Intimo più mare n° 204 - Luglio 2016

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
the business for more than fifty years, managing to revolutionize
the world of swimwear in the Seventies and Eighties with its edgy,
super-feminine products. We chatted with Margherita about her
personal vision of intimate apparel and beachwear, the things she
intends to accomplish with the brands of the Parah Group and, last
but not least, the spring-summer collection for 2017, her big debut
collection with the firm.
“Ever since I first started working with the company I sensed a
stimulating atmosphere of creativity, not to mention tradition and
savoir-faire, as if Edda Paracchini, the woman who founded Parah
along with her husband, Giovanni Piazzalunga, were still around to
inspire me. I have decided to breath new life into such concepts
as femininity, couture and glamour, characteristics that have distinguished
Parah from the very beginning”.
This devotion to craft-based values has inspired Margherita in the
creation of the collections, without forgetting another hallmark of
this talented designer: paying close attention to the style signals
coming in from abroad, intelligence that is diligently intercepted and
revamped, imbuing it with a contemporary, metropolitan flair. As the
first tangible sign of Mazzei’s having joined the firm one therefore
discovers a whole new collection, Parah Active, gym-glam items in
keeping with the latest trend from the USA.
“There is a special concern with everything that has to do with wellness”,
Mrs. Mazzei continued, “a focus on the sort of garments
that lend themselves to the practice of sporting activities, reinterpreted
with a contemporary twist. In regard to Active I have kept in
mind both the technical considerations, employing, for example, an
elastic yarn featuring Innergy, a microfiber product by Nilit which
boasts the ability to conduct heat, improving blood circulation, as
well as fashion considerations, including the showcasing of a strong
but transparent tulle for briefs, bodysuits, tops, jerseys and jackets.
Black is the basic color, broken up and interspersed with bright
colors. Along with the day portion of the collection, I have also developed
several evening wear items”.
Along with these garments, flourishing a sporty-glam allure, making
a fairly strong statement, Margherita has decided to treat female
shoppers to a series of items with a more romantic allure. Lots of
flowers have been combined with a geometric motifs. Straight stying,
broken up with narrow belt strategically placed at the waist,
pants and long skirts which recall the Coachella look distinguish
this theme which also includes solid-tone combinations featuring
lovely tones of cornflower blue-turquoise and cherry-amarena. Parah
made a name for itself thanks to its brightly colored, chic swimsuits;
carefully designed styling intended to showcase a woman’s
figure. And Mrs. Mazzei has maintained these distinctive hallmarks
in the Parah and Parah Impronte collections for the summer of
2017. “The inspiration has been South America”, she was eager to
point out. “I selected mixed prints featuring a number of different
subjects, such as ferns and tropical birds, discreet and fluorescent
colors. An important signature element of the collections is the emphasis
on craft-based workmanship, the couture aspect. Also in the
case of Impronte, which identifies structured garments for women
with soft lines, I have opted for a sophisticated, modern moodt”.
A woman who is feminine and sexy, a naturally sophisticated
creature, is the sort of woman Miss Mazzei has catered to when
it comes to the bodywear collection. One witnesses a return of the
alluring cage effect of old-fashioned corset stays, but without fabric,
revamped by means of special styling and embroidery on a neutral
base of tulle, interspersed with bright colors, from fluorescent
shocking pink to cornflower blue and dramatic black, for corsets,
shorty nightgowns and French knickers; applications in macramé
with stark 3D effects thanks to deft dégradé chromatic effects on
basis in shiny, light MicroSensitive fabric, featured in tones of petrol
blue, flesh, dark rose and teal.
ANNIVERSARIES on page 218
IMEC:
AN EIGHTY YEAR LOVE AFFAIR WITH UNDERWEAR
This long-established brand is marking an important anniversary:
the past, present and future of an industry icon
This coming 23rd of July Italy’s Imec (an acronym standing for
Industria Maglieria e Confezioni), the manufacturer of underwear,
foundation garments and beachwear, will be celebrating eighty
years of successes and evolutions. The company started doing
business back in 1936 between Bergamo and Lecco, with a line of
underwear in nylon. In no time it had established itself as a leader in
the sector, investing considerable resources in the creation of slips
and nighttime lingerie; the firm’s television commercials during the
Sixties were legendary. In 1966 Imec diversified its range of products,
inserting new brands and adding new lines of product, such as
foundation garments, swimsuits and beachwear. In a parallel manner
they added to the product selection, as the firm continued to
demonstrate its prowess in terms of the excellent quality of its products,
a characteristic that has remained unaltered down through
the years. In 2005 the Imec brand became part of Tex Zeta of the
Zambaiti Group. In 2010 Tex Zeta opened its new headquarters in
Carvico (Bergamo), an innovative plant facility.
“In 2016 Imec began to implement an expansion of the product
range, in particular with the Cristallo line”, explained Fabio Micheli,
the owner and CEO of the Tex Zeta Group, presented at Immagine
Italia & Co., consisting of bras whose most outstanding benefit is
excellent fit, including for the larger sizes, featuring cups up to size
E. The goal is to bolster the selection of the everyday foundation
garments for which Imec is so well known”.
When it comes to the underwear, foundation garments, homewear,
lingerie, swimsuit and beachwear sectors the products whose labels
belong to Tex Zeta (a group that also includes the Ritratti Milano,
Jaloe and Franca Von Wunster brands) are produced in keeping
with a rationale of seasonal collection and continuous ones. In regard
to the latter the selection of intimate apparel, slips and foundation
garments are designed to satisfy the most demanding fit requirements,
boasting B, C, D and E cup sizes.
Fully 50% of Tex Zeta’s sales is generated by the foundation garments,
25% by the beachwear and the remaining 25% by pajamas
and sleepwear.
“We have very loyal customers who appreciate the unique benefits
of our products, our reliability and reputable practices. The Imec
products fall into a higher price range than the mass-oriented products
carried by the chain operations, but considering the type of
product we make, one still gets very good value for the money”, the
chief executive officer was eager to point out. “In addition, we are
endeavoring to come up with a shop format capable of adequately
showcasing all the fine brands of the group; we are also planning
on putting together a capsule collection for the summer season.
Imec is also making significant inroads into the foreign market, in
particular in Russia, Germany and France and we are establishing
bridgeheads in Japan and Australia. The company is also very interested
in the Arab markets".
Innovation is another signature characteristic of the company. “We
are investing heavily in research and development regarding continuous
products and ones that boast special features right across the
board for all the brands, but especially for the Imec, Ritratti Milano
and Jaloe labels. For example, six months ago we launched the
Piuma line of Ritratti Milano, fine intimate apparel products made
with an extremely lightweight new microfiber that is guaranteed to
dry quickly”, concluded Fabio Micheli.