Our Meeting with BBC Jacquard in Como, Italy

Meet BBC Jacquard, One of the Worlds Leading Fabric Designers and Silk Mills Specializing in Men's Neckwear

Our quest for high end fabrics and stylish new designs lead us to Como in Italy. For the past few days we have been working with some of the world's leading silk mills and fabric designers, and yesterday we met with one of the most exclusive silk mills in the world, BBC Jacquard - a silk power house that also produces/designs fabrics for Etro and Martinelli.

Mr Scebanti (seen below) allowed us to take photos during our meeting. Besides taking pictures of designs, which we shared with our Facebook fans as part of our "Be the Buyer" campaign, we were able to visit the company's production line. Even the archives, storing vintage tie designs dating back to the early 1900 was made available to us. Below are some of our favorite photos from our meeting with BBC Jacquard.

Marcello Scebanti is showing the new madras collection which uses a unique blend of silk, linen, and cotton. Above he is looking through the yarn book to create additional designs and color combinations especially for us.

BBC Jacquard is not the only designer that is convinced that "vintage" fabrics and designs are going to be a big hit for 2014. Here is a look at the "Vintage" yarn book which is created by spinning three unique (silk, cashmere, and jute) fabrics into a single yarn. The combination of these three textiles create a soft yet somewhat coarse fabric that create a somewhat irregular coloration. It is perfect for a vintage design.

Neckties made from linen (and silk and linen blends) appear to remain popular. Here we are working on a subtle striped linen collection. We will likely carry the entire color line shown above. The ties will be slightly skinnier in width (2.75") be more fashion forward.

Mr Scebanti was so kind to show us their company's archives, storing thousands of necktie designs dating back to 1905. The designs and patterns shown above were part of the company's collection from 1921. A large majority of necktie designs today are based on designs of past collections with the addition of new colors and textiles. The picture above is just a little sneak-peak. We will be writing an entire feature on vintage tie designs from BBC Jacquard - something we are very excited about.

Modern looms are fully automated pieces of equipment that move faster than the eye can see. Here a loom is producing a new gingham check pattern that will be part of a new tie collection for 2014.