Visit our atelier in Italy with founder Iben

Every Color Vision garment begins at my desk in Bergen, and then moves on to a small atelier in southern Italy, where my designs are cut, fitted and sewn into a premium wearable garment. This is a look inside my visits to the italian aterlier, the people who make my garments, the work we do together, and the town I have come to know a little better one visit at a time.

Our atelier

In 2021 I started collaborating with Ametlab S.R.L, a small atelier located in the central Itria Valley in the town of Martina Franca, Apulia, Taranto.  

The collaboration was initiated due to a need for higher quality craftsmanship, and also to learn more about high fashion and premium fashion manufacturing. In addition almost all of Color Vision fabrics and trimmings are sourced from northern and central Italy, which made italian manufacturing a more sustainable choice.

View from Ametlabs reception area in Martina Franca

Martina Franca is a beautiful town located 1,5 hours by car from Bari in southern Italy. I go every other year to visit and work on up and coming designs. The feeling when I get into the rental car and drive past miles and miles of beautiful coastlines and cypress trees, excited to see my colleagues again, eat Italian food and work on new designs is so special. I think there is also something special about visiting places so off season, I go in december.

What I do when I visit the atelier

I start my day with an espresso and any type of delicious Italian pastry before I walk from my apartment in Centro historico (Martina Franca's historical town) to the atelier.

When I arrive my liaison Zohar, who handles absolutely everything (and more) takes me through where we are at with prototyping and manufacturing. 

If we are creating a totally new design we have to do several rounds of prototyping and fitting (I use myself as the fit model) whilst tweaking an existing design and make it up in a new fabric requires less adaptation. I also bring fabrics from Norway, like the shoddy coating fabric woven at Sjølingstad to be cut and sewed at the atelier. Italian fabrics, lining fabrics, buttons and zippers are carefully selected and bought by me and delivered in advance before I arrive. 

Next; vado a pranzo - I go to lunch! Alessandro who works at Ametlab is a foodie, and he has provided me with an extensive list of places to eat in Martina Franca. I try to hit as many as possible each time I visit. The italian food feeds my soul.

When I arrive back we work for a few more hours with the adaptations of the designs. After I go back to my apartment and continue thinking and working on the designs for the next day. I love these intense working periods where my focus can be 100% on new designs.

And of course I go to exciting new places for dinner! During my last visit I discovered the best neapolitan pizza I've ever tasted, a stone's throw from my apartment. I stay 5-7 days each time I visit so I have enough time to learn from the talented seamstresses and patternmakers at Ametlab, as well as getting to know southern Italy a little bit better each time.

After I return to Bergen the samples are cut and sewn using original fabrics. Then the garments are shipped to Color Vision HQ.

Sightseeing in Taranto and beyond

Valle D'itria is a beautiful place, and it is so much easier to explore in 13 rather than 38 degrees.

I also go to sorrounding towns like Locorotondo to get into the christmas vibe, and I like to visit the historical part of Alberobello with the trullis, (The stone iglo's).

Last time I visited I went to the most Pinterested place on the entire southern Italian rivieria, Polignano Al Mare with it's extrordinary coastline. I spent the weekend in Bari too which was wonderful. I find great inspiration in visiting flea markets and curated shops.

I always leave Martina Franca with more than I arrived with. My techpacks and notebooks are full of adjustments, I have a few flea market finds in my suitcase, and a head full of ideas for the next designs. What I really bring home is actually a contentness and a sense of purpose; the patience of the patternmakers, the precision of the seamstresses, and the long lunches that turn a working day into something closer to a way of life.

Until next visit!

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Written by Iben Bergstrøm, founder and third generation textile expert

Iben Bergstrøm is the founder of Color Vision and a third generation textile expert. Her great grandmother was a dressmaker, her grandfather a textile engineer, her mother a textile artist. She writes from that inheritance, on fabric, craft, and the quiet knowledge passed down through three generations of hands.