The Raw Diamond capsule was born in occasion of Ballantyne’s centenary, from the desire to find and original idea and enhance the fiber that made it famous: cashmere, telling something that had never been told before.
In a marketing-oriented industry, it is common to think that the softest the cashmere- the higher the quality of the fiber, but few know that cashmere is not born like this.
Truthfully it is a fiber like many other wool fibers, but which has within itself the characteristics of sweetness and softness, which man has always tried to extrapolate, violating in some way this thread, and accelerating a natural process.
From the ambition to make this fiber known to everyone from its first day of life, Ballantyne Raw Diamonds were born, which tell an untold story.
“Raw Diamond is free thought, a thought that makes us fell good.
And it is through free thought that the most beautiful things are born”
Cit. Fabio Gatto
RAW DIAMOND PROJECT
Raw Diamond is a sustainability project, which is developed not only through the use of natural threads and dyes but also through dedicated packaging: instead of the tag, a sheet of cotton was chosen, pinned by hand on each shirt in which the story of the capsule is told; a perfume was also created to recall the origins of the brand, Scotland, sprayed on each knit, then enclosed in a cotton shell to capture its poetry.
A project that speaks of origins, of fashion, which wants to distance itself from the concept of seasonality, and wants to approach the world of art, to which the brand has decided to dedicate an exhibition by collaborating with Maria Szakats, an Austrian artist, whose practice expresses through the manipulation of fabrics and yarns.
Szakats investigates the concept of value through the notions of production time, intended use and materials used.
Attention to manual work is central to her practice. Her works combine fabrics installations, creating a connection between craftsmanship, material, image and space.
Szakats’ artistic ethics aligns harmoniously with the Raw Diamond capsule, meeting the values of sustainability, durability, respect for artisan work and time interpreted as an element that gives value and binds generations.