*L’archivio come punto di partenza*

Every Mantero 1902 collection is the result of in-depth research, an ongoing dialogue between past and present, memory and vision. In many cases, our starting point is the archive: a historical and creative heritage built over more than a century of work, which continues to shape and inspire the brand’s identity today. Mantero’s corporate archive holds over 100,000 textile prints, 30,000 original hand-drawn designs, 10,000 volumes, along with fabric samples, print test sheets and swatch books. Everything is carefully organized, preserved, and catalogued. But above all, it is alive: we consult it daily in search of connections, insights, and new possibilities. To create something new, starting from what already exists.

*Design 8829: summer 1986 *

The foulard Archivio n.59 Flowers Grand Slam – Classic Carré  captures this process perfectly. Cyclamens, carnations, hyacinths, snapdragons, and wildflowers intertwine in a vivid, layered composition that reappears today—nearly forty years later—in a new form. Originally created in the summer of 1986, design no. 8829 was printed on silk crêpe in a 90x90 cm format.

The original project included several color variations, each with a different band and a palette built around twelve shades. The only full scarf still preserved today on the  cappellotto (a thick cardboard support commonly used in textile archives to store scarves and fabric samples, folded and fixed to remain visible from the front) is variant no. 1, with a blue frame. 

The other versions are stored in a physical filing system, a kind of large inventory book where small pieces of printed fabric are glued like pages in a creative atlas. 

This is the material—real, tangible, marked by time—that sparked the research of the Mantero 1902 creative team.

*A process of transformation and vision

Revisiting a design from the archives is never just about copying it. Every reinterpretation comes from careful study, creative transformation, and a fresh aesthetic perspective. The team analyzes the original designs, studies their structure, color schemes, and narrative potential—then reworks them, adapts them, and places them in a new context.

That’s what happened with design 8829, now “Archivio n.59 Flowers Grand Slam”. The goal was to integrate it into The Tennis Code, print world, part of the Spring/Summer 2025 collectionThe Lounge. The floral composition retains its original energy but is now reinterpreted through colors and visual rhythms that speak to the mood of the new season.

A new harmony that preserves the spirit of the past while speaking the language of today.

*A living creative heritage *

The foulard Archivio n.59 Flowers Grand Slam is now an icon of the Mantero 1902 collection. A bridge between two eras—and a clear demonstration of the archive’s role as a living source of inspiration. A material to be handled with care, respect, and imagination.

To us, heritage is not just something to celebrate. It’s an open horizon. With every new collection, we revisit it, question it, and transform it.