A new collection, completely experimental, in the midst of a global pandemic. Yes, this time I did it big, but the strength to innovate even more courageously - perhaps - comes precisely from the situation we have been experiencing for a year now.
Never like this year, the need to regain possession of my time was strong and guided my choices in the design of the spring / summer 2021 collection, but Tinctoria was not born in the last few months. It took years of experiments, research, failed attempts, irregular prototypes, to finally arrive at the models that I can tell you today. And perhaps, arriving at the final result during this pandemic was no accident at all.
The idea also arises from the need for producing in a more sustainable way, in the right quantities and respecting the environment. Reducing waste and producing less and better is part of my small revolution in the sector to which I belong.
To change the production cycle it is necessary change the way of producing, at the base. This is why I don't look at trends when I design a collection, I start from what I can give to my clients, from my originality, from my project; I propose what I feel belongs to me.
Here, just like that Tinctoria was born.
Tinctoria is a hymn to slowness, to joy savored one step at a time, to diversity as the most authentic form of beauty. The processing requires patience: dyeing, drying, assembly and finishing involve a more complex process than the classic shoe, to arrive at a truly unique product, rich in artistic and expressive value. Each shoe has its own particular nuance: even when you compare two products of the same model, of the same color, you will never find a corner of leather that is identical to the other.
The stages of processing
The new line requires a long process, much slower and more meticulous than that which until now led to the finished shoe.
The classic stages of design, cutting, assembly, sewing, finishing are enriched with intermediate steps such as dyeing and drying, which need time to give optimal results.
The difference is in the raw material: for the classic line, I use an already colored and finished leather. For the Tinctoria collection, on the other hand, I used a vegetable tanned "crust" format with tannins. Crust leather is a raw material, which allows you to multiply your creative possibilities.
The shoe is designed and the leather is cut by Gianluca, who then passes the baton to me. At this point, I just have to choose the dye and color the shoe. How?
With real ones "Baths" of color, the number of which varies according to the pigment used. This is one of my favorite moments. Have you ever had the chance to enter a darkroom? The photographic image being printed seems to emerge from the paper as if it were magic. When I dye the leathers I have the same and identical feeling: I never know what will come out until I have completed the entire process, drying included.
Of course, the process is controlled, but the result will always be different, every time this magic is repeated in our laboratory. The next phase is that of drying, which can take several days and a lot of care, only when the final fixing of the color takes place can the shoe be assembled and finished.
This journey is what I call a true value chain, which only those who produce in small quantities can afford - and this, for me, is priceless.
Dye by hand with dyeing herbs
What enhances this line most is the “singular” palette: the colors used are exclusively natural.
To get to the final result I did research and training, going back in time to innovate production. Colors have always been part of human life, ever since its appearance on Earth. We used it to evolve, develop relationships with the environment and with other people; today, colors are the custodians of a boundless collective memory. Centuries of history enclosed within a precise shade of blue or red.
The art of dyeing was born centuries ago, together with weaving and spinning. It is shocking to think that the first hand-dyed fabrics found in Austria date back to the Neolithic, around 4000 BC!
While in the sixteenth century the first "recipe books of dyeing" appeared, the first attempts to standardize this art.
Natural colors can have an organic nature, if extracted from plants, flowers or insects, or inorganic, if obtained from earth and minerals. The colors were used to dye wools, leathers and fabrics and their uses were handed down from generation to generation. Once, when chemistry had not yet entered our factories, it dyed just like that. The decline of natural dyes came in 1856, when the Englishman Perkin discovered the first synthetic dye derived from petroleum.
The colors of Tinctoria
For our new collection we have used dyeing herbs, which ensure amazing results and shades. Beauty is contained right here, in the infinite possibilities that derive from the same plant.
We used the Madder, or Rubia Tinctoria, to obtain a warm and lively red; the Walnut husk, or Junglans direction, for a particularly intense brown; the Reseda, or Reseda Luteola, for a poetic and luminous yellow; the Catechu, or Acacia Carechu, for earthy browns; the Pernambuco, or Caesalpinia echinata, for a red ember. These are stable colors, appreciated and used since ancient times in dyeing shops.
What I appreciate most is the fact that each shoe has its own particular nuance: even comparing two products of the same model, of the same color, it is impossible to ever find a corner of leather that is identical to the other.
The models of the Tinctoria collection
The new collection includes very different models, all sharing one feeling: lightness. That lightness that is never frivolous but fresh and full of life, which makes you smile. Light, like life that is reborn, despite everything, stubborn. The Tinctoria collection makes me think of all those times when immersed in the colors of nature, among the trees, flowers and leaves, I felt free, light.
Among the models you will find Hand-woven Amanda, in two versions. In the first, with a checkered weave, the comb-stitched upper, the threads intersected relentlessly. In the second, with a carpet weave with a thread that crosses the upper obliquely. There will also be a surprise the Elise hand woven, practical and everyday, extremely easy to wear. A buckle appears on the instep, surrounding the front; underneath a flap with fringe peeps out: the inspiration is stolen from the male wardrobe.
And then the Dory Tinctoria, in two versions: smooth, with the color becoming ethereal, sometimes decorated with hand-made stamps, or woven, with the dye that makes each fillet unique. Among the most delicate shoes stands out The Clown Tinctoria, a chanel model whose comfort and elegance can be appreciated, which the botanical-inspired decorations make really special.
Sandals can not be missing, high and low but all very comfortable. You will be able to choose between Lia, Ida, Maria, Samarita, Gianna.
Tinctoria is this here, which I presented to you with a pinch of emotion. It is a line, more than a collection, because it will also be present during the winter season, but in constant evolution.
Can't wait to hear what you think! Write me at alice@scarpettadivenere.it and let's talk about it together.
