Mib

Manifattura Italiana del Brembo, launched in 1969 and known all over the world, sometimes only by its initials. The Italian tanning factory produces skins for fur garments at Pontirolo Nuovo in the province of Bergamo. It is owned by the Carminati family and directed by Roberto Scarpella. Right from the start, the company has combined avant-garde techniques with a respect for the strictest ecological regulations. The factory, which covers an area of 25,000 square meters and employs 230 members of staff, is located in a hundred year-old building. All steps that make it possible to work in harmony with nature have been taken: water and air purification systems and the filtering of all emissions are kept under constant control. Members of staff work in a healthy and pleasant environment. In conjunction with its sister company Htp (High Tech Processings), machines and high-tech procedures using computers have been implemented. At the same time, handcraft skills have been conserved, an invaluable complement to the unending research in the world of fashion, which has given rise to a series of innovations and dramatically affected the preparation of skins. The company has introduced many inventions that often distinguished by specific names; their worth is underlined by the fact that they continue to be used, sometimes under different forms, and either modified or combined. Year after year, the Mib factory has created nap leathers, prints, mixes, the “Thousand lights” coloring, photo-sculpture, eco-compatible dyes that are natural and safe, and the “Top Line,” which subverts tanning traditions; then there is the company’s reversible, non-leather leather, lined with very different materials and worked on the outside in a variety of ways: plucked, dyed, sheared, printed, frosted, shaded, and bleached; and, in addition, the Stone-Dyed effect, which produces an unusual mixture of tones, as on textiles, and the Dual Band effect, which plays on the contrast between background and foreground colors. Mib also works with shaved effects, velvets, cashmere, and even silks (sometimes so fine they measure zero millimeters!), along with natural fading techniques. Other effects are Stone-Printing and “leather impression” techniques, that fulfill the continuous demand for reversible garments. There has also been a return in demand for batik combined with Stone-Dyes, and for curled effects on depilated leather, sometimes combined with shaved and highlighted motifs. And, most importantly, the “new tanning,” which makes reference to the historic Top Line and identifies a certified article according to the UniIcec norms. The furs are accompanied by a label with the wording “low environmental impact fur,” “certified quality fur,” “fur created in Italy.” The company focuses on skill, quality, and environmentalism. Its headquarters are characterized by rational modernity combined with antique elegance. They house the Mib Design Center, which is opened to researchers from across the world.