Mr Porter puts artisans to the fore with Small World debut

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 30, 2021

As luxury continues to work hard to differentiate itself in a crowded market, YNAP’s menswear webstore Mr Porter has launched Small World. It’s a “curated selection of global, independent and diverse brands that celebrate craftsmanship, responsibly made products and local communities in a thoughtful and intentional way”.

This week, Small World unveiled 33 “considered brands that are truly special by virtue of qualities such as their provenance, skilled heritage craftsmanship, their support of regional artisans or the use of recycled and low-impact materials”.

Of the huge collection of labels, 16 are new to the luxury webstore and between the total 33, they’re launching 338 products across ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, luxury watches, grooming and homewares. Some 184 of them are fully exclusive to the site. 

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Mr Porter said they “bring together communities from as far afield as Bali, Mexico, Tibet, Nigeria and Mali and those supporting local artisanal crafts in the US, UK, France, India, Portugal and Japan”.

The new-to-the-site brands include Portuguese Flannel, Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, Bornn, Chamula, Cooperative Djiguiyaso, Double Eleven, Noma t.d., Échapper, Jungmaven, Norlha, Post-Imperial, Rrress, Slowdown Studio, Space Available, Stòffa and True Tribe.

And the others are 11.11/eleven eleven, Auralee, Bovet, By Japan, De Bonne Facture, Emma Willis, George Cleverley, Inis Meáin, Laboratory Perfumes, L’Objet, Peyote Bird, R+D.Lab, SMR Days, SSAM, Story Mfg, Tata Harper and Tricker’s.

The e-tailer said all of the brands also sit within its newly launched Craftsmanship Code “evergreen” section of the site “designed to champion products made by brands that make a positive contribution to their communities and operate with environmental and social considerations at the forefront of their design and business decisions”.

Buying Director Sam Kershaw said: “The launch, along with the Craftsmanship Code, is very much in line with our 10th anniversary focuses of discovery, inclusivity, craftsmanship and community, and we aimed to seek out and spotlight distinct product stories from some of our more established global brands through to nurturing smaller artisanal partners that are creating world-class product in time-honoured ways. Our customers remain curious and captivated by the narrative of a brand, and how its products are made.”

The launch also sees a new campaign, along with dedicated editorial and social content across its global editorial platforms, including online magazine The Journal and its Instagram channel @mrporter.