Fashion

.specials
From the Coast to the Studio

*How SALZWASSER Turns Simplicity Into a Design Language

written SARAH ARENDTS

SALZWASSER was born where the wind carries salt across the shore and the horizon never ends. Founded in 2019 on the North Sea island of Norderney, SALZWASSER marks its sixth anniversary. What began on the coast has grown into a Hamburg-based studio that continues to work within Europe, maintaining short production routes and close collaborations.

Each piece starts with material selection: Merino wool, organic cotton, linen. Natural fibers chosen for their quality and origin. Production takes place in Italy, Portugal, and Germany, where every step is clearly defined and carried out with consistency. The result is clothing designed to last, made without synthetics, focused on fit, proportion, and longevity. The current collection continues this approach with knitwear made entirely from Merino wool — soft, breathable, and structurally stable for years of wear.

SALZWASSER
founder: Lennart Henze

Sarah Arendts
What was the starting point for the special quality that defines the brand today?

Lennart Henze
For me, it all begins with a deep love for good products — for things that stay with you for a long time and get better every day. I realized early on that true quality is never a coincidence; it comes from patience, care, and the courage to leave nothing to chance.
I’m fascinated by materials, construction, and tactile experiences — how a fabric falls, how a knit breathes. SALZWASSER was born out of this dedication: the ambition to create clothing that feels substantial, is impeccably crafted, and is not designed for just one season but for a life full of good moments.

The new knit styles made from 100% Merino wool expand your core collection. How did the idea for this collection develop?

The collection emerged from the desire to use natural materials in their purest form.
Merino comes with natural properties: temperature-regulating, soft, breathable — and without any synthetics, it performs better than many technical fibers.
After our more distinctive, technical-looking half-zip sweaters, we wanted to create knits that are even more reduced: simple crewnecks with subtle knit structures — understated and timeless.
Once again, made as a mono-material: no synthetics, 100% Merino wool. For us, this was a logical step — moving away from synthetics and towards a pure, natural material world that harnesses the best performance nature has to offer.

Your half-zip sweaters have long become synonymous with SALZWASSER. When did you realize they were more than just a classic pullover?

When I noticed that we hadn’t just adapted a classic half-zip — we had reimagined it.
The half-cardigan structure, used inside-out, the modern, slightly looser cut — that’s what made it unique. Bolder, more contemporary. And then came the decision to produce entirely without synthetics and even achieve GOTS certification — something rare in this category.
The fact that the sweater was so well received and that we were able to expand it twice through crowdfunding showed us that people value the full package: natural fibers and sustainability, quality, and European production.

Italy, Germany, Portugal — what connects these places for you?

First of all: quality and craftsmanship. Each of these countries has its own textile handwriting, and we value them all. Germany is our home, where everything began — on Norderney, in the far north. Portugal is a place of longing and inspiration for me — the coast, the light, the calm. Italy brings its own warmth and elegance — and a precise textile tradition.
And, of course, there’s something else connecting them: a transparent European supply chain.
Shorter routes, more personal relationships, responsible production. These places are part of our identity — reflected in our colors, our aesthetics, and our sense of nature and timelessnes.

How do you prevent sustainability from becoming rhetoric?

By not treating it as marketing, but as a mindset. And by enabling people to understand what real responsibility means: natural materials, European manufacturing, transparency. For us, sustainability isn’t a concept — it’s our starting point.

Where does design begin for you?

Design begins for us with reduction and responsibility. We follow a circular textile design approach, focusing on mono-materials, natural fibers instead of synthetics, and long-lasting construction. At the same time, we aim to create a stronger emotional connection to each piece — through timeless, minimalist forms that people can truly live with.
We don’t think in seasonal cycles or collections, but work on a continuous range. Our vision is clear: Focus on Essentials. Design evolves through subtraction — until only what is meaningful, beautiful, and lasting remains.

Timelessness — more about endurance or calm?

For me, timelessness is calm — and from that, endurance follows. A calm cut, reduced details, natural tones that never shout.

What role do places play — sea, light, the North?

SALZWASSER was born on the rough northern coasts. Coasts have always been places of longing and calm. Traditionally, people living by the sea have mastered a slow, minimalist, and simple way of life. They value durable gear and meaningful experiences with nature — they focus on what truly matters. With a contemporary design approach, SALZWASSER translates this lifestyle and mindset into modern everyday clothing — for city, countryside, and coast. It reminds people of moments of longing and allows a return to what’s essential. Focus on Essentials.

What should people feel when they wear SALZWASSER?

Freedom.

Calm.

And focus on what truly matters.

SALZWASSER
www.salzwasser.eu

based in Hamburg, Germany
designing timeless essentials from natural fibers — all made in Europe

At SALZWASSER, sustainability means durability, repairability, and transparent production within Europe. Every decision, from the yarn to the finished garment, follows this logic. The aesthetic remains consistent, defined by quiet lines, natural tones and functional clarity. As the brand enters its sixth year, SALZWASSER reaffirms its commitment to creating garments built for purpose and time.

Inside Shop Like You Give a Damn - Sustainable Fashion

.specials
SHOP LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN
*A Department Store for the Future of Compassion

written AMANDA MORTENSON

Shop Like You Give a Damn was founded by Alex Jansen, Kim van Langelaar, and Stephan Stegeman to make ethical choices straightforward. Early on, the team tried to verify the ethical claims of brands they admired and discovered that reliable data to separate intention from reality was missing.

Together with a tech partner, they built an AI-supported assessment framework and tested it on a selection of the most ethical brands, but none met every criterion. The lesson became their principle of better, not perfect. The platform has been 100 percent vegan since day one and curates brands around three non-negotiable pillars of animals, people and planet. Its goal is progress backed by proof, with transparency throughout the production chain, fair labour and a smaller footprint. The team has assessed thousands of labels, works closely with more than 150 of them and continues to raise the bar through dialogue, evidence and clear standards.

DAWN

Shop Like You Give A Damn
founding team: Kim van Langelaar, Stephan Stegeman, and Alex Jansen

Amanda Mortenson
“Better, not perfect” is a central idea behind what you want to communicate. How did this become a guiding philosophy for Shop Like You Give a Damn, and how do you embody it in your decisions?

Stephan Stegeman
“Better, not perfect” became our mantra after an eye-opening experience early in our journey. About five years ago, we set out to verify every ethical claim our brands were making. We give a damn about animals, people and the planet, so it was crucial to ensure every brand on our platform truly aligned with our values — always vegan, fair and as sustainable as possible.

But we quickly hit a roadblock: there wasn’t enough reliable information to say with confidence which brands were genuinely better than conventional fast fashion. That uncertainty kept us up at night. Then a tech startup approached us with an AI-driven tool to verify sustainability claims. We worked together for six months to build a framework and tested it on what we thought were the hundred most ethical brands. The results were humbling — not a single one met all our criteria.

That experience crystallised our philosophy. If we chased perfection, we’d have no brands left to support, and that helps no one. So we decided to champion progress — brands that are proudly vegan, treat workers fairly and work to minimise their environmental impact. Every decision we make starts with asking: is this better for animals, people and the planet? If yes, it’s on the right path. We’ve now assessed over two thousand brands, using that knowledge to keep raising the bar and helping good ones get even better.

In your view, what are the biggest misconceptions people have about “sustainable fashion” and veganism?

One of the biggest misconceptions about sustainable fashion is that it’s actually sustainable. It isn’t — at best, it’s a less harmful version of regular fashion. Producing new clothing always consumes materials, water and energy, and generates waste and emissions. The fashion industry still accounts for around ten percent of global carbon emissions — more than all international flights and shipping combined.

The most sustainable choice is not buying new clothes at all. Using what you already have longer and consuming less is the best way to reduce impact. After that comes reusing, swapping or buying second-hand. If you must buy new, choose responsible brands that use better materials and fair production.

When it comes to vegan fashion, many people don’t realise it’s more than diet — it’s also about what we wear. Materials like wool, silk and leather all involve animal suffering and serious environmental costs. Wool, for instance, often involves painful procedures like mulesing and enormous water use. Leather isn’t just a by-product of meat — it’s its own industry, with chemical-heavy tanning that harms both workers and ecosystems. True vegan fashion means avoiding all animal materials and choosing plant-based or innovative alternatives, from organic cotton to apple, mushroom or cactus leather. It’s not impact-free, but it’s far less harmful.

When you look at materials, what trade-offs do you see most often, and which ones surprise people the most?

When you start really looking into materials, you realise there’s no such thing as a perfect one. Every fabric comes with trade-offs — it’s about choosing what does the least harm while moving the industry in a better direction.
Many people are surprised to learn that most vegan leathers still include some form of plastic, like polyurethane. That’s not ideal, but compared to animal leather — which involves suffering, toxic tanning and high emissions — a responsibly made PU- or bio-based leather is still a better choice.

The same goes for plant-based fabrics. Cotton sounds sustainable because it’s natural, but conventional cotton is extremely water- and pesticide-intensive. Organic cotton is better, but not perfect. Recycled fibres and low-impact blends help, yet they depend on proper recycling systems that don’t exist at scale.

What surprises people most is that natural doesn’t automatically mean sustainable, and synthetic doesn’t always mean bad. A “natural” fibre like wool or silk can have major animal rights and environmental issues, while a recycled polyester might have a smaller footprint if it’s kept in circulation.

At Shop Like You Give a Damn, we try to navigate those grey areas honestly. We look for what’s vegan, fair and more sustainable — accepting imperfection while supporting innovation. Real progress happens not when we find one flawless material but when the entire industry shifts its mindset from exploitation to responsibility.

How do you draw the line between what’s “good enough” and what’s still too problematic?

For us, the line starts with being 100 percent vegan — that’s non-negotiable. From there, we ask whether something is genuinely better than the mainstream alternative. That means no greenwashing, no empty buzzwords — just real, evidence-based improvement.

We have clear internal guidelines on what materials we accept. Products must be made from fabrics that are not harmful to animals and significantly less harmful to people and the planet. On labour, it gets more complex. Ideally, every worker earns a living wage, but not every region is there yet. Sometimes a verified minimum wage plus transparent progress toward a living wage can be acceptable for now. The key word is progress.

So “good enough” doesn’t mean perfect; it means effort, transparency and direction. If a brand is vegan, pays fairly and uses better materials, we’re happy to stand behind them. But if any of those pillars — animals, people or the planet — are missing, it’s not good enough.

You require sellers to adhere to your values. How do you support them in improving over time?

When we assess brands, we ask a lot of difficult questions and explain why certain choices don’t meet our standards yet. Even if a brand isn’t ready to join us right away, we often see them come back after improving.

We’re now working with over 150 brands, so we have a good understanding of where they tend to struggle and what helps them grow. Our goal is to use that shared knowledge to bring brands together, because this isn’t a competition. If we want to change the fashion industry, we need to do it collectively. One twig breaks easily, but a bundle doesn’t. That’s how we see ethical fashion — as a community. In the near future, we want to invest even more in that network, helping brands learn from each other and expand our collective impact.

KnowledgeCotton Apparel

Kings of Indigo

How do you communicate nuance or “imperfection” to your customers, without alienating or confusing them?

We try to be as factual and transparent as possible. That means saying we’re “more sustainable,” not “sustainable.” It might sound small, but it matters. Every product has an impact, and the goal is to make that impact smaller — not to pretend it doesn’t exist.

We remove vague or misleading claims like “eco-friendly” unless there’s real proof. And we make sure our language never excludes or offends anyone. Ethical shopping should feel approachable, not moralising. When people buy from us, we want them to know they’re making one of the best choices available — not a perfect one, but a conscious one that’s better for animals, people and the planet.

Recently, Shop Like You Give a Damn acquired the website of NOAH Italian Vegan Shoes. What motivated that move, and how will you integrate its legacy?

Our decision came from deep respect for NOAH’s pioneering role in vegan fashion and a shared desire to carry its mission forward. Founded in 2009, NOAH spent sixteen years proving that high-quality design can be completely vegan and ethical. It was one of the first brands we partnered with after our launch in 2018 and had long been a pillar of the community.

When NOAH announced its closure, we didn’t want that legacy to disappear. By acquiring its website, we can ensure that everything it built continues — its vision of compassionate, high-quality vegan fashion will live on and reach new audiences.

As you scale, what are the hardest tensions you face?

One of the hardest parts of running a sustainable company is making choices that are good for sustainability but bad for business. We’ve onboarded brands that customers love but later had to remove because they no longer met our standards.

It’s tough, because building a truly ethical business is difficult. Many brands and platforms have disappeared for that reason. But to make a real impact, a company also needs to earn enough to sustain its team. Only then can it continue to drive change. Balancing credibility and survival is never easy, but it’s essential.

What keeps you and your team motivated?

Most people in our company are vegan for the animals, and that shapes everything we do. It’s about compassion — making sure we don’t exploit people or destroy the planet. Even in hard times, when resources are tight or things get complicated, those values keep us inspired and focused on why we started this in the first place.

Looking ahead five to ten years, what do you dream Shop Like You Give a Damn could become?

I hope that in the next decade we’ll be the leading vegan, fair and sustainable fashion marketplace in the world. I want us to continue raising awareness about the problems in fast fashion while offering people an easy, enjoyable and trustworthy alternative.

KOMODO

SUITE13LAB

SHOP LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN
www.shoplikeyougiveadamn.com

based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
offering over 20,000 vegan, fair and sustainable products

A recent step reflects that approach with the acquisition of the website of NOAH Italian Vegan Shoes, preserving the legacy of a pioneer in vegan fashion and keeping its mission accessible. For Stephan, it comes down to building a credible way to buy with less harm, buy better and keep compassion at the center of commerce.

Kuyichi

Thinking MU

Rotholz

LUNETTES Selection Berlin - Vintage Eyewear

.specials
The LUNETTES SELECTION Experience
*Vintage Eyes, Modern Rituals

written AMANDA MORTENSON

In the quiet hum of a Berlin street, a visitor steps into LUNETTES SELECTION and enters a different time. Eyeglasses carry identity, memory, and design. Since its founding, LUNETTES SELECTION has built a world where frames communicate, spaces respond, and vision unfolds as a poetic act.

LUNETTES SELECTION emerged from a pursuit almost cinematic in its specificity: to find frames that do not yet exist in one’s wardrobe, to uncover exceptions. Its archive of never-worn vintage eyewear — salvaged from opticians’ inventories and manufacturers’ storerooms — constitutes a measured museum of form. Each piece acts as an invitation, in Berlin and across other cities, LUNETTES SELECTION gathers collectors, costume designers, and seekers of individuality who explore its “archive eyewear” with a sense of ceremony.

In 2011, LUNETTES SELECTION introduced its own line, the LUNETTES Kollektion, conceived in Berlin, handcrafted in Italy. These frames, realised in Mazzucchelli cellulose acetate, bear the same reverence for material, color, and detail that animates the vintage curation. The collection progresses with quiet confidence, never loud, tethered always to vision as a personal narrative.

LUNETTES SELECTION extends beyond eyewear into the experience between object and wearer, between object and space. Its Berlin boutiques in Mitte, Charlottenburg, and Prenzlauer Berg exist as stages for vision and interior. Each location carries shared elements—linoleum floors, a tactile palette in harmony with acetate tones—and reveals its own architecture of encounter.

The Charlottenburg store, realized by designer Oskar Kohnen, functions like a refined mise-en-scène. A pastel-green apothecary cabinet climbs to the ceiling, drawers that invite curiosity and discretion. A white-cube shell frames iconographic furnishings: a Hank Kwint side table, a Jacques Adnet rolling cart, two Pierre Paulin “Butterfly” chairs. Underfoot, restored 1970s marble floors gleam, while a sculptural lamp by Sebastian Summa asserts presence without dominance. The atmosphere carries poetry and precision, forming an architectural lens for viewing eyewear.
At the Torstrasse location, Kohnen’s transformation creates a chamber of wonder. The space unfolds as a blue-toned dialogue, where frame histories appear as curated curiosities. Marienburgerstrasse’s boutique, defined by polished concrete, card catalog–style cabinets, and vintage lighting, presents a cinematic rhythm.

Behind every frame is an eye test conducted with care and LUNETTES SELECTION reclaims the slower, handwritten craft of subjective refraction, inviting patrons into a relation with their own perception. This act aligns with the brand’s ethos that intimacy with the instrument of vision is itself part of the aesthetic.

Through its Journal, LUNETTES SELECTION narrates alliances — with makers, artists, stories. Highlights from Petites Lunettes, its children’s eyewear initiative, appear beside collaborations, archival essays, and explorations of optical heritage. The text gestures outward, placing LUNETTES in dialogue with design, film, even myopia management.

The brand speaks through calm precision, it listens, collects, edits, and opens space. Within this dialogue between object and subject, LUNETTES SELECTION shapes a quiet insistence, choosing how we see becomes a reflection.

Stepping outside, the visitor carries a trace of the place — a resonance where design, history, and vision meet. LUNETTES SELECTION exists as an interface, curated and alive to the gaze. Enjoy Yourself!

LUNETTES SELECTION Vintage and Handmade Eyewear www.lunettes-selection.de

Locations: Torstrasse 172 | Marienburgerstrasse 11 | Bleibtreustrasse 55, Berlin / Prices range from Optical frames €280, sunglasses €320, vintage archive pieces from €220.

WHITE Milano September 2025

Inside WHITE Milano 2025
*New Visions, Emerging Voices, Global Connections

WHITE Milano returns to the Tortona Fashion District from September 25 to 28, reaffirming its role as a stage where the global fashion system meets craft, research, and identity.

With 364 exhibitors, supported by partnerships with institutions such as MAECI, ICE, the Municipality of Milan, and the Lombardy Region, the exhibition creates a vision of the Spring/Summer 2026 season that is anchored in innovation and guided by sustainability. Its direction is international and precise, reaching into new markets and strengthening Milan’s position as the place where creative languages converge.

WHITE Milano
2025 September Edition
Brand CLARA PINTO

WHITE Milano
2025 September Edition
Brand CHŪNCHÉN

The theme of this edition develops through new structures and projects, among them the inaugural RLC Fashion Summit at MUDEC on September 25, an invitation-only gathering that brings together leaders from fashion, retail, and luxury. It reflects the ambition of WHITE to act as marketplace and laboratory, aligning commercial exchange with broader dialogues about the structural shifts shaping the industry. Alongside the summit, initiatives such as ExpoWHITE, Inside White, and WHITE Resort expand the exhibition’s perimeter, offering spaces that showcase cross-cultural creativity, resort and leisure fashion, and experimental approaches to design. Secret Rooms once again highlight talent through an immersive format, placing the focus on identities that carry strong aesthetic signatures and cultural depth.

In this atmosphere, certain presences define the pulse of the edition. CLARA PINTO is a London-based brand exploring innovation through traditional wool felting techniques. Founded in 2019, it has gained international recognition for its sculptural, material-driven approach, reinterpreting the role of wool in contemporary design through craftsmanship rather than technology. From Colombia, Manuela Alvarez continues her path of building bridges between ancestral handwork and global design, and her collaboration with Adidas extends this narrative into a sphere where artisanal codes merge with the technical imagination of sportswear. The result is a dialogue that amplifies the voice of independent craftsmanship and the reach of global production, presented within the context of WHITE’s curatorial stage.

Scandinavian presence finds expression in RENÉ Copenhagen, founded by Jens Skov Østergaard, whose voluminous silhouettes and fluid tailoring channel a sensibility that draws on heritage while projecting forward with utilitarian clarity. The brand’s aesthetic enters Milan with strength, expanding the exhibition’s geography while affirming the role of Copenhagen as an epicenter of cultural fashion energy. Italian craft is given a distinct accent through RIEN Studio, which has chosen to concentrate on a single product, a shoe that merges the function of a slipper with the elegance of a design object. Its appearance at WHITE Resort emphasizes how simplicity, when mastered, can define a whole vocabulary of style. HIDESINS adds a different tone, presenting a collection marked by architectural volumes, material experimentation, and a sense of power in silhouette, reinforcing the importance of bold design languages in shaping the visual direction of the season. Joining from Asia, CHŪNCHÉN introduces garments conceived with precision and material awareness, extending the reach of the fair into a new cultural horizon and giving voice to a rising creative identity with strong narrative depth.

WHITE Milano
2025 September Edition
Brand HIDESINS

WHITE Milano
2025 September Edition
Brand MAZ MANUELA ALVAREZ x ADIDAS

WHITE Milano
2025 September Edition
Brand SPEKTRE

These presences coexist with an extensive program that includes Spanish, Indian, Armenian, Brazilian, Romanian, and South African designers, each contributing unique cultural stories that expand the collective vision of the exhibition. At Superstudio, BASE, and other Tortona venues, visitors encounter installations, fashion-art dialogues, and showcases that underline the multiplicity of voices brought together under WHITE. Highlights include the Flavio Lucchini retrospective at the FLA Museum and Roberto Miglietta’s sculptural explorations at BASE, which situate fashion within an expanded artistic framework.

By curating this complex ecosystem, WHITE Milano September 2025 embodies a direction that is curatorial and connective. It stages a landscape where identities as diverse as BAJA, Alvarez with Adidas, RENÉ, RIEN Studio, HIDESINS, and CHUNCHEN take their place among global peers, forming a collective voice that resonates across continents. In doing so, the exhibition affirms its purpose: to be a meeting point where craft, innovation, and vision define the present and shape the future of fashion.

Wildling Shoes - Sustainable Barefoot Shoe

WILDLING
*Ten Years Barefoot in Motion

written SARAH ARENDTS

It all began with a step. Ten years of Wildling. Ten years barefoot, from the very start. Anna and Ran Yona founded the label in Engelskirchen in 2015, reimagining what shoes could be. Shoes that feel like no shoes at all. Unrestricted, agile, radically minimal.

The idea did not emerge from a business plan, it emerged from children running barefoot across tiles, meadows, sand. When the German climate demanded sturdier shoes, there were no models that gave the same freedom. So Anna and Ran built them. A wooden last shaped from their daughter’s foot, a designer sketching from afar, a small factory in Portugal producing the first prototype. A crowdfunding campaign brought the first pairs to life. And quickly the question arose: could this be done for adults too?

Anna and Ran
photo by Dirk Bruniecki

Today, people across the world wear Wildlings. The bestseller Tanuki alone has been sold over half a million times. Yet Wildling has never measured success in numbers. Success here means circularity, regionality, radical transparency. It means partners who want to reshape the textile world from its very roots. Three partnerships embody this vision: Nordwolle, Virgo Coop, and Itoitex. Each one tells of a future built from old knowledge, reimagined. Nordwolle begins in the pastures of northern Germany. Hardy breeds like the Pomeranian Landsheep graze the fields, preserving biodiversity. Their wool was once dismissed as too coarse, too rough. Now it is washed, combed, spun. No dyeing, no bleaching. A material that warms, breathes, and speaks against synthetic fibers, against microplastics, against faceless supply chains. Since 2015 Wildling has used Nordwolle, crafting models like Kindur entirely from it. When shoes are returned, the wool is recycled — a closed loop, rare in footwear.

Virgo Coop works in southern France. Three founders, an old weaving mill, a young team. Reviving the craft of European hemp and linen processing, long abandoned. Machines designed anew prepare the fibers into fine yarns. Hemp grows with little water, no pesticides, enriching the soil as it matures. Wildling invested in Virgo’s machines, helping save the weaving mill. Today, Nordwolle sends fibers to Virgo, and Virgo weaves fabrics in return. A regional cycle, sustaining knowledge once thought lost.

And then Itoitex. Two emails crossing paths — one from Germany, one from Japan. Anna Yona and Mr. Itoi recognized a shared possibility in Washi paper. Traditional Japanese paper, refined into yarn. Wrapped around a polyester core, woven into fabric. Lightweight, breathable, antibacterial. From it came the Tanuki. A shoe with a thin, flexible sole, inspired by Japanese Tabi footwear. A design that connects the body to the ground, it´s a symbol of cultural exchange and the courage of improbable ideas.

Anna and Ran
photo by Sarah Pabst

photo by Lisa Pitz

Ten years of Wildling means ten years of radical textile research. Wool from Rügen, hemp from southern France, paper yarn from Japan. Each material is part of a larger story. A story about circular economies, collective innovation, and textile self-determination in Europe and beyond. A story about footwear as a vessel of vision, carrying ideas of how to live with the earth.

Wildling remains barefoot. From the beginning. And for the future.

discover more www.wildling.shoes

RESLIDES - Modular Slides

RESLIDES
*Modular Slides for a World in Flux

written AMANDA MORTENSON

RESLIDES arrives from Zurich with clear intent, a lucid system for feet and pace, authored by designer Benno Reichard and released to the public in Spring 2025. The project speaks in clean lines and steady rhythm, offering footwear as an editable experience and style as a living practice.

The brand presents a commons of fashion-conscious people who move through daily life with self-determination, who treat the planet with care and curiosity, and who welcome new ideas for living and consuming in a constant state of flux.

The message lands with clarity; DIVERSE – ADAPTABLE – SELF-DETERMINED. A pair of RESLIDES enters the wardrobe either pre-assembled and ready to walk or delivered as a kit for hands that enjoy process, order, and the small ceremony of building. Each element carries longevity in its brief. Components fit, refit, and return to service with ease, and the design welcomes repeated touch. Uppers and straps drop in regular waves through collaborations with artists, designers, and like-minded brands, turning the slide into a platform for edits, experiments, and mood shifts that follow the body through a day, a week, a season.

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

RESLIDES modular slides

The formal language orients on Dieter Rams principles and holds a timeless posture. Edges read calm, proportions feel balanced, and the silhouette glides through studio floors, café tiles, summer concrete, quiet corridors, garden paths. The wearer becomes an editor of detail: a textured upper for evening air, a monochrome strap for a stripped-back moment, a pattern that hums through errands and conversation. The system encourages change through choice, and choice arrives through parts that click into place with reassuring precision.

MODULAR – DURABLE – CIRCULAR. RESLIDES runs on update culture. Straps and uppers rotate, repair unfolds with purpose, and retired components loop back to the brand with rewards that close the circle. The promise is simple: material stays in play, style continues, waste loses its spotlight. A slide becomes a toolkit for personal evolution, and every selection writes another line in a growing archive. The act of exchange—one strap for another, one upper for a new texture—feels immediate and grounded, a small action with a steady consequence.

The community sits at the center. RESLIDES gathers people who claim their taste with confidence and craft, who enjoy a design that listens and responds. The brand talks in the first person plural for a reason; the project lives through shared choices, through images and gestures that pass from one pair of hands to another. The visual world surrounding the footwear stays close to real rooms and lived moments. The rhythm continues on Instagram at @reslides.official where fragments and process offer a window into the practice.

For those seeking a clear entrance, explore modular slides at RESLIDES. The site opens the system, the kit, the ready-to-wear path, the collaborations, and the return cycle that keeps materials moving through many lives. A wardrobe gains a living instrument: build, adjust, repeat, document, evolve. Each pair becomes a working notebook, each strap a fresh line, each return a quiet affirmation of care.

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

Zurich gave the project its first pulse and Spring 2025 the first release, yet the rhythm already escapes time and place, carried forward through the people who wear and rewear, who assemble and disassemble, who send parts back and wait for the next drop, who treat the slide as an ongoing conversation between body and object, surface and ground, past step and next step. RESLIDES is less an item to be owned than a process to be lived, a modular cadence where every exchange of straps and uppers becomes a gesture of care, every return a small ritual in circular design, and every walk a reminder that fashion can remain open, responsive, generous. Update over waste, and movement writes the rest. Enjoy yourself!

discover more www.reslides.ch

pos.sei.mo - Sustainable Luxury Knitwear

pos.sei.mo
*Crafting Timeless Knitwear

written SARAH ARENDTS

The German knitwear brand pos.sei.mo builds its identity on rare natural fibers, refined craftsmanship, and a clear commitment to sustainability. Every collection is shaped by the idea that luxury can coexist with responsibility, creating garments that are precious and enduring.

The name pos.sei.mo brings together three materials that define the brand’s essence: possum, silk, merino. These fibers, often blended with cashmere, set the tone for the distinctive softness and resilience of the collections. The story began with a dedication to natural yarns and the decision to work with partners who share the same values. Early collaborations with Woolyarns in New Zealand established a foundation of trust and access to high-quality, ethically sourced fibers.

Production is anchored in Germany and the EU, where skilled workshops apply traditional and advanced knitting methods. Techniques such as Seamless Knitting and Fully Fashioned enable precise shaping, minimal waste, and garments that carry the signature of careful craftsmanship.

pos.sei.mo presents knitwear as a long-term companion. The brand pursues an approach that emphasizes continuity, thoughtful design, and accountability across every step of creation. A garment is envisioned for its moment of purchase and for years of use, with a focus on maintaining beauty and function over time.

This philosophy is extended through the Cashmere Spa, an in-house service for garment care and repair. By offering professional maintenance, the brand ensures that treasured pieces remain part of daily life for as long as possible. This service reflects a holistic vision: production and aftercare are inseparable elements of sustainable fashion.

Each collection reflects a dedication to elegance and refinement through knitwear. Fibers such as possum, silk, merino, and cashmere are chosen for their natural qualities and combined in innovative blends. Seamless construction techniques result in garments that feel fluid on the body, while Fully Fashioned knitting shapes each piece with precision.

Design language is rooted in clarity and timelessness. Natural and earthy tones dominate the palette, often complemented by muted neutrals that highlight the quality of the fiber itself. Silhouettes range from classic turtlenecks to draped cardigans, ponchos, and finely crafted scarves, all conceived to integrate effortlessly into a wardrobe.

Every stage of the pos.sei.mo process follows a consistent principle of responsibility. Fibers are sourced under strict environmental and animal welfare standards in New Zealand. Production takes place within Europe, allowing close oversight and fair working conditions. Knitting technologies reduce excess material, aligning efficiency with quality. By encouraging customers to renew and care for garments through the Cashmere Spa, pos.sei.mo adds another layer of responsibility to its practice.

pos.sei.mo represents an understanding of fashion as cultural craftsmanship. Each piece is both a product and a statement of values, shaped by a respect for natural resources, for skilled artisans, and for the wearer. The brand continues to expand its presence while staying true to its roots: fibers from New Zealand, European design aesthetics, and a dedication to sustainable luxury. Through its collections, pos.sei.mo demonstrates that knitwear can embody refinement, durability, and care. The vision is clear—garments created with integrity, carried forward with responsibility, and treasured across generations.

all images (c) pos.sei.mo
discover more www.posseimo.de