top. Saisei Cashmere
trousers. HELIOT EMIL
opposite
top. Saisei Cashmere
In such a complex and difficult time, fashion speaks volumes using only visuals. As the team behind Saisei Cashmere explains, “We are really famous when someone wants to hear our silences.” The label and creative team shared an exclusive interview with the group behind the up-and-coming brand for this editorial in partnership with HELIOT EMIL.
Saisei Cashmere Marketing Department:
Saisei Cashmere is a brand new start up in the panorama of the Italian luxury fashion system. How and where does your adventure start?
Saisei Cashmere let in a new air to the theme of cashmere. The project offers absolutely high quality cashmere from the best Mongolian spinning and combines it with Italian design and accessories produced by the best Italian craftsmen. The project was born in the Marche Region in Italy and has Milan as its main reference point for events, presentations in showrooms and production of its ADV campaigns. This is the value we want to convey:
“The true essence of luxury is immaterial, it is living a sensorial experience through an object, which outlines and amplifies our identity. It’s when the idea blend with purity material”
After a trip to the fascinating Mongolian territories, Mrs. Susanna Santini — Manager of Marcopolo Zs Italia SRL, a company that deals with the selection of the best leathers for international brands — brought life to a personal path of creation for the fashion brand.
Your ADV campaigns have a strong emotional impact and are very suggestive. What are your main sources of inspiration?
The climate, the sounds of nature, the colours of Mongolia and the remote areas of mountainous regions have inspired me, and I pushed to stay for some time in those places and learn the phases of harvesting, processing and the care and attention with which the factories control each production step until there are yarns and fabrics of a softness that cannot be described — it must absolutely be touched. I liked that every producer from that place believes and supports the principle of the purity of cashmere, of their “white gold”, with respect for the animals, the Hircus goats, which are the vital and main part of the cashmere story. The charm of the places harmonised with the tactile sensation of the material, from bow to cashmere garments.
Saisei Cashmere is an elite brand with extremely luxury products in terms of design and purity of the material. Who is the woman the brand speaks to?
So “Saisei”, which means “rebirth” in Japanese, calls to mind both a new career path as a new way of thinking and a new interpretation of this precious material. We like the idea of offering cashmere to a woman who wants to be elegant but also casual, a modern woman who loves garments with great attention to detail that are as comfortable as a warm hug. A subtle blend of refinement and naturalness, an urban charm.
top. Saisei Cashmere
opposite
top. Saisei Cashmere
trousers. HELIOT EMIL
Cashmere is a product of the highest quality. What is your concept of design that plays into the purity and royal feeling of this material?
The project sees the goal of creating essential collections in lines, iconic, chic but also comfortable — “The casual luxury that once tried cannot be abandoned… ” Cashmere as a lifestyle, total looks you can play with; to mix your wardrobe with our precious garments. The clothes as well as the home line objects are unique, the permanent limited edition to which we become attached that accompanies us because they last a lifetime.
We have also thought of a special packaging. Each cashmere garment is unique like a real jewel, and it is right that it has a personal space to be stored and transported in your daily life. It’s a new vision and philosophy of cashmere.
What is one of your fundamental principles?
Quality control is one of the phases we value most. It is strictly performed by hand at the end of each production phase before placing the product in the sales circuit.
Your first ADV Campaign Chapter, shot in Kyiv, Ukraine, claimed that “Beautiful things are rare; rare things are precious, and precious things must be hidden”. So how is your sales landscape organised? As an elite product, where can we find Saisei Cashmere?
We operate both with our online and offline boutique. In fact, we are selecting some multi-brand boutiques in Italy and Europe where to place our product. We also organise exclusive sales and events in particularly prestigious locations. We are convinced that we can recover individuality in a world flooded with consumption methods that are not in line with our product. We need to go back to a sort of uniqueness, rediscover the taste of the past when buying a precious garment, that pleasure that aroused such beautiful emotions in us. Today, the shopping experience is consumed too quickly. While at our showroom and during our exclusive sales, we cuddle the customer with all the care and hospitality that we would reserve for a dear special guest.
What is your opinion on eco-sustainability in the fashion system?
Awareness of sustainability has become very important for people. And there is no more sustainable material than pure cashmere. The destiny of a cashmere sweater is to last over time, and for this reason it is naturally part of sustainable fashion. To obtain our cashmere, the goats are combed in the neck and chest area where the warmest and softest underfleece is produced, obviously in minimal quantities.
Susanna Santini, Saisei Cashmere Project Manager:
Now we turn to Susanna Santini, Saisei Cashmere’s Project Manager. What does Saisei Cashmere represent for you?
The change of my life, of times, of things to do and to decide for the first time. After over 25 years as a lawyer, I became an entrepreneur and therefore had to study, gain experience, convert my approach to a business woman mentality while still treasuring the experience of my previous job. I made some mistakes, but I really learned a lot. In any case, I am happy with the choice to completely change my working life. Being able to put an idea in practise, seeing our project carried out in the widest freedom, is something extremely rewarding. No sacrifice is too heavy when you see a wonderful garment born from your design.
top. Saisei Cashmere
trousers. HELIOT EMIL
opposite
top. Saisei Cashmere
2020 was a very special year — one that marked a profound change in the fashion system and unfortunately established fear and uncertainty in the people and professionals of our sector. What does the future of Saisei Cashmere look like?
To speak of projects for the future is difficult in this moment in which the world is besieged by the pandemic. We will proceed in small steps because situations change quickly, and therefore we must always be careful to understand strategies that allow us to work despite everything and adapt the way we approach our customers by trying to satisfy their needs more and more. Let’s go on. We must not lose the pleasure of a few moments of normal life. Even in the purchasing process — shopping is a moment of gratification and if denied, limited or worse, still exercised hastily and unsafely, it becomes a further deprivation.
For this reason we have implemented a sales method in the showroom with private appointments. We welcome customers into our living room with all the guarantees for health. In short, an old-fashioned atelier where you can buy designer garments while enjoying a tea.
Niccolò Lapo Latini, ADV Creative Director chosen by Saisei Cashmere for the 2020 season and confirmed for another in 2021:
Niccolò Lapo Latini, ADV. Welcome back to our magazine. So, a start up has entrusted you with a complex project in terms of advertising… The market is very competitive and 2020 has unfortunately marked the end of many companies — and yet here you are, not only alive but taking a lot of initiative with proactive energy. What do you think of the path you’ve taken thus far?
Saisei— it’s a clear example of perseverance and determination. Even if this year has been very difficult for Italian Fashion Businesses and obviously every kind of work activity due to COVID-19, they didn’t give up. They pushed through their limit in order to emerge. They demonstrate character and a strong sense of entrepreneurial spirit which at the end paid off.
We have to take risks in this sector and right now especially! I love to work under pressure. That bravery mixed with the equilibrium always paid off. Those who doubt and don’t take risks automatically exit to the market in such times, like a natural selection.
Explore more from Saisei Cashmere on its website and follow the label on Instagram.
adv. Niccolò Lapo Latini
photography. Myriam Tisbo
mixed artist. Rebecca Coltorti
model. Jiao Zhong
make up. Elena Gentile
in partnership. HELIOT EMIL
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