Life&People Magazine: intervista al Creative Director di B.WANT.B

Backpacks, bags, accessories Made in Italy excellence ofItalian craftsmanship, products B.WANT.B they respect the planet thanks to the curiosity and sensitivity of the designer Valentino who has always looked for innovative fabrics using sustainable materials when the sustainability it was not yet considered a priority. In 2009, during one of his usual trips to India, Valentino, engaged with his Tuscan company (Pietrasanta LU) in the production for important international brands, discovers tarpaulins of disused military trucks and falls in love with them.

He immediately sensed its great potential, so much so that he created the new brand: this is how it was born B.WANT.B. A new path begins that will lead him to become a precursor in the defense of the environment. To the discarded tarpaulins, Valentino has added vegetable tanned leather with tannin, by far the most environmentally sustainable method because the products, once worn, can be disposed of easily and transformed into fertilizer for agriculture. Each bag tells its story, its experience, every imperfection on the fabric tells a uniqueness not a defect, the imperfections on the leather are the sign of a natural product and not a defect. One-of-a-kind pieces, keeping as a peculiarity only the “cut” of the models, but every small and unique detail makes it a truly unique piece.

How did the idea of using decommissioned truck tarps come about?

I liked the idea of recovering a material that already had its own history by giving it new life. When I saw the tarps in India I thought that they could be a precious material, that old fabric could be resurrected and transformed. In fact I was not wrong: looking at the final product I liked it a lot and I decided to continue.  

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You have made avant-garde choices by favoring sustainable materials ...

Today, after many years, I realize that my creations have anticipated the times. When I started there was no talk of sustainability. Time has proved us right and I am very satisfied, above all I am convinced to continue on this path. In work as well as in life, I always try to make choices to protect the environment; the Planet is one and we must defend it. Finally we all noticed it, even consumers, especially them who in some way condition fashion.

 Details that make the difference: is there a particular technique for working disused tarpaulins?

Yes. First of all, the parts that can be used must be recovered. It is necessary to work very carefully and in an artisanal way with a scissor cut to hold and enhance some of the details of the tarpaulin such as seams, carryovers that characterize it, giving uniqueness to each piece. The first part of the work is done in India, the rest of the production and packaging in Italy.

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What are the leading products of B.WANT.B?

They are two. A multifunctional bag that can also be worn as a backpack, one of the historical models of our company that has never been changed except for some small improvement. The other flagship product is a simple backpack with a refined style. Now we are also developing a collection of T-shirts for which we will use only organic cotton and a second line of bags using cotton canvas, that is worked with yarns twisted in warp and weft to give greater resistance.

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Who wears B.WANT.B products?

Surely our regular customers are men and women aged over 30-35 and who love a non-standard, particular image. The style is that of motorcyclists, so to speak.

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Where can you buy your products?

On our ecommerce first of all. Then we have various retailers in Italy. A dozen merchants have wanted our products, some have been selling them for seven years now precisely because they appreciate the care and history behind our brand and our products.

We are also featured on the on the PostalMarket platform site attentive to sustainability while as regards the B2B we are present on Faire platform which is allowing us to enter new stores.

 Life&People MagazineWe believe that online is essential but we also want to grow with retail: our consumer certainly appreciates products more when he sees them, touches them. It is nice to keep the pleasure of buying. In fact, there is nothing better than carving out some time to carefully choose the products to buy. Touch them, wear them and make the right choice; buy the product B.Want.B that best suits each of us.