Item of the Week: Tie-Ups

Tie-Ups rubber belts are this week’s item. Designed in Italy by two Venetians, Alberto Vanin and Moreno Ferracin, these colorful rubber and plastic confections come in 12 colors—including a sedate black for the curious but unconvinced and a lime green or cobalt blue for converts.

The belts made their North American debut at Project Las Vegas in August via Throat Threads Apparel of Canada.

We saw at least one retailer we knew sporting Tie-Ups around his waist, but it was the belts’ merchandising potential that had most retailers talking. They come in thick, clear plastic boxes and retail for $98.

www.tie-ups.it/

Each week, MR’s editors will comment on a product we’ve seen in the market. It could be an emerging trend, a novel take on a classic or something that just caught our eyes.

Previous Items of the Week:

Red Wing’s 1907 work boots

The New Eisenhower Jacket by Carlos Campos