OBI’s ‘digicraft’ revolution

The supply of accessories and bijoux to the big fashion names is becoming increasingly complex. Shorter lead times, fragmentation of orders and increasing pressure on quality levels are radically transforming the needs of brands. Against this challenging backdrop, OBI, a longstanding Florentine company specialising in the creation and production of fashion accessories and bijoux for luxury, has embarked on a path of profound transformation, combining its tradition of craftsmanship with the potential offered by technology and digitisation.

The turning point came in the last few months, under the leadership of Paolo Calamandrei, a manager with an international background in management consulting and consolidated experience in leading companies in the fashion industry. Having joined Altofare, a group controlled by the private equity fund Whitebridge, at the end of 2024, Calamandrei gave OBI a decisive change of pace, aimed at making it once again a strategic partner for brands, reliable, fast and integrated in collection development processes. “OBI has always been recognised for its excellence in product development and manufacturing,” says Calamandrei.

“Quality is no longer a goal but a starting point. Our customers are looking for speed, certainty, transparency and trust: they want to see, touch and experience every step of the supply chain. And our commitment is to turn these expectations into reality, every day.” Hence the decision to focus on a ‘digicraft’ transformation, in which the manual skills, aesthetic sensitivity and attention to detail typical of Italian craftsmanship are merged with digital management systems, collaborative platforms and optimised production processes. All this alongside a rigorous turnaround initiated by Paolo Calamandrei, who has clearly set out the company’s positioning within the district: OBI now only works with a fully traced, verifiable and sustainable supply chain.

This choice allows brands to entrust production in full transparency, without the risk of being involved in opaque practices or marginal dynamics outside of the heart of the craft district. For the product development teams of luxury brands, OBI is now a supplier capable of responding to complex needs with a proactive approach: it can deliver prototypes quickly, in some cases even within 24 hours, guaranteeing traceable materials, documented processes and total transparency throughout the supply chain, a crucial element that ensures customers full compliance with current regulations on sustainability and control – an area today under increasing legal and reputational scrutiny. In addition, thanks to its in-house technical department, OBI supports creative teams from the early conceptual stages, contributing to the creation of accessories that are consistent with brand values, highly scalable and compliant with the required standards.