Barneys New York. The Story Behind the Collection.

Expertise: Fashion Films / Wool / Retail Projects

An artistic film created for the Barneys New York Special Project with Vitale Barberis Canonico in Tokyo. Built from fragments of textile history, production and fashion, it follows wool from the company’s archive to the garments designed by Pierangelo D’Agostin of PDA.

The aim was to bring VBC’s textile heritage into a contemporary fashion setting. The film needed to connect the quality of the fabric, the work behind it and the design of the collection in a story people could follow and feel.

VBC’s historical archive and textile library provided a starting point. Seen alongside current production, these materials showed how more than three centuries of experience remained part of the company’s everyday work.

Inside the mill, the camera stayed close to fibres, machinery and working gestures. These sequences received the same visual attention as the fashion scenes. The precision of production became something to watch, giving the process its own place in the film.

PDA’s unisex garments carried the story into clothing. Models wore the pieces, while close views of tailoring brought attention to hands, tools and the handling of fabric. The collection remained connected to the material and the work that gave it shape.

The editing took an experimental approach, moving between the archive, production and fashion rather than following a conventional company timeline. Fragments from different periods formed the story, with wool keeping the film connected throughout.

At Barneys New York in Tokyo, the film accompanied a retail presentation that included the garments and concepts for the store windows. It gave people another way into the collaboration, beyond what they could see in the finished collection.

The result was a fashion film with the depth of a textile story. For Barneys, it gave the special project a character of its own, with VBC’s history and expertise present in the way the collection was introduced.

Hand-drawn window concept for Barneys New York, with garments framed by Monte Mucrone and cherry blossom

Completed Barneys New York window in Tokyo, displaying the PDA collection with mountain imagery and pink cherry blossom

Black-and-white portrait of a model wearing a PDA zip-front jacket, with a reflection in the mirror behind

Close view of a flap pocket on a PDA jacket, with a reflected figure in the background

Hands positioning a paper pattern on Vitale Barberis Canonico wool fabric, with the mill’s name visible on the selvedge

Tailor’s chalk tracing the edge of a paper pattern on wool fabric with a Made in Italy selvedge

Model wearing a PDA tailored jacket beside a mirror in a black-and-white fashion image

Man in a white work coat holding a measuring tape beside a cutting table

Back view of a model wearing a PDA hooded jacket, with a face reflected in the mirror

Fabric swatches and yarn reference cards on a page in VBC’s textile library, examined by hand

Hand lifting a fabric swatch from a group of samples in VBC’s textile library

PDA tailoring shown on models beside a large mirror in a room with exposed wooden beams

Tailoring scissors resting on dark wool fabric marked with chalk at the cutting table

Pincushion and tailor’s chalk on marked fabric, with paper patterns behind

Model wearing a PDA tailored suit with hands in the pockets, beside a mirror

Cutting table with paper patterns, tailoring scissors and a pincushion on dark fabric

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