Now that the conversation about production has become more complex than "‘Made in US/UK=Good' and 'Made Elsewhere=Bad’", we’ve seen brands make their goods in countries that were previously taboo. Good production is good production, wherever it may be.
This brings us onto Neuba, whose highly complex woven (not to mention great looking) shirts are made in India. The brand, which founder Aldo Kahane launched in 2012, calls the hand weavers responsible for the product “a central component to the Neuba brand.” When the label started, it worked for five weeks on the textile design “until we had enough fabric for just four shirts. Three years on, these are still our best-selling styles. So it was only right that we named them after the weaver, Manthri Babu.”
When asked about why they chose to manufacture in India, they noted India’s long history of hand weaving and the level of expertise this history brings. Also, “working directly with the weavers means that we are free to develop much more creative and intricate textiles, with no middle men and all-you-can-eat mangos.” To battle misconceptions about production, Neuba went ultra-transparent. Kahane says, "I’ve always made sure that we are completely transparent about everything we do. In every label we choose to show the exact coordinates of where each garment is woven. I feel that consumerism is so face-less today, that it’s important to bridge a relationship between the customer, the supplier and the brand.”
Of course, all the great manufacturers in the world would mean nothing if the product wasn’t up to scratch, which, thankfully, isn’t the case. The brand started out with four shirts, all made using self-engineered textiles. “We engineer all of our textiles in-house, while most Western brands will source mass-produced fabric stock,” says Kahane. “No two fabrics are exactly the same. When you get different people weaving at different speeds there are subtle nuances in the fabric. The whole process brings back the humanization that is lost with modern machine weaving.” Neuba captured the process in detail during a trip to Hyderabad with photographer Harry Mitchell, which you can watch above.
Although this does make for a great product, we did wonder if this could also limit the potential growth of the company. “Yes, but it has never been my intention for Neuba to become to a huge brand," says Kahane. “I don’t think the world needs any more of those. Each season we release the collection in its entirety, and once it’s gone, it’s gone!”
But that doesn’t mean there’s absolutely no room for growth. This season sees the brand move into outerwear and accessories, including a waterproof (but still hand-woven) jacket. “The inside has been laminated with a technical membrane and all of the seams are taped.” The brand has also just launched an online store, so you can see the entire Fall/Winter 2015 collection in one place. It’s the kind of collection that’ll have strangers stroking your shirt and friends jealous of you, so the site is more than worthy of a visit or three.
