Merz b. Schwanen This sock is made from 75 percent skin-friendly cotton. The rest is polyester, polyamide and elastane. They increase the durability and shape retention. The knitted fabric has a natural-coloured melange look, while the toes and heel are in contrasting grey. The rib-knitted shaft features two striking colored rings, while the foot section is plain knitted.

The knitwear manufacturer Merz b. Schwanen had existed since 1911 in the Swabian Alps, once a traditional textile-producing region. In recent times, a Berliner, Peter Plotnicki, revived the tradition. Once more, the company is manufacturing shirts and sports trousers in the area – for the most part on original knitting machines dating from the 1920s or at least the 1960s. Their slow operational speeds are an advantage: They provide for the high density, characteristic structure, and substantial feel, as well as the excellent shape retention of the knitwear. A small but remarkable detail: Plotnicki has the clothing labels with the original Merz b. Schwanen logo and lettering crafted on an old weaver’s loom for jacquard ribbons.