Stefano Turk is an expert insider of the denim industry. He is a freelance designer and entrepreneur from the Veneto region, Italy, and has collaborated for various players of the sector including VF Group, Guess Jeans, Otto D’Ame, the Industries Group, and textile manufactuurers like Dynamo Denim and Raymond Uco Denim.
In 2001, he founded his own consultancy company Spot, together with his wife Lynne Cannon, and in 2010 he launched his own high-end casualwear brand Reds he then discontinued. More recently, he decided to revamp it, betting on strong high-quality and sustainability assets.
The first step of the relaunch is starting from a capsule of seven sweatshirts hitting the market for f/w 2022/2023.
“This new series of basic sweatshirts is deeply rooted in high-quality materials like made in Italy long-staple bio cotton fabrics and jerseys,” explained Turk. “All pieces are carefully manufactured locally and maniac-like curated in every detail, including accessories or embroideries.”
He continues: “All pieces are available in two variants - simply rinsed or strongly washed - though always employing treatments and finishings that require less water than traditional methods and dyed with lower impact, new generation dyeing and finishing substances,” he continues pointing out how this collection wants to take a clear responsible direction.
Along with it, some pieces are decored with denim patches, interesting fabric elements or other decors by upcycling old stocks and fabrics, unsold pieces or other samples that otherwise might have gone to landfill.
Reds bag made with fabric leftovers
The brand’s new commitment is also expressed by offering a very compact selection of items in order to offer mostly what will be sold, in a few hue variants and styles, therefore avoiding overproduction and waste.
In a second step, the collection might also start including other pieces like, for instance, casual shirts, authentic jeans, workwear- and military-inspired trousers and some accessories, mostly made with Japanese denims, chambrays or bull denims.
“Going back to producing high-quality products is essential for this market,” continues Turk. “In the last years, too many jeanswear brands had focused on easy money without caring too much about how they achieved that. Despite this, in the last seasons, some brands are getting back to caring for quality again. Unfortunately, in the last years only the luxury segment got committed to preserving quality, but it’s easy when you sell a Hermes bag for €30,000. Instead, it’s important that the sportswear and jeanswear industry also guarantees a good price-quality ratio for top quality cotton items, as great products should last at least 20 years," he added.
“Our aim is to offer always more elaborate pieces that show how casualwear can still express great know-how and creativity,” he continues, pointing out a camouflage jacquard sweatshirt made by assembling panels manufactured with special Italian flat-knitting machines that create unique woven effects. “We can still produce very beautiful cotton products, despite many insiders in this industry forgot this segment’s origins and DNA, and started running after fast fashion business models.”
The first capsule of Reds sweatshirts will be sold at retail prices €120-€180, with some exceptions, like the jacquard camouflage sweatshirt that is sold at €450. Reds will start being offered in Italy and later will gradually expand in the rest of the world.
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