The fashion industry relies on natural resources: land, water, plants, and animals. The current overproduction of clothing demands an ever-growing amount of energy and is irreversibly depleting our planet’s natural resources. Moreover, the prevailing economic models of the fashion industry have widened the social gap in many countries where production is concentrated. The excessive demand for clothing and the lack of workers’ protection have resulted in inhumane working conditions, non-existent wages, and modern forms of slavery.
When we talk about sustainability, we are referring to a new model—one that measures the demand for goods based on the availability of resources, including human labor, and that pursues social and environmental justice as a core objective.
The Project
For this reason, we conceived a project centered on sustainable fashion, fostering a dialogue between the city and nature in pursuit of a new shared ethical vision.
We selected 16 students from the programs in Fashion & Textile Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Styling & Digital Communication, Photography, and Fashion Business & Digital Marketing for a research and action project set in four iconic locations of Milan: MIND (Milano Innovation District), Pirelli HangarBicocca, La Triennale di Milano, and the garden of Ferrari Fashion School.
Our students will create true art installations focused on environmental awareness and recycling, using exclusively ethical fabrics and upcycled garments, giving them a new life in full respect of the planet’s sustainability.
The final outcome will showcase the students’ talent, creative research, aesthetic sense, and teamwork, supported by mentors such as Tiziano Guardini—a green fashion designer committed to sustainability since the beginning of his career—and Angelo Crespi, journalist and art critic. The project also involves the collaboration of four leading textile companies: Pinto, Mantero, Ratti, and Colombo Industrie Tessili.
Once completed, the projects will be displayed across the various locations and will be open to the public on September 18, 2021, in the green space of Ferrari Fashion School, Via Savona 97, Milan.
