Filanda n.18

by Francesca Stocco, since 2020

Filanda N.18 is a fashion design lab exploring heritage textiles and interpreting them into ready-to-wear collections. Each collection tells a story through the use of textile techniques that have originated across different geographies and time – from Uzbeki ikat to Venetian lace, from Bengali kantha to Japanese boro.

Each collection takes approximately a year to bring to life. They start by studying the historical and anthropological background of a specific textile tradition. They then travel across the world and visit selected artisans who still work on that specific textile tradition. There, they look at how the craft is made and the role it plays in the social fabrics. After gathering ideas and inspiration, they work with workshops in Italy to technically develop their designs and with selected artisans to develop craft components. They work with family-size manufacturers in northern Italy, women-run craft communities in India, lace restorers in Venice, ikat weavers in Margilan. Their base fabrics are hand-selected from luxury textile mills’ dead-stock in Northern Italy. Each piece is made in a very limited quantity or bespoke.

Each suzani, french filet, jamdani, hand-block printed cloth carries a memory of the artisan who made it, but also of the cultural narratives behind.

Filanda n.18

Francesca founded Filanda n.18 with the intention of sharing little-known textile stories and heritage traditions. Traveling with an insatiable curiosity for hidden craft traditions, Francesca collected numerous textiles. Each suzani, french filet, jamdani, hand-block printed cloth carries a memory of the artisan who made it, but also of the cultural narratives behind. Filanda n.18 wants to bring to the surface those stories, in the hope of creating a meaningful bond between people and craft objects, and ultimately to preserve heritage textiles.

IMAGE CREDITS | FILANDA N.18