Assembly New York

Risto Bimbiloski was born in 1974 in Macedonia, into a society whose heritage is embodied in the skills of knitting and handcraft passed from generation to generation. But Macedonia in the 90s was no place for a young designer, and, inspired by the images of Western life that fascinated him on MTV, Bimbiloski moved to Paris in 1993 to enroll in the prestigious Duperee fashion college. Summer 2007 saw the opening of Bimbiloski’s ready-to-wear factory in Macedonia. Where his first collections were made with the help of an artisanal atelier - of just four people - the factory now looks after the production needs of the whole collection, from hand crafted knits to industrial cut-and-sew. The factory today boasts over a hundred workers, but the designer and his team still have pride in the personal element of the brand – a product made with love and expertise, supporting the local community and offering each of the women working for him a chance to support herself.