Forget use-and-throw fashion. More than ever before, the future lies in offering responsible, cool clothes and accessories with a purpose. This is the mantra behind the newest capsule collaboration between Springa and Gaia Segattini Knotwear.
These two very creative Italian brands share the same approach—they both offer funky, high-quality Made in Italy products based upon a responsible use of resources.
Springa is the only Italian brand specializing in autoclave-vulcanized durable sneakers, and its production process is based on experimentation, upcycling, and limited-edition collaborations.
Gaia Segattini Knotwear is a pop knitwear brand founded by this expert Italian entrepreneur and designer in 2019. The company, a benefit corporation since 2022, produces its knitwear collection in the Marche region within a 70-kilometer radius. It works exclusively with surplus yarns, limited production stocks, or regenerated textiles and fibers, making each creation unique and unrepeatable. Out of each product’s composition, 97% of the fibers used are regenerated or from production surplus, and the remaining three percent are new.
The knitwear brand sells its limited-quantity products—not collections—offering single new edition pieces, according to carryover styles, every month directly to the final consumer via Instagram.
The collection was born with the aim to do away with the concept of out-of-fashion and encourage everyone to build their own slow fashion wardrobe characterized by contemporary graphic elements like dots, stripes, pop colors, and comfy fits in order to fit every age and gender and avoid waste.
The new collaboration offers a unique product—a vulcanized sneaker with a knitwear upper, the first of its kind, using leftover fibers according to the playful, responsible attitude and single-exemplar style of Gaia Segattini Knotwear.
The shoe’s sole is handmade from natural rubber and vulcanized in an autoclave in Puglia using Springa’s exclusive process, while the upper is made from regenerated cotton fabric sourced from production waste from the Marche region.
The heel strap is crocheted, and the double lace, an iconic element of the footwear brand, is sourced from production leftovers, too.
The packaging also reflects the philosophy of the collaboration, as it is made of a box designed to last, laser-cut from double cardboard and natural wood, also produced in the Marche region, and decorated with Gaia Segattini Knotwear’s institutional optical pattern.
Each pair carries a detachable side pompom that reflects the brand’s playful spirit.
The product combines recycling, Italian craftsmanship, and pop expressiveness to redefine the concept of the contemporary sneaker.
The sneaker will be produced in limited quantities and is available for pre-order from 25 February on the Springa website and sold at €245 per pair: https://www.springa.it/
The capsule’s launch happened in Milan, within Milan Fashion Week, at Robe Robertaebasta, a unique, funky, bazaar-like shop at Via Solferino 3. The location perfectly matches the attitude of the project as it hosts unique fashion creations, design objects, and memorabilia. It was opened in December 2025 by Roberta Tagliavini, an expert antiquity dealer who has been operating in the vintage design market for the last 50 years and runs five shops in Milan and one in London.