Ilbisonte companyprofile (1)

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THE ORIGINS

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FAST FORWARD 45 YEARS

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IL BISONTE THEN & NOW

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FINEST MATERIALS

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COWHIDE

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DESIGN

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STYLE

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IL BISONTE WORLDWIDE

BEYOND TIME HANDS & MIND

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“

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I have been conquered by the image of peace and strength conveyed by bisons, that for centuries have been a source of life and continuity for all those people who lived free in the American land.

For this reason, they are the symbol I decided to mark all my products with…

Wanny Di Filippo

”

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THE ORIGINS

Wanny Di Filippo, eclectic soul of the brand, curious, imaginative and openminded, in 1970 set up his company in the workshop at Palazzo Corsini, in the very heart of Florence.

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FAST FORWARD 45 YEARS

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Over the years, the company has grown remarkably, moving from the original artisanal laboratory in Florence to a larger modern factory in the countryside.

In spite of the expansion, the company has maintained its original style and the traditional artisanship that is its trademark.

ABOVE Giovanna, Quality Control. Each item, before shipping, passes from her hands to those of her colleagues for a thorough testing.

9 years at Il Bisonte.

RIGHT Marco, expert leather cutter.

32 years in Il Bisonte.

BELOW Wanny with Luciano, Wanny’s right-hand man, friend and responsible for production.

Together since the beginning of Il Bisonte story.

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LEFT Sauro is a great expert of leather and the senior manager of the materials warehouse in the company. He checks every piece coming from the tanneries and he organizes the raw materials for production.

He has been working at Il Bisonte for 31 years.

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Il Bisonte Then & Now

1945 The Beginning

1960 The 1960’s

1969 The idea comes to life

1970 The first store in Florence

1973 The Caramella bag

1980 The Doctor bag

1984 Paris Hong Kong Taipei

1987 New York

Wanny Antonio Di Filippo was born in Adria, a densely populated town in the province of Rovigo, Veneto. As a young boy, Wanny showed a remarkable artistic vocation. He loved painting and drawing, experimenting with mixed techniques.

However, his father’s more pragmatic approach convinced him to attend a technical school.

Quite inevitably, Wanny did not complete his studies and began to work as a car electrician apprentice. In the meantime, his visceral passion for art led him to enrol in a drawing school based in Paris. He attended the lessons by correspondence.

When he turned 18, Wanny became a car spare parts representative.

His job allowed him to travel extensively; on board a ferry to Sardinia, he met his future wife Nadia, a young singer on tour with her sisters.

Driven by the libertarian spirit of the time, they began to create together their first objects in leather.

One of Wanny’s friends asked him to draw some bags for his father’s factory, though his sketches, so innovative and at the same time “primitive” compared to the standards of the time, were rejected. Wanny did not lose heart; rather, his determination became stronger: “If I can draw them, then I’ll make them!”.

In via del Purgatorio 69, Florence, in a shop that still bore the marks of the 1966 flood, Wanny and his wife Nadia started their first handicraft business, which would represent the nucleus of the future “Il Bisonte”.

Few years later the store moved to new prestigious premises inside the Palazzo that used to be home to Pope Corsini, in via del Parione, Florence.

Wanny created the Caramella, the first transformable solution.

Thanks to its side straps, the bag can become much wider and can also be folded back, becoming a thin strip of fabric and skin. It is one of the iconic bags of Il Bisonte and it is still produced.

The Doctor bag was created, in natural cowhide and with a rigid snap closure, evoking the charm of the typical doctor’s bags of the late 19th Century. A classic item which is still produced today.

Il Bisonte continued to expand its network of retail stores. It opened a store in Paris on the RiveDroite in the Vero-Dodat Gallery. This was later followed by a second store in Paris, on the Rive Gauche, in Rue Cherche Midi.

In the same year the brand opened its first monobrand stores in Hong Kong and Taipei.

The brand opened its New York store in Thompson Street, thereby strengthening its overseas presence. The store moved later in Sullivan Street in Soho where is today.

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1999 Japan

2008 Rome

2008 Collaboration with the Palazzo Strozzi Museum

2010 The 40th Anniversary

2011 The 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy

2012 Seoul, Korea

2014 Jakarta, Indonesia

2015 The 45th Anniversary

The brand launched in Kyoto the first of its over thirty mono brand stores that are currently open in Japan.

Il Bisonte continued to expand its network of retail stores. It opened a store in Rome in Via de Coronari. This was later followed by a second store in Rome in Via Borgognona.

The brand began collaborating with the Museum of Palazzo Strozzi, Florence. On the occasion of the exhibition “Dipingere la luce: la tecnica nascosta degli Impressionisti”, Wanny Di Filippo was asked to contribute creatively to the museum’s attempt to have more families visiting the museum. This was the first of a series of dedicated creations which, as from then, would accompany all the exhibitions of the Museum.

Il Bisonte celebrated its 40th Anniversary with many different local events, and opening the brand’s online store.

Also Japan, a country with which Il Bisonte has always had a special relationship, celebrated this event with a special ‘Anniversary Party’.

Tokyo hosted a fashion show, a photo exhibition and the presentation of the monograph Il Bisonte. For the occasion, some limited edition items in bison leather were created and distributed in the brand’s Japanese stores throughout the year.

Il Bisonte celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy with a ‘special edition’: a tote bag in cowhide, with the colours of the Italian flag, epitomising simple pop elegance, sold also online.

In Seoul, Korea, Il Bisonte opened its first single-brand store in the shopping district. This was later followed by two more stores.

On December 9th Il Bisonte opened its first boutique in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This was later followed by a second store.

Il Bisonte celebrates its 45th Anniversary with more than a limited edition: three exceptional re-editions of iconic models in natural cowhide, a special logo and a serial number pyrographed by hand onto each piece.

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FINEST MATERIALS

A creative but also simple form of beauty, played on details and on the use of materials

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ABOVE the model L0719, a classic Il Bisonte, in a bright combination of cowhide and cotton.

ON THE RIGHT Marco’s hands, an expert cutter, checking the quality of the leather.

FAR RIGHT top quality cotton yarns and customized metal accessories made near Florence.

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COWHIDE Signature material

Thanks to vegetable tanning, a traditional process handed down through generations of tuscan experts, the ‘vacchetta’ cowhide is transformed into a long-lasting material, acquiring unique qualities.

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Its tannin, the active ingredient that is mostly found in the trunk of chestnut trees, combined with a slight greasing, allows the skin to become soft, resistant and to acquire the typical leathery scent.

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BEYOND TIME The art of ageing gracefully

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HANDS & MIND

The Style team works to combine aesthetics with functionality, letting materials play a primary role.

WANNY is discussing with Luca, the head of the style department, the cut of the historical A0049 model.

Luca has been working for Il Bisonte for 37 years.

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Leather cutting, splitting, thinning, adding hand-sewn details. Each stage of the process is carried out by expert hands, which are the expression of the best Tuscan handicraft skills.

TOP AND RIGHT Gabriella and Cristina busy with stamping and sewing. Both of them have been working at Il Bisonte for over 10 years.

OPPOSITE, LEFT Vincenzo is cutting a natural cowhide bag. The young cutter is one of the new entries at Il Bisonte.

LEFT Francesca is assembling a bag.

She has been working at Il Bisonte for 27 years.

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Qualified eyes and hands carefully check each Il Bisonte creation, always referring to an essential high quality standard.

RIGHT Silvia is doing quality checks. She has been working at Il Bisonte for 10 years.

BELOW Valentina is packaging the A1464 model. She has been working at Il Bisonte for 5 years.

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DESIGN

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Il Bisonte style is defined by the constant search for a classic originality, obtained with the treatment of materials and the colour combination of skins and fabrics.

An essential design that combines the criteria of simplicity and functionality with the greatest relevance given to detail.

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The first transformable bag.

Thanks to its side straps, the ‘candy’ can become much wider and can also be folded on the inside, becoming a thin strip of fabric and skin. It is one of the iconic models, still produced nowadays.

CARAMELLA 1973

The third transformable creation.

Made in cotton, it can be rolled up and placed everywhere thanks to its cowhide band at the base.

It would later become a timeless classic of Il Bisonte’s.

The second transformable bag in fabric, inspired by Maremman butteri (local shepherds) and by the need of adapting gear that is typical of long time travellers.

Equipped with a large front pocket in cowhide, it can become a backpack or travel bag by adjusting its side and shoulder strap.

MAREMMANA 1974

VAGABONDA 1976

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STYLE

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IL BISONTE WORLDWIDE

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IL BISONTE | ITALY Firenze

IL BISONTE | USA New York

IL BISONTE | ITALY Roma

IL BISONTE | USA Los Angeles

IL BISONTE | FRANCE Paris

IL BISONTE | ASIA Hong Kong

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IL BISONTE | KOREA Seoul IL BISONTE | TAIWAN Taipei IL BISONTE | INDONESIA Jakarta

IL BISONTE | JAPAN Fukuoka IL BISONTE | JAPAN Osaka IL BISONTE | JAPAN Tokyo

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EUROPE Firenze Roma Paris

AMERICA New York Los Angeles

JAPAN Aichi Chiba Ehime Fukuoka Hiroshima Hyogo Kagoshima Kanazawa Kumamoto Kyoto Nagasaki Niigata Osaka Sapporo Sendai Shinjuku Shizuoka Tokyo Yokohama

ASIA Hong Kong Jakarta Kaohsiung Seoul Taipei

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