The Earth seen from space meets modular design: with SEMINA we wear agricultural geometries and a more responsible fashion

From the collaboration between two brands, Biclot and earthncycle, the unique SEMINA collection is born, combining modular garments with clean and elegant shapes to the vision of our Earth through the eyes of space satellites. SEMINA’s design and graphics tell of the natural-artificial interaction, between fashion and agriculture. Two worlds united in a special collection to convey awareness and responsibility in production and consumption choices. It is the result of the meeting between Chiara and Mariangela.

Chiara defines herself as a chaotic and creative mind, passionate about design in all its forms: “I find it in architecture for work, in fashion for passion, in nature for its undeniable beauty”.

Mariangela has a thousand interests and a great passion for our planet. “I explore for work the informative potential of satellite data guided by a Socratic spirit (‘I know I don’t know’). Beauty, in the broadest sense of the term, is the utopia that guides me”.

We met them on the occasion of a temporary exhibition of their collection at Nora-P in Monti, a Roman district.

Ciao Chiara, Ciao Mariangela. How did you know each other and start your collaboration?

“We met online. We discovered our respective projects and immediately understood the common thread in the apparent diversity. A look from above at the satellites in orbit that of @earthncycle, and a closer look, immersed in the urbanity of Rome that of @biclot. We both look to contemporary women, who make careful and conscious choices, who aspire to an elegance rich in meaning that is not lost in time”.

How was the brand SEMINA born?

“SEMINA was born… from a perfect fit of geometries!
While one (Mariangela) was fascinated by the geometric diversity of agricultural landscapes seen from above, the other (Chiara) had in mind the design of an essential, linear and elegant modular capsule. Agricultural triangles, circles, rectangles, rhombuses have begun to dialogue with parallel and perpendicular lines”.

What goals did you have? What inspired you?

“With this collection we want to tell the importance of biodiversity in the context of sustainability, starting from the agricultural theme.
It is a biodiversity declined in a broad sense:
– the choice of fibers
– the story of the cultural, historical and natural diversities hidden in the agricultural geometries chosen as graphic themes
– the variety of aesthetic taste of those who choose to wear SEMINA garments in a specific combination rather than another, according to mood and context.

We started from the satellite vision of immense agricultural expanses designed by human beings to arrive at the woman who will compose her garment. Actions that start from the same matrix, the human will, which in this case we try to inspire to undertake a conscious and personal choice”.

Let’s talk about the materials. What kind of fabrics you have chosen and why? Bamboo, mint, apocynum, milk, crabyon and regenerated wool, right?

“Of course! The fabrics chosen have deliberately a varied composition, which includes all the fibers mentioned, even in combination with more popular fibers (such as organic cotton). It is our belief that, whatever the fiber, one cannot be sustainable based on a single choice. In our opinion, sustainability is a balance that is achieved through the right combination of varied elements. A bit like a correct and healthy diet!
Moreover, as when introducing unusual foods and cooking techniques into our diet we have pleasant surprises for our taste and our health, even exploring new fibers has led us to discover fabrics whose pleasantness on the skin is unparalleled!”.

Where, how and by whom are SEMINA garments made?

“The fabrics are produced in Italy, by a company that works only with more sustainable fibers, therefore they do not contribute to a further impoverishment of the planet’s non-regenerable resources, which do not use products that are harmful to the environment and our health, but that enhance the use of waste products (as in the case of milk and crabyon), the choice of resources for use in multiple fields (such as mint, apocynum and bamboo), and the regeneration of textile waste that otherwise they would go to landfills (as in the case of regenerated wool).
We have paid great attention to the local origin of the fabrics, as well as the geographical location of the entire production chain (digital printing, laser engraving and garment packaging).

Everything takes place on the Italian territory, with a minimum impact of transport (we estimated less than 1% of the impact of transport on costs – a good indicator of the approach that looks at ‘0 km’)”.

Which kind of garments did you choose for your collection?

“There are 4 basic garments: a kimono jacket in black wool flannel, a dress, a top and trousers in black satin bamboo or in avio gray apocynum. Each garment can be purchased separately, and can be customized through the application of decorative panels of various compositions and lengths (with the simple click of hidden press studs), printed with agricultural graphics, declined in five shades of color. The colors are inspired by the vegetable garden, and include blue-black cabbage, orange-carrot of Paris, the green-Romanesco cabbage, the purple-curly kale and the red-carrot Kintoky”.

Which environmental aspects does SEMINA  recalled?

“SEMINA takes inspiration from 5 geographical areas (in Europe, America and Africa) and does not just tell about ‘environmental problems’. Rather, it wants to make us reflect on how we have dealt with situations in history and at different latitudes and longitudes.

We tell, for example, that the beautiful geometry with the triangles inscribed in rhombuses of the vast Bolivian agricultural fields conceals a massive and rapid deforestation that makes room for wearying monocultures, but also that the well-used human ingenuity has transformed, through an imposing work hydraulics, the third in the world for importance and size, the Fucino lake and its destructive floods in a luxuriant agricultural plain from which many of our PGI vegetables come”.

In your opinion, can fashion be an effective means of conveying messages of attention to the environment? Is the market, are we as consumers ready to welcome them?

“We are absolutely convinced of the enormous power of fashion as a means of conveying messages, and offering food for thought to change our relationship with the environment (and all those who live in this common home) is our primary goal. It is not easy to communicate and be heard in a world as ‘noisy’ as ours. It is a process of continuous search for the attention necessary for listening. It is also a process of education to look beyond the facade, to understand the whole architecture (for to put it in the language of Chiara) when we choose what to wear. We are confident, there are more and more voices who want to spread this kind of messages and we will be able to break through!”

Chiara, what do you love about modular garments?

“The design of modular garments is certainly the aspect that fascinates me, breaking down something simple, recognizable and finding multiple combinations in those shapes.
Variants that do not depend only on one mind; I like to think that whoever wears the garment can feel involved in a creative process, can best express their personality, tastes and needs. Don’t be subjugated by the (fashionable) dress, rather make it unique“.

Mariangela, what is the most worrying thing you have seen in the photos from space? And the most beautiful thing instead?

“It is not easy, each image can tell incredible stories to those who look beyond, and not only with the eyes. However, I choose to respond with two images from above, emblems, respectively, of the effects of separation and cooperation.
The first is a view from the international space station of a long, very clear line of light that cuts through the darkness of the Indian and Pakistani territories for about 3,300km. About 150,000 lamps to illuminate one of the most contested borders in the world, the origin of numerous wars and conflicts.

The second one is a satellite view that makes us look directly under the surface of the most transparent waters on the planet, those of the Bahamas. In contrast to the story of the painful separation of the disputed border, a shining example of cooperation. For more than one hundred million years (thought to start from the Jurassic era), the joint work of the ‘factory’, the combination of sedimentary environment, organisms and precipitation processes, has deposited the limestone that gives shape to the folds of the carbonate submarine platform of the archipelago. A plissé, to return to our beloved fabrics, incomparable!”.

Are you planning other collections together?

“Ideas are always on the move, but we want to take the time to make the most of this collection, which we believe to be rich in content and ideas and we would not want it to pass quickly just to be in line with the fashion dynamics we know. This too. it’s sustainability”.

Mariangela and Chiara’s project is unique and interesting. I have been following the project with curiosity since its dawn: the commitment to consider the environmental and social impact in every detail and the message of reflection on the interaction between us and the planet that hosts us fascinated me.

You can find out more here:

Site: https://biclot-earthncycle.myshopify.com/en

Instagram: @biclotdesign; @earthncycle