My Visit With MET In Jeans And Cycle

While being here in beautiful (well not-so-beautiful right now…. it’s been raining all day long) Italia, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get to know the factories of two of my favorite Italian brands, MET and Cycle.

As they are located close to Vicenze, about an hour away from where I am staying here, it was a done deal. I had an amazing day getting to know the people that work there. I got to snap some pictures, and I had the most fun time chatting with Andrea Bertin, designer of Cycle.

By the pictures themselves you can see that this is a guy that does not take himself too seriously, but is funny and absolutely expressive in this very Italian way. BUT he takes his job as designer for Cycle absolutely seriously. He is really into developing new styles and denim trends and one of his most beloved subjects right now is motorcycle jeans. I took a couple of pictures here today, but I will be posting the whole range of his motorcycle line ASAP. These jeans are for men as well as for women. As you can see the back is totally designed to make riding on your bike a most comfortable experience. The fronts of the legs are full of conveniently located pockets for whatever you may need while riding. In my opinion of the features that make riding jeans work or not, the stitches on the knees are placed in a way so that you have enough room to bend them without feeling restricted.

All in all, I was very impressed with the efficiency of all the people working at the factory. Every single person – there are about 150 people working there – is responsible for a certain area in design and developing. Like, do you know how much time and research goes into developing just the right wash with the right accessories, meaning buttons, zippers and details….? Well, everything is thoroughly studied and supervised by Paola, head designer of Met. She has been with MET for 25 years now, and her experience is complete. I will introduce both Paola, and boss-designer and creator of MET, Gege Schiena, to you with a Q/A here to come soon.

Oh, and if you are lucky enough to live in Miami, MET has a mega store right there, at the South Beach, which is being remodeled right now and will re-open on November 6th. Yours truly has been invited to the launch party and I will be instagraming from there in real time with the latest fashions from MET! YAY!