The Women Behind Risto's Incredible Knits

Each season, RISTO blows my mind by combining chunky yarn pieces with printed fabrics, and I end up staring at the designs for way too long, admiring each stitch. So when OC commissioned the designer to create two exclusive pieces in the interim between his resort and spring collections, I knew they would be impeccably handcrafted. What I didn't realize is the personal importance behind those hands.

Risto Bimbiloski is from Macedonia, and his first collections in 2009 were knitted by four local women who were his mother's friends. Today, Risto employs 100 Macedonian women of all ages and backgrounds to work on his collection. "Knitting is a dying artisan craft [in Macedonia]," explained Alek Bimbiloski, Risto's brother and the brand's agent. Risto, meanwhile, is preserving the craft, and plans to eventually open a school teaching young women how to knit.

For each new collection, Risto chooses yarns, sketches out designs, and presents these choices to his atelier of knitters who then suggest stitches to use. Samples are created at his factory, with close supervision by Risto for quick modifications. Once the samples are perfected, the knitters are taught the specifications for each garment, which are then produced by hand in their homes.

One look and you can tell that immense skill and work went into each garment, something that Risto recognizes and does not take advantage of. "An important element is that these women are paid very well," Alek told me. "They usually make more than their husbands, which is a brand new economic balance within the family and gives them more independence. This gives more opportunity to their children, and allows them to buy land and equipment to use for their work."

Alek explained, "It's also important to Risto to have a sense of community in the work environment. The ladies have a great passion for what they do and learned to knit at an early age. This common thread is stronger than any political or religious differences that prevail in Macedonia."

As an avid knitter, there's nothing I like more than closely examining knitwear, especially when it's made of thick, intricate fibers. But knowing where it came from makes each stitch even more fascinating than the yarn it's made of.

Shop all Risto here.