Nestled amid 2,000 acres of Scottish countryside sits Dumfries House, an 18th-century estate complete with a walled garden. Traditionally home to a generation of earls, it has, of late, hosted a very different set of tenants: students from Italy’s architecture, design, and engineering school Politecnico di Milano. They’ve come together with British graduate artisans to create The Modern Artisan Project, a fashion collaboration between Prince Charles’ educational charity, The Prince’s Foundation, and Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP).
While it might seem like an unlikely pairing, Yoox founder and YNAP Chairman and CEO, Federico Marchetti, says he and the Prince bonded over a shared interest in conservation. Prince Charles “started talking about the effects of plastic in 1969, the year I was born!” Marchetti marvels. “He also has an incredible passion for the world of fashion. It has been inspiring to see these two interests come together, and to watch the students engage with him and present their work in progress.”
Education, technology and sustainability are three tenets behind The Modern Artisan, that in the wake of Covid-19 have even more socio-political relevance. The collection was designed by a team of six students of Politecnico di Milano in Italy and manufactured by six others at Dumfries House, after a four-month training course in small batch production and materiality. The silhouettes were inspired by data insights drawn from Yoox Net-a-porter’s 4.3 million global customers over the last five years – a tactic to reduce waste by ensuring that each item is something the customer actually wants to buy.
The Modern Artisan by Prince Charles features tailoring, as well as shirting and knitwear, like wide-leg trousers in an oversized check, pussy-bow blouses, and drawstring detail trousers in organic and rusty tones, all crafted using an eco-conscious selection of materials. Details in the collection also nod to the 500th anniversary year of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, with architectural details, drapery and tonal elements nodding to his technical studies of engineering and anatomy. An intricate smocked detail on the neck of a women’s double-breasted coat and the cable knit of a men’s roll neck jumper refers specifically to da Vinci’s knots and geometric sketches.
Each piece in the collection features a digital ID, providing the story behind the item, from the artisan who designed it to its care and repair recommendations. “The collection has such a rich story behind it, so we wanted our customers to meet the artisans responsible for creating each garment, understand their stories and experiences, and ultimately share our passion for the collection and the important issues it shines a light on.”
The Modern Artisan officially launched on the 12th of November 2020 and is available for purchase here.
Source: Elle