Consinee presents
Echoes of Craft

Consinee, a globally leading Chinese group operating in fine yarns and cashmere fibres from a certified and sustainable supply chain, has entrusted the artistic direction of its new Echoes of Craft project for Pitti Immagine Uomo 109 to Sara Sozzani Maino, who has brought in designer Galib Gassanoff to lead creative development. Ongoing experimentation combined with the possibility of a deeper understanding of the versatility of fibre usage are the bases on which Consinee’s creative, non-commercial platform is developed, evolving from season to season to create new, free and stimulating narratives.

Sara Sozzani Maino, creative director of the Sozzani Foundation, invited Galib Gassanoff, a designer celebrated for his creativity and steadfast vision, to embark on a new aesthetic quest through raw material, developing an all-new narrative in which artistic heritage returns us to our roots to give a sense of anchoring. Through manual skill, tradition is transformed into innovation and beauty, becoming a language that transcends time. Each creation is more than a mere object: it is a gesture that shapes culture, uniting people, places and generations through the timeless art of craft. The collection consists of fifteen special garments created through careful research that began in the archive of Sara Sozzani Maino’s wardrobe and merges with elements from pastoral coats, widely used in the steppes of Central Asia, from Mongolia to the Caspian Sea, from the Caucasus to the Balkan highlands, uniting Eurasia across borders. The construction of the pieces evolves from traditional surfaces towards experimentation with treatments and volumes: each garment is handcrafted using specific techniques as an expression of the traditional heritage of knitwear and tailoring that we possess and must preserve.

It is a dynamic alternation between the rigidity and structure of felt in dialogue with the softness of cashmere and other fine yarns such as wool, mohair, alpaca, yak and silk. The colour palette faithfully recalls the natural tones of the fibre: white, black, brown and grey, with a few touches of different shades, designed precisely to link tradition and innovation. The drape of an ultralight cashmere voile envelops the structured outerwear, evoking the feeling of a Renaissance sculpture carved like marble. The hand-stitched double coats are made from the finest wool and cashmere blends, the oversize sweaters have a brushed cloud effect or fringed Donegal cashmere, both with a double neckline and high funnel neck or wide V-neck. The long pastoral capes are presented in three versions: in Aramis Donegal cashmere with a knotted texture, in a snow-white cashmere and silk blend, and in yak yarn with long mist-coloured fringes, preserving the natural and original colours of the fibre.

Two tapestries, 2.5 metres high and 1.5 metres wide, have also been made: one with long fringes in shades of white and snow in a cashmere and silk blend; the other with a double fabric in high- quality wool, mohair and alpaca blend, cut and stitched by hand, transforming a tailored coat into a decorative wall element. Finally, charcoal or snow-coloured cashmere knit panels have been washed and felted, then made into an oversize coat or a short overcoat with a soft kimono-style structure.