Natural fibers are becoming an 'invisible indicator' by which high-net-worth individuals measure a quality life, and an important benchmark for luxury lifestyle brands to demonstrate their value.
In this landscape, there is one fiber we are all familiar with—mulberry silk.
North American luxury mulberry silk brand MANITO has spent over a decade using this natural protein fiber, whose structure is similar to that of human proteins, as its core medium, and has further introduced the new concept of Silk Wear: creating a product matrix from bedding to loungewear, from baby and children to adults, bringing a natural fiber experience covering all scenarios to home life.
MANITO has successively opened stores in many high-end districts, department stores and boutique multi-brand stores in North America, and has established a presence in 16 top luxury commercial complexes in China, including Beijing SKP and Shanghai Xintiandi. In 2025, it launched at Harrods in London. Third-party data shows that in Tmall's high-end underwear market above 2,000 yuan, MANITO's penetration rate exceeds 60%, and it has ranked first in Tmall's luxury home category sales for consecutive years, maintaining an average annual sales growth rate of about 30% in recent years.
In an era when natural fibers represent a quality lifestyle, MANITO is responding to a high-end lifestyle of 'self-pleasing, quality, and sustainability,' greatly expanding the imaginative space for mulberry silk products in daily life and writing a high-end narrative for mulberry silk.
Mulberry Silk: How to Define the Next High-End Category of Natural Fibers?
The pursuit of natural fibers by high-net-worth individuals has never been as systematic as it is today: they care not only about touch, but also about origin, craftsmanship and sustainability—natural fibers have become an honest footnote to a quality life.
Among many natural fibers, mulberry silk is known as the 'second skin of the human body' because its protein structure is very close to the chemical composition of human skin. It is precisely this characteristic that attracted Mr. Kenmuir, one of MANITO's founders.
Kenmuir, from Canada, was born in the post-World War II baby boom generation. As he grew older, coupled with the local variable climate, his skin gradually developed problems like many locals. An opportunity to collaborate with a cosmetics brand led him to discover that mulberry silk has good biocompatibility with the human body and is rich in 18 amino acids, alleviating the skin problems that had plagued him for years.
He later met a silk-making family from China, and together they founded MANITO in Vancouver in 2008. In the context of North American indigenous peoples, MANITO means 'supernatural power.' This name laid the foundation for the brand's natural and sustainable DNA, and also shaped its brand character rooted in North America: minimalist, luxurious and naturalistic.
At that time, most people in North America chose cotton and linen fabrics as their first choice for home, and had little understanding of mulberry silk home products. The emergence of MANITO brought a new choice to North American home life, and some users reported that their sleep quality and skin condition benefited as a result.
Kenmuir's personal experience proved that the fabric characteristics of mulberry silk are enough to win over consumers in North America and even globally.
Natural fibers are changing from a 'bonus' to a 'must-have.' What it represents is not retro, but a more advanced modern lifestyle: respecting nature, returning to essence, and giving oneself better choices in what touches the skin.
This can also be explained from the perspectives of neuroscience and psychology: there is a type of C-tactile fiber in human skin that is highly sensitive to gentle, slow touch. Once activated, it sends signals to the brain, producing pleasant and soothing feelings. The fine, skin-friendly, smooth and soft, constant temperature and humidity characteristics of mulberry silk are precisely the ideal conditions for activating C-tactile fibers.
MANITO accurately captures this trend, systematically responding to the full range of needs from intimate underwear to outerwear scenarios on the product side, and has proven that: when a brand can use high-quality natural materials to satisfy consumers' entire imagination from 'pleasing oneself' to 'pleasing the home,' it is no longer just a brand, but a synonym for a high-end lifestyle.
Fabric Matrix + Exclusive Craftsmanship: The Core Engine from 'Single Category' to 'Full-Scenario Lifestyle'
MANITO realized early on the market potential of mulberry silk in scenario applications, extending its product categories from initial bedding to today's full-scenario Silk Wear matrix covering home, travel and social occasions, and has formed a consumption pattern that values both self-use and gifting.
This matrix includes four branches: loungewear, sleepwear, underwear, and ready to wear. Among them, outerwear-able loungewear is an important component. In addition, accessories, especially the vertical category of mulberry silk eye masks, also show strong market competitiveness.
From 'selling a mulberry silk product' to 'providing a quality lifestyle solution based on natural fibers,'MANITO'sthis positioning leap not only broadens the brand's potential market space, but also lays a structural foundation for subsequently increasing average transaction value and repurchase rate.
To support this full-scenario ambition, category extension alone is far from enough. Different scenarios place vastly different demands on mulberry silk fabrics in terms of drape, warmth, washability and functional added value. MANITO's response is a systematically developed fabric technology system:
At a time when fabric technology is entering an innovation explosion, MANITO has gradually built a technical barrier that is difficult to replicate with its exclusive Soft Light® satin craftsmanship. Through selecting high-quality mulberry varieties, innovative weaving methods, environmentally friendly reactive dyes, and fine finishing processes, every inch of fabric has a smoother touch and a premium, matte luster.
In addition, MANITO Soft Light® insists on a silicone-oil-free process to avoid damaging the fabric's natural breathability and skin compatibility—for sensitive skin, this is the crucial dividing line between 'skin-friendly' and 'irritating.' At the same time, silicone-oil-free products can effectively reduce environmental pollution. In 2021, MANITO passed the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certification, which is authoritative in the global textile ecology field, and in 2023 passed strict hazardous chemical testing, with all woven category products obtaining the MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX® label, endorsing its natural and sustainable DNA with international certifications.
Entering Top Luxury Commercial Complexes, Consolidating High-End Lifestyle Positioning
For a brand to go from 0 to 1, it relies on product power; from 1 to N, it cannot do without channel power. MANITO's channel layout shows a clear 'dual-track parallel' characteristic.
Offline, MANITO adheres to the 'top luxury mall route.' In 2009, MANITO's first flagship store opened on West 1st Avenue in Vancouver, Canada, one of the residential areas for Vancouver's high-end population, home to Ferrari's North American flagship store as well as Maserati, Aston Martin, Jaguar and other luxury car brands. Subsequently, MANITO opened its second store in Yorkville AVE, a luxury district in Toronto where many celebrities gather. In the following years, during its North American expansion, the brand successively entered boutique multi-brand stores such as Mayfair House on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles and Pisolino in Vancouver.
Above: MANITO's first boutique in Vancouver, Toronto boutique
This high-end site selection logic also runs through MANITO's layout in the Chinese market. Since entering the Chinese market in 2015, MANITO has been opening several boutiques each year, establishing a presence in leading luxury commercial complexes across the country, including Beijing SKP, Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shanghai Xintiandi, Shenzhen Bay MixC, Guangzhou Taikoo Hui, Nanjing Deji Plaza, and Hangzhou Tower. To date, MANITO has about 16 boutiques in China—each located in a top luxury commercial complex.
Above: MANITO Shenzhen Bay MixC boutique, Shanghai Xintiandi boutique, Beijing China World boutique, Nanjing Deji Plaza boutique
Online, MANITO has also achieved a performance breakthrough with a high-end posture, and is a benchmark brand for high-end mulberry silk consumption online. The integrated online and offline operation has enabled MANITO to establish a full-link closed loop from brand awareness to purchase conversion to repurchase loyalty in the mulberry silk track.
While strategically deploying in North America and China, MANITO is also making inroads into other high-end retail markets globally. The brand has officially entered Harrods in London—Harrods' buying team conducted long-term strict evaluations of the products, examining everything from fabric touch to workmanship details. Currently, MANITO is planning to further enter core luxury markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and France, and has received admission invitations from core luxury shopping malls such as South Coast Plaza in the United States, Isetan Ginza in Japan, and Galeries Lafayette in France.
Above: MANITO boutique at Harrods, London
How to Build a High-End Lifestyle Brand Image?
In the high-end lifestyle sector, consumers' perception of a brand image is never just about the product itself, but also the cultural circle the brand belongs to, the aesthetic symbols it is associated with, and the social identity it endorses.
In recent years, MANITO has gradually built a four-step brand image construction path from 'celebrity endorsement' to 'art collaborations,' 'localized narrative,' and then 'thematic promotional films.'
Step 1: Embedding in International Celebrities' On and Off Stage
In the North American market, MANITO chooses to place its products in high-exposure, high-trust celebrity scenarios.
Supermodels Kendall Jenner and Taylor Hill, pop singers Doja Cat and Kesha, and a host of international supermodels and pop stars have been spotted wearing or using MANITO products on red carpet backstage, in daily street style, and in fashion publications. The brand has also been the gift partner for the Film Independent Spirit Awards for two consecutive years.
Above: Taylor Hill, Kendall Jenner in MANITO styling for fashion magazines
Above: MANITO at the Film Independent Spirit Awards dinner
Step 2: Cross-Border with Luxury Brands and Art Platforms
For collaborations, MANITO usually chooses to work with luxury brands from different fields, such as luxury car brand Rolls-Royce and jewelry brand Harry Winston.
In these collaborations, MANITO uses its material and craftsmanship expertise to provide luxury brands with silk accessories such as eye masks, or private custom embroidery services for their VIC gift boxes. This B2B endorsement itself is a strong recognition of its quality.
Above: MANITO's collaboration products with Maserati, private custom embroidery service
In addition, through collaborations with Iliana Rosabal, the designer favored by the then Canadian Prime Minister's wife, French luxury children's wear brand Bonpoint, and Disney IP, MANITO reaches a broader quality consumer group and injects classic culture and haute couture fashion elements. At the same time, as the global VIP partner of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, MANITO is able to deepen the connection between the brand and art.
Above: MANITO collaboration products with Bonpoint and Disney IP Alice
Step 3: Appointing a 'East-Meets-West' Global Brand Ambassador
After entering the Chinese market, MANITO continued its celebrity strategy but adapted it locally. In the early days, it placed products in advertising shoots or film and television works of actresses such as Zhang Ziyi and Liu Yifei. Their gentle, classical Eastern temperament highly matches the natural associations of 'softness' and 'elegance' with mulberry silk products.
In April 2026, MANITO officially announced post-95s actress Wang Churan as its global brand ambassador. This choice sends two signals: first, the brand is penetrating into a younger quality consumer group; second, Wang Churan combines Eastern classical charm with international fashion influence—she is not only a brand ambassador for DIOR without an observation period, but also recognized by major brands and fashion weeks. This 'East-Meets-West' personal trait perfectly echoes MANITO's composite identity as a brand with 'Vancouver DNA + Chinese craftsmanship + global market.'
Step 4: Planning Personalized Thematic Short Films
In the Chinese market, MANITO has also planned the thematic promotional short film series 'Silk Moments,' featuring protagonists who are elites from various industries, such as Song Xinran of Goodbaby Group and actress Li Meng. These people also outline MANITO's true customer profile.
Conclusion
In 2023, Canadian Ambassador to China Jennifer May and Consul General in Shanghai Dave Murphy, after visiting MANITO's Shanghai Xintiandi boutique, specifically noted: 'As a high-end brand known for mulberry silk, MANITO is deeply rooted in beautiful Vancouver and is a good example of the internationalization of Canadian consumer brands.'
Above: Canadian Ambassador to China Jennifer May (third from left) and Consul General in Shanghai Dave Murphy (second from left) visited MANITO's Shanghai Xintiandi boutique
As global consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for 'natural materials' and 'high quality,' and in the emotional wave where people shift from 'explicit conspicuous value' to 'implicit practical value,' 'pleasing oneself' is evolving from a slogan into a real purchasing decision—MANITO, with its Silk Wear category system that combines depth and breadth, stands precisely at the center of this quality trend.
What it offers is not just a piece of fabric, but a sense of breath on the skin, a lifestyle of 'pleasing oneself at home, composed outside,' and a new paradigm of a luxury lifestyle brand driven by natural materials for the global luxury market.
| Image source: Provided by MANITO
| Editor: Elisa
