Qualities popularized by at-home pandemic consumers lead Italian textile manufacturer Berto’s denim collection for Fall/Winter 22-23. Dubbed “The Empathy Collection,” the five-part range touches on comfort and sustainability in several ways.
Berto addresses the “desire to dress as if surrounded by a warm hug” with Everyday Plush. Here, the mill experiments with cashmere blends to offer the wearer a “warm and soft feeling,” and mixes cotton with viscose to create a soft and fluid hand that the mill compares to “soapy denim.”
Other fabrics blend cotton with nylon offer a technical yet elegant look while maintaining stretch performance, lightness, and softness.
In Japan Calling, Berto captures the authentic essence of Japanese denim with structured weaves and 100 percent cotton constrictions. To complete the capsule a special blend with a Tencel slubby weft is available, adding an unexpected soft and fluid touch to the fabrics with a rough appearance.
The Mother Nature line encompasses Berto’s wide use of GOTS certified organic cotton and Pianeta Fabric, the mill’s GRS certified recycled cotton fabrics made by regenerating its own production waste. This waste is also upcycled by Italian trims maker Cadica Group to produce sustainable labels and hangtags.
The mill is taking a practical approach to trends, too.
As ’90s trends and influences from vintage denim continue to filter across men’s and women’s fashion for all ages, the Iconic line proposes seasonless fabrics with a classic salt and pepper look. Rigid fabrics, lightweight shirting and slubby comfort denim are offered here, in addition to a range of in-stock core fabrics.
To contrast with the vintage blues, Black Blood offers double-black fabrics with “two souls,” the mill described. The collection includes overdyed sulfur denims that result in a washed and aggressive look, and fabrics with a black weft “inspired by elegance and sophistication.”