No part of the apparel supply chain has been unaffected by the pandemic, and it will take all players to explore new ways for moving forward in what many are calling “the new normal.” To fill this demand for responsible and enduring design, Italian trims manufacturer Cadica Group recently launched a collection inspired by the industry’s rebirth.
Aptly named “The New Normal Collection,” the range combines a vintage aesthetic with modern sustainability through the use of recycled and organic materials.
The desire to change how the company addresses seasons, materials and gender has been building up, said Carlo Parisatto, chief marketing and sales officer of Cadica Group. The pandemic gave the company the opportunity to put ideas into action. “Material research was the core motive we worked on to create a collection without any type of boundary, thanks to the use of different channels,” he said. “Creativity and sustainability are the only two facts that will give value to our future.”
The trims collection, which offers products for several apparel categories including denim, represents a crossover of retro inspirations from the 1930s to the 1980s.
And design elements are truly global in scope. Mirco Reffo, Cadica Group art director, described how Europe inspired the collection’s focus on sophisticated and functional beauty and the U.S. brought elements of culture and an emphasis on dynamic materials, while the East sparked ideas for blending innovative materials and techniques with the “sensorial and ritual elegance of color.”
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For denim, Cadica’s new developments emphasize the industry’s growing focus on sustainability. The company worked on creating soft bases of recycled cotton fabric, enhanced with reflective prints as well as gothic and grunge design details. Recycled felt is another key material, which the company said addresses the growing popularity of recycled and reused concepts.
The line of denim trims complements Cadica’s other sustainable solutions, including soluble accessories that tell the story of a garment and disappear in water, 100 percent biodegradable and compostable products and its line of stone-like felts that are made with recycled plastic.
The New Normal Collection offers trims for other apparel categories. For children’s wear, Cadica was inspired by pop star Billie Eilish’s bold and individualistic style. Mirrored surfaces, rubberized textures, florescent colors and furry glow-in-the-dark back patches add a ’90s street and skate vibe to the kids’ line.
Materials such as rubber, silicone and “minimal surfaces in natural materials” are key in Cadica’s range for activewear. Here, the company said it is stepping away from the a “monotonous” looks of plastic to introduce trims that feel more exclusive and handmade. Similarly, Cadica’s trims for the luxury market balance monochromatic and minimal colors with natural materials like wood and paper.
Along with the new collection, the company also enhanced its ID solutions, which help protect a brand’s intellectual property and mitigate the risk of counterfeiting. Cadica Group developed specially designed features—scannable tags, labels with hologram imagery and more—that verify the product’s authenticity.