#backstage n.5 / Getting lost in the details

When a new model is born, the longest phase is – paradoxically – the final one, when we fine-tune the last details. And this is the moment I like best.

[”moment” isn’t really the right term, as this step can take weeks...]

So what details do we look at? The size of a zip, for example, or its colour, or the material, or the design of the fastener. In short: is it better for it to be contrasting or blend in? Black or nickel?

Or, the coating of the eyelets – the small holes that the laces go through. Should they be light or dark? Of course, the right answer varies from case to case...

And the laces themselves: we have to choose the colour, material and size.

But the discussion goes beyond these individual details – which is precisely why it is the “moment” I love the most. Compared to the first sketches, the first prototypes, a lot of time has now passed, and it is as if we have all reached the same distance, a different objectivity, a greater detachment.

So, it sometimes happens that, when thinking about zips and laces, we decide to change more significant elements, as if taking a step backwards. In reality, though, this is a step forwards!

Recently, we changed the toe of one of our combat boots. Originally designed in brushed leather, in the final stage it became glossy patent leather: to further accentuate the contrast with the calfskin upper. Shiny, dull, cool.