High Use: the casual line of HIGH, by a former Girbaud designer

« What exactly is High Use? » The label is intriguing, because it looks like no other and very little has been written about it. Here is what we were able to verify, and only that: by vintage standards the brand is recent, and its story comes down to a handful of reliable dates.

High Use, the casual line of HIGH

High Use is not a standalone brand: it is the casual line of HIGH, an Italian ready-to-wear house. Descriptions of the brand distinguish two lines: HIGH, the more tailored one, and HIGH USE, the more relaxed one. Both rest on the same motto, three words that appear in every presentation: high design, high utility, high quality.

One useful clarification, because the confusion is out there: we found no source linking High Use to the Italian designer Claudio Cutuli, known for his naturally dyed scarves. As far as we know, the two have nothing in common.

A brand born from the end of the Girbaud licence

HIGH’s story begins at Interfashion, a company based in Rimini, founded in 1992, which manufactured under licence for major fashion houses. A subsidiary of the Venetian Stefanel group, it produced, among others, the French brand Marithé + François Girbaud for Italy.

In July 2006, the German trade press reported that the group was preparing a new line around the designer then working on that Girbaud licence: Claire Campbell, a British designer (Scottish, according to FashionNetwork) who had spent seventeen years at Girbaud. In January 2007, the new men’s and women’s line was presented under the name HIGH, for autumn-winter 2007–2008, with a clear purpose: to replace the Girbaud licence, which ended with the spring-summer 2008 season. Depending on the source, the launch is dated 2006 or 2007; both refer to the same birth, between the announcement and the first deliveries.

Claire Campbell shaped the brand’s identity, which she sums up in one phrase: « everyday couture ». According to FashionNetwork, she led its design until 2019. In 2023, Interfashion was fully acquired by Strava, a company formed by three Italian investors including Giuseppe Stefanel; at the time the brand had more than twenty stores in Europe.

The style: practical clothes with a dressmaker’s touch

Campbell’s idea, as the brand presents it, is that the line between casual clothing and formal dressing has blurred. In practice, on the pieces we see on the resale market, you’ll find:

• asymmetric cuts, layering and carefully worked volumes;
• mixed materials within a single piece, jersey against a stiffer fabric, matte against shine;
• an often sober palette dominated by black, lifted by details (embroidery, cut-outs, lace or mesh);
• a wide range of fabrics, from cotton and wool to viscose, lyocell and technical synthetics.

If you love Girbaud, you’ll feel the kinship: the same taste for clothes that work, the same attention to construction, in a more feminine, more « couture » register.

Recognising and dating a piece

A few pointers, with due caution:

• The label. You’ll come across « HIGH USE by Claire Campbell », « HIGH by Claire Campbell » and a « HIGH Tech by Claire Campbell » variant. The designer’s name on the label is the clearest sign that you’re holding this house, rather than another brand called « High ». But the name isn’t always there: on the wool jumper we had in the shop, the small neck ribbon only reads « HIGH use », and a « HIGH » metal plate is sewn on the back.
• The era. No piece can predate 2006–2007. A « High Use » label therefore means a late-2000s or 2010s piece: not old vintage, but recent archive.
• The care and composition label is then the most reliable clue: ours reads « Interfashion SpA – Rimini – Italy », the company behind the brand, and « Made in Romania ». The country of manufacture can vary from piece to piece, so read it every time.

Frequently asked questions

Is High Use an Italian brand?

Yes: the company that produces it, Interfashion, is based in Rimini. Its original designer, Claire Campbell, is British, which is why the brand is often presented as English.

What is the link with Marithé + François Girbaud?

HIGH was launched by the company that made Girbaud under licence, to take its place, with a designer who came from Girbaud after seventeen years at the house. They are two distinct brands, but the lineage is direct.

Is a High Use piece vintage?

Strictly speaking, no: the brand dates from 2006–2007. But pieces from the Claire Campbell years (up to 2019) are now sought after on the resale market for their cuts, and it is in that archive spirit that we select them.

We have no High Use piece in stock right now. In the meantime, browse our Marithé + François Girbaud pieces, the house where Claire Campbell spent seventeen years, and our guide to dating a Girbaud piece.