When I saw this new brand at Playtime New York, I had an immediate crush. I also enjoyed very much chatting with Jimena Bruguera, founder of the brand, originally from Argentina and currently living in Brooklyn. HBB Industria Argentina perfectly translates the North Argentinian/Andean crafts in a clean and modern way. This is a truly interesting brand and story; globalisation at its best !

Where to find HBB Industria Argentina

HBB Argentina is currently available at Acorn, Boerum hill, Brooklyn, Allegria, Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, Pomme, Dumbo, Brooklyn. The F/W 13 collection will be available in a large number of stores across the US/Canada including Les Petits Chapelais, Soho, NY  and Baby Bubble  in South Korea.

About HBB Industria Argentina’s collections

Products from the Buenos Aires Collection are hand made in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. The knitters are mostly retired Grandmothers treated with immense care and respect. They are superb skilled knitters but also artists whose carrier have been producing wool-knitted wall murals and folk tapestry for years. The yarns they use include Baby Alpaca, Cashmere, Mohair and 100% Wool blends from the North and South of Argentina.

Products from the Folk Seasonal Collection are hand made in an Argentinian small North West village high 2,000 meters above sea level, surrounded by the beautiful colourfull Andean mountains (a beautiful place I have visited last year). The knitters represent the indigenous population that has settled in this village and work together with us and the inhabitants of the Dry Puna Region of the Andean mountains. The Inhabitants of the Andes provide 100% lama or sheep wool to the knitters, who dye it naturally.

Products from the Folk Classic Collection are hand made by indigenous women who are still living in the Dry Puna Region of the Andean Mountains and have very strong ties to their ancient traditions. This collection is the fruit of a very rare and special work process. HBB Argentina meets with them when they are down in the village, to let them know specific needs on on sizes, models, and vision for the line. Then the women go back to the Mountains where they begin their production. They are responsible for the breeding of their sheep and lamas, the collection of the wool, cleaning, brushing, washing, the dyeing when colors are used (dyes are naturally obtained by using vegetables and Åora) and the knitting work, as well as the design/ motif on each piece. Each piece in this collection is unique and cannot be reproduced to match an original.

The Vintage hats are not HBB designs, they are Andean vintage pieces included as part of Andean’s culture, typical from all countries from Argentina to Peru.

About Jimena Bruguera, Founder of HBB Industria Arentina

“I moved to New York in 2000 to work as an architect focusing in preservation of historic buildings. When my daughter was born in 2009 I took a sabbatical year from my job to be able to be with her; it was during this time that I started missing my family in Argentina, especially because we couldn’t enjoy my daughter together and also I started being curious about my roots, my history, motherhood and its meaning. I was born in a little Andean village between Salta and Tucuman in the north west of Argentina, the place where my parents pick me up, and when I was three days old they took me to Buenos Aires where I grew up. My mother used to be a fashion designer with her own clothing line and I grew up within her world and her team, a team that knows me since I was my daughter’s age. I’ve never visited the place I was born until 2011 when I finally went back with my daughter and my mother; it was very emotional, and right there started HBB. I work with a great team of collaborators located in the Puna region, northwest of Argentina, and in Buenos Aires. I’m always excited to travel and meet designers, artists and artisans to collaborate with, Argentina has great talented people that have used their creativeness to survive constant economic crises, and it is very rich in cultural diversity. Buenos Aires has a lot of European influences while the North of the country has strong Indigenous ties.