Our Story & Ethos

72 Smalldive is Singapore’s award-winning pioneer slow fashion label. Taking time to seek out ethical suppliers, staying transparent on products’ origins, supporting traditional craftsmanship, and contributing to social causes are some of our practices to make shopping a more mindful experience.

We aspire to make less but with better quality production, and also to contemplate on how we can continuously build a better relationship between our makers and cour customers. Here, we share our guiding beliefs that shape the business decisions we made for our brand.

OUR MAKERS

Our network of makers are from Milan, Italy. We hold our artisans, in esteemed respect not only for their expert crafting skills but also for their fervor and passion to make quality goods.

THE HAPPINESS METER

Fashion should emanate joy. For this reason, we make sure we visit our partners operation sites regularly. It is our utmost desire that our business partners embrace positive business traits and hiring practices: treating their staff respectfully and humanely, and ensuring a emotionally healthy and safe workplace for all.

PREMIUM LEATHER FROM ITALIAN TANNERIES

Full grain and top-grain leather tanned with water-based dyes are our leather grade choices and is used for all our products. That is because we want our products to grow with their owner, seasons after seasons: the lifespan of a leather product made with full grain or top grain leather is known to be at least 2 to 3 times longer than products made with split leather. A longer product lifespan implies less frequent throwaways. This price premium you pay for our items is also an investment to our environment.

QUALITY ALWAYS

Every choice matters. Besides leather, we keep a keen eye on the selection of peripheral materials needed to make our products. For instance, we use nubuck leather for our belt lining, solid brass metal accessories, and resin-coated cotton lining to prevent fray and tear.

NO SHORT CUTS

Our pledge to slow fashion means that we do not skip any production step that ensures product durability. Leather milling, skiving, and lacquering are some, but not all, of the preparation and finishing processes that each of our products go through. No short cuts.

GIVING BACK

A united community and a less polluted environment are pillars of a quality business environment. Giving back to non profit organizations that serve our community, not only supports these causes, raises awareness of their important works, but also brings forth a healthy social environment.

IT TAKES TWO!

It takes a community to construct a positive social movement. We believe that by leading in example, our customers will expect similar principles from other product and service providers. We want our customers to become empowered change agents: if you have other ideas on how we can make shopping an even more mindful experience, leave us a note in our contact form.

HIGHLIGHTS

Our label was officially launched in 2010, embracing the philosophy of Shokunin, a Japanese term that not only defines a commitment to traditional craftsmanship but also an attitude for social consciousness. Our intent-driven approach and high quality products have endeared to a steadily growing segment of customers, who identify with the our beliefs in buying less, buying mindfully, and buying better. The label has since been featured in many international publications such as British GQ, Vogue UK, Vogue Italy, and Vanity Fair Italy and also received the following design accolades:

Design&Design Award | Paris | 2009
Nuyou Outstanding Labels | Singapore | 2014
Pitti Uomo “New Beats” | Florence | 2014
A’ Design Award | Milan | 2015