There’s a word that often gets left out of fashion storytelling: vulnerability.

And yet, it’s precisely there that the most important choices come from. For brands, but also for people.

Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being fragile. It means exposing yourself with clarity, acknowledging what doesn’t work, accepting that not everything can be done as you’d like. It’s a form of honesty. It’s a less visible, yet profoundly human, place. It’s where you no longer seek perfection and instead begin to see things for what they are.

In the fashion system, this is even more difficult.
Because the dominant narrative demands absolute coherence, strong identities, clear positioning.
It demands success and stories of perfection.

However, building a truly responsible brand is, by its very nature, the opposite: it’s a process of constant adjustments, imperfect decisions, and inevitable compromises.

In the new episode of the Pop-Up Green podcast, we step into the Eyelet Milano showroom for a conversation that focuses on precisely this: what happens when a brand decides not to hide its limitations, but to make them part of its journey. Simona Luparello and Alessia Boselini, brand managers, discuss how to address limitations and compromises, where to start to build a more sustainable brand, and which mistakes to avoid.

What you will discover in the interview

In this episode, we touched on some of the most relevant topics for those working in or interested in sustainable fashion:

• Where did the choice to create an ethical brand come from (3:06)
What does Eyelet do and what is its distinctive feature?
The moment the choice to not create “normal fashion” was born
Ideology, necessity, or strategy?
The first question to ask yourself before starting

• Limits and compromises (16:15)
The first compromise accepted
The most difficult one on a personal level
Sustainability vs. survival: the strongest doubt
What is still not sustainable today
Declaring limits or hiding them
The brand’s greatest vulnerabilities

• The choices that define an identity (32:56)
The decision worth being proud of
The aspects of the brand that customers are most satisfied with
What is recognized and appreciated by customers

• For those who want to start a more responsible brand (42:25)
What NOT to do at the beginning
Where to really start
How to face limits and compromises without losing your identity
Three mistakes to avoid

True innovation, in this sector, is not declaring yourself sustainable. It’s knowing how to recognize—and talk about—even what isn’t yet.
If you work in fashion, if you’re building your own project, or if you really want to understand what’s behind a more responsible brand, listen to the full interview.

Photos: Courtesy of Eyelet Milano

I’ve been following Carolina on Instagram for years, I finally manage to meet her in Rome, to record a live episode of the podcast (Pop-up Green).

We are on a June afternoon, during the course she is holding “Create your bikini” at  PuntoPieno shop. With her, there are 3 current and former students: Cinzia, owner of PuntoPieno; Tamara, who took sewing courses with Cinzia; Emma, a very young trainee struggling with her first bikini.

You can listen to our talk here, where we talk about DIY swimwear, tailored underwear, craftsmanship and fast fashion. Do you know, for example, what a “bustaia” (corset-maker) is? Or where can you discover vintage lingerie? Or how feasible is it to make a bikini yourself?

Below we report the text of the episode. Take also a look at the photos of the swimwear created!

To follow Caroline: Website; Instagram.

Carolina, I was immediately struck by your initiative “Create your bikini”. What exactly is it about, what are you doing in this course?

Carolina: “In this course we help people who come to us to design a basic pattern, cut the lycra and build a wearable bikini with the cut lycra, applying the elastic. In addition, in the modeling part I always try to help understand how to modify the bases to have different shapes. For example, Tamara uses very small bikini bottoms. In her case we have created something a little taller, but very high cut. Starting from a base, it is modified to obtain the desired result.”

I just wanted to ask, are there any predefined models or, coming to the course, can you choose a model based on your shapes?

Carolina: “So having the base you can make changes. This is a triangle course as top. Modifications can be made starting from the triangle: a slightly longer band, they can be done differently with the seam, without seam, etc. But basically it is that, because unfortunately the modeling of the bra cup with underwire is a whole other world.”

The bottom instead can be modified, smaller as for Tamara.

Carolina: “Actually, changes can also be made for the top. For example, the triangle cup instead of the gathered seam, with the pence, with the padding inside, is still an alternative.”

How did this bikini course come about?

Carolina: “We’ve known each other for some time, she (Cinzia) was already taking courses. We said we wanted to organize something different together”.

Why bikini?

Carolina: “It’s because of her! (Tamara).

Tamara: “I don’t have the same size top and bottom. The bigger size of the ones on the market doesn’t suit me, I started having girls make custom-made costumes. When I started sewing I said to myself: ‘why can’t I do it myself?’.

Carolina: “She was there that day, and we said: ‘What shall we do?’. For me it is essential to have the opportunity to teach how to do things according to one’s own measurements. In fact, this is not a course on cutting. You use your own measurements. From there we developed the idea, it’s summer, so the bikini.”

How many lessons have you done so far?

Carolina: “Four lessons of two and a half hours. We are in the third lesson. She (Emma) has already finished the top. Since it goes fast, we’ll do a variant with the cup inside.”

Why make your own bikini instead of buying it?

Carolina: “First of all, the satisfaction of creating something with your own hands, which no one does anymore. We are in a world that is now accustomed to buying, using, throwing away. There is no longer the conception of what is behind it, we don’t know how things work. And there is no longer even the habit of manual skills. Here, patience is also lacking, we are no longer used to patience, we are all in this circuit of ‘everything at once’. Instead, manual skill pushes you to understand that everything has its time, its rhythm. It may happen that you unravel, start, but then you have something finished that you can say ‘I did it!

That is priceless! I wonder if you have any advice for anyone who wants to try to do it themselves.

Carolina: “Patience. Do it yourself. I always say give it a try. Today on YouTube, on the Internet you generally find a lot of things. Surely there comes a time when you need to have a guide, if you’ve never done what kind of work. If you do something different that you haven’t done, I say try it, if you see that you like it you have to meet someone who gives you at least some guidelines, at least the basics, and then you go on from there”.

To do things precisely and correctly. Like Emma, who started doing it herself, trying, and then she felt the need for the course.

Carolina: “Of course, for example, also remaining in the swimwear course, knowing how to put the pieces on the lycra… Because it is true that it is an elastic fabric but it has a sort of direction to be preferred.”

Who can take this course?

Carolina: “The course is for someone who already knows how to sew a little. Because you have to learn to sew a fabric that is a bit difficult, let’s say. Because it’s stretchy, most of the time it’s made of polyester and nylon, so it’s also really hard to sew mechanically: machines hate it! It takes at least knowing how the fabric works and therefore already knowing how to sew the fabric. Then it is not important to know the model because I teach modeling here.”

The difficulty is mainly the fabric, right?

Carolina: “Yes, and the elastic band”.

So you should have some dexterity with the type of fabric. A person who even has only basic knowledge but has a lot of dexterity can do well, which is the case for Emma.

Carolina: “It’s her case. She took a basic course with Cinzia which evidently allowed her to become familiar with the fabric. She took us to show things that she already does independently”.

Yes, today we have an excellent student here with us, as we said before, who excelled in the basic course with Cinzia.

Cinzia: “She was great”.

What’s your name?

Emma: “My name is Emma. Actually, I used the sewing machine even before, but it was always things I did on my own, nothing taught by anyone, just a little bit. My grandmother gave me a sewing machine for my 18th birthday and from there I started tinkering a bit. But then after a few years I said: ‘But I continue to do these somewhat basic, ugly things’. So mom gave me this basic course to learn the ABC.”

It’s a nice gift! Then you stood out for your skills and were able to attend the most advanced course. Now we have loaded her with expectations! What a pressure, really! Don’t worry, Emma, as if we weren’t there.

I ask you too. How did you start this sewing adventure?

Cinzia: “I’m Cinzia, I’m the owner of PuntoPieno. I opened this place about two and a half years ago, in December of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. There is someone who says: ‘Eh, courageous!’, I would perhaps say reckless, but in any case I am still here, thanking heaven. I love teaching sewing, I love to sew, I always have. While I did the classic secretarial and managerial assistant jobs, as soon as I had a free moment I would sew at home or even take sewing courses at a rather high level, in a professional tailor’s shop. This allowed me to be a seamstress to all intents and purposes, but above all to specialize in teaching.”

So it was a plan B, a hobbythat eventually became a job.

Cinzia: “In 2017, unfortunately, the company I worked for had a major crisis and I was fired. I asked myself: What do I do? Am I looking for another job as an assistant manager or do I give it a try? I gave it a try, and from 2017 to the end of 2020 I was able to carry out this challenging project. I met Carolina in a women’s business association called Rete al femminile, also at I mercoledì della mansardina. When you have mutual esteem, the desire to work together is easily born. I invited her here to teach a pilot course, where Tamara and I were two students. Tamara is a long-term student of mine, who is practically planted here in a permanent location with my great pleasure.”

Tamara: “In a while I’ll have my residence here, the documents are arriving!”

Cinzia: “We did the first pilot course, we loved it, we revised the timing, the necessary materials so as to be able to offer it in the best possible way to everyone and we have now re-proposed it in June. We hope to be able to do it again in July.”

Yes, because these things must be encouraged!

Cinzia: “Self-production enriches self-esteem, makes us make new connections, enriches creativity. Self produce, anything. Obviously I love to sew, I’m in this area, but self-production is truly something extra”.

What do you do with fabric scraps?

Cinzia: “With the waste of fabrics used during the courses, even simply in my production, there is a certain amount that is discarded. I always try to recover and reuse all the pieces for which I create small objects that can easily be used”.

What did you like the most about the pilot course and what made you say: “This is a course to be repeated”? What is the best thing about the course you did?

Cinzia: “The feeling of having the finished product. I’ve been sewing for several years already, I have experience. I must say that lycra made me a little nervous. It’s not that easy to sew. Obviously with all of Carolina’s tricks and teachings, I’ve already reached the third bikini! And I definitely intend to sew more. The thing I liked the most is having the first bikini in my hands. And immediately wanting to make another one, and then another one. This is one thing that I liked without a doubt the most.”

Carolina: “Let’s say that during the course she wasn’t really that happy! ‘Don’t worry, we’re getting to the end’, I said.”

Tamara: “Lycra is a bad impact. During the course there were moments when I looked at Cinzia and said: ‘But I can continue to buy them! No, why do I have to make them myself??? I do something else by myself, I’m already sewing, I’m doing something else! In reality, what Cinzia says is true. The first bikini, with all the limitations of the case, can’t be perfect, but beyond everything, I also chose the lycra badly. It’s only right that Cinzia chooses it, it wasn’t a ‘nice to sew’ lycra. Even Carolina admitted it. It’s one more difficulty. So, having removed this obstacle of the first bikini, we bought lycra together, we made the second bikini together independently and… I actually went down to the beach wearing this bikini (I have so many, I have a drawer full) in my opinion it was the most beautiful bikini. Then you feel like duplicating them. She had told me: ‘If you want in the future you can add the cup’. In the third bikini I put the cups and it went very well.”

I saw a photo of you wearing it, then I don’t know now if we can publish it to show the final result, nice! You can see that it fits perfectly.

Tamara: “I like that. Beyond the aesthetics of the bikini, my biggest doubt was: ‘Having done the bikini, if I wear it, is the effect similar to what I buy?’. Actually I have to say yes. I particularly like it, because obviously when the fact that you did it yourself intervenes, it has a value. I finished this one yesterday and I can’t wait for tomorrow just to put on my new swimwear.”

You make me think, you know?, about this. Because in my opinion the fact of self-production also gives satisfaction. It also serves as an anti-stress, there are a myriad of reasons, you can choose materials, perhaps even recycled. Having done it ourselves, giving it a different value than the one bought, it touches on an aspect of sustainability that I hold dear. Just to make the things we have last as long as possible, right Carolina?

Carolina: “Of course, when one sews something, she/he does it with the fabrics you prefer. Maybe quality, because it’s clear that if you go and buy things that are already made you’ll find the fabric they use, which isn’t always the best, we know that. Instead, by doing it yourself, you can also find quality fabric. If you have done something well, cut it well, it fits you well, you keep it. You use it and you don’t need much to make it always new. You can also modify it if you increase or decrease it over time or if you want to change something about the style. You can always intervene on the garment that you made yourself. With a garment you buy, which has no seam allowances, which is made with poor quality fabrics, you can’t intervene much.”

This matter of materials, I was also pleased to touch it because probably someone who will then listen to the podcast or read the article knowing me will think: “Are you talking about materials such as polyester, lycra, synthetic materials?”. I talk about it and I like to talk about this project. Apart from finding alternatives, such as recovering old fabrics.

Carolina: “Old swimwear, for example, or other things that can be recovered. Because the elastic bands unfortunately decay over time. If the time comes they crumble, they last a few years, but you can actually reuse the fabric. Now you can also find recycled lycra.”

Perfect! They are also studying new materials. Moreover, I love recovery.

Carolina: “I make a swimsuit that lasts as many years as I want.”

On the other hand, it is one thing to buy a 100% polyester dress from a fast fashion brand that I maybe wear for two months and then I turn it into textile waste.

Emma: “Speaking of Shein and the various fast fashion chains, it’s something that is very close to my heart, because it’s been like 4-5 years since I’ve been in these stores anymore.”

Were they all like you, it’s nice to hear so!

Emma: “Now there are so many alternatives. Markets, small markets, those sites like Vinted and second-hand sales. I’ve realized now, after so many years of buying only used, vintage things from mum’s and grandma’s wardrobes, when I go in (those stores), just touching the fabrics, that it’s a bad quality. And not only. Just doing this course I realized how impossible it is for a pair of trousers to cost €10 on Shein! Because only the fabric, I paid €30 for it, then you have to add the labour”.

Tamara: “Theoretically also the energy you use for the sewing machines. But in fact anyone who does not sew does not realize. For example, last time I made trousers, now I’m making a suit, 2.20 meters of fabric. If the fabric costs around €20 per meter of fabric alone, it’s more than €50”.

Emma: “They are certainly much faster processes than the ones done by hand, because everything is industrialized and so on. But it is clear that it is inevitable that the worker is underpaid, or even she/he is not paid at all, because otherwise it is not really sustainable!”

In my opinion this type of activity really serves to understand the work behind it, which should then actually be done with every product, object that we buy. Because we’ve maybe lost touch with the production side. Not knowing what lies behind it, we tend to underestimate a lot, we are unable to give an economic value.

Cinzia: “In fact, craftsmanship, in addition to tailoring, when one goes to the seamstress to have a made-to-measure suit made, is thought to have absurd prices. Not true, they are the right ones. Because apart from the material, the hours of work needed and not only that, even the skills we have, which we have built up over the years, are in any case added values that we put into the finished product and therefore it would be fair to repay it adequately. But what’s the difference? We see that we are placed on the same level as chains like H&M, like Shein, like Zara. There is no comparison and yet we are compared. Not us in general as craftsmen, but the final product itself is compared, when it is actually on another planet. Unfortunately, a handcrafted product is considered a luxury product. And it shouldn’t be like this.”

Yes, that’s what I often say, that it’s distorted: the right price has become expensive because it has dropped, there is someone who has pulled it down a lot. So we have lost a correct term of comparison, instead this would be the correct price.

Tamara: “The other day I was talking to a friend of mine who said to me: ‘Tami, I bought trousers from Shein. It stinks a lot of oil, what can I do? I told her I wouldn’t wear it in any case. Do you know what she answered me? ‘You know what? I wasn’t convinced, but it cost so little that I thought that even if I put it on twice and throw it away…’.
I also happened to go to flea markets, the first thing I do now is to go around and look at how it is sewn. ‘This is all wrong!’ I practically took the clothes apart, and walked away. I love flea markets, I spend a lot of time there. After the second market I go to her (Cinzia) and I say I will never buy anything again!”

This made me remind of my grandmother, who every time I brought her something and said “Can you make it shorter”, she looked at it, immediately turned it upside down, looked at the stitching and said “It’s all sewn wrong!”. I would like to ask you too, what did you like most about doing the course with Carolina?

Tamara: “That despite everything, lycra can be sewn! First of all, the possibility of wearing a bikini made entirely by me.”

Quanti ne hai fatti? How many did you make?

Tamara: “Three.”

And are you ready for the forth?

Tamara: “I’ve already bought the lycra and next week I’ll start the forth.”

I like it very much, I’m curious to see the fourth too then.

Carolina Gi is not only swimwear, it is also another world and I have accumulated a bit of curiosity. Could you briefly help me sort out the various terms related to your business?

Carolina: “Actually, they are all part of the same discipline. Brassiere is the French word for bra. Here in Italy, however, it indicates a certain type of bra, which is not very structured. Almost like the bralette, but while the bralette, more in lace, is more aesthetically elaborate, the brassiere is a bra without underwire, perhaps of the undershirt type or in any case in cotton, more practical. Corsetière could be the correspondent of ‘bustaia’ but linked to the world of corsets. Lingerie indicates the sector of the bra, the petticoat, the garter belt, the whole world of intimate apparel, but also something more linked to the more aesthetic than functional side.”

So we clarify a bit, we no longer even ask ourselves what is behind it and if they have different names because there is also a different craftsmanship behind it. Earlier you mentioned the ‘bustaia’ (corset maker). I read in your blog that you were talking about it regarding jobs that disappear.

Carolina: “Bras have entered our history, our life, not for a long time. There were no shops where you went to buy bras. There was the seamstress who specialized in the sector, the corset maker, who made the bra, made the body shaper, the girdle. Again, things were made to measure. The ready-to-wear shop wasn’t there. Department stores started appearing, but not everyone went there. Not everything was there either. Many people did things at home. Many went to the seamstress, and if you wanted something special in terms of underwear you had to go to the ‘bustaia’. There is a different preparation, you are dealing with different fabrics, with different shapes and patterns. If you wanted a bra or girdle or corset because maybe you wanted to tighten your waist a little, you went to the corset maker.”

Can we define you as a modern ‘bustaia’?

Carolina: “Yes, I use the word corsetière, first of all it seems to me a somewhat French term. But it is no longer found. If you go looking, you’ll find someone who has kept the name, perhaps they are shops that still have a certain longevity. But when they refer to the ‘bustaia’, they mean a person who, if you go there, buy the bra and have to make the change, does it. They don’t do the “made to measure”. I couldn’t find other people. Not only in Rome, not even around Italy.”

 And abroad? Because you wrote ‘Abroad is another matter, maybe I’ll tell you, this is another story’.

Carolina: “Yes, then I never told it! Abroad, meanwhile, there are people who do the same job as me, but do-it-yourself works much more. There are many people who sell the model in multiple sizes. There are many groups where you enter and ask for help because maybe you are not able, because you take a size, the one that comes closest but you have to do the fitting of the thing you know you have to create for yourself. In that case, if you don’t know how to do it, you have to get help. So there are many who help each other. And then they sell the sets. There are companies that sell the piece of lace, the piece of fabric, the elastics, the closures, the caps. There is a huge world, there are also many online courses.”

Carolina, why did you choose this job?

Carolina: “I come from a fashion academy, I’m a stylist, a model maker. For many years I have dealt with clothing, both in tailors and on my own privately. Then came a moment… Do you know those things that are in front of you, but you don’t see them? One day I was on the verge of desperation, I said: ‘I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to look for bras for myself and I can never find them (I have a large size). But why don’t you do it yourself?” My light bulb went on. I’ve actually always had a great love for lingerie and corsetry. Corsets are already slightly different from lingerie, a parallel, beautiful world that I love madly, but it’s a little different. So, I started experimenting, looking for information, seeing people, talking. In short, slowly I bought the modeling books. In Italy there are no courses. Being already a pattern maker it was easier for me. If you don’t have the basics it’s a little more complicated, above all because, in fact, there are no schools in Italy. I’d like to create a school where one can learn to make lingerie and corsetry. Now some girls have started doing something, but they’re always limited, they never arrive at the real tailored made. They are always tailored made, made to measure, always standardized things. So it’s hard to be able to solve exactly that kind of problem.”

Cinzia: “In the meantime, however, we could do some courses here.”

Let’s think big, we start small, and meanwhile in the long term…

In your opinion, in this society which is dictated by frenetic pace even in consumption, by the rush to own garments based on the brand, by the loss of sight of the importance of quality in favor of quantity instead, according to you, do we underestimate, out of ignorance, the importance of wearing tailored underwear?

Carolina: “Yes, especially in the bra sector. We are led to think that we buy a bra, make it wearable and we have solved. Too bad it’s not like that. A bra must support a certain way, it must not hurt you when you wear them, it must not give you back pain. It has a structure. Going back to the previous discussion, for example, maybe I’d go looking in the shops, find the fifth D bra cup for me, tie it on and I’ve solved it! But after two days it didn’t fit me anymore, because the cup wasn’t the right one, the underbust, the band wasn’t the right one.”

Vintage lingerie, your passion. What do you particularly like about vintage lingerie? Is there any piece that makes you feel this passion?

Carolina: “I grew up with those wonderful Hollywood-style films, including Italian ones, with Sofia Loren, with all the most famous actresses, best known all over the world. They were often represented in films in romantic scenes with a dressing gown, guêpière, garter belt. I have those references that were objectively very beautiful, I’m in love with that aesthetic. I like to search from photos to information. Every now and then I enjoy reproducing, for example, a bra following a model. I had a book of models, there are photos with the design on graph paper, so it could be redone in exactly the same size and so I did, I was able to redo those things. Bringing back the garter belt, bringing back the guêpière, these things here, why not?”

I would ask you if you have a book to recommend for discovering vintage lingerie.

Carolina: “More than a book, I’ll give you two websites, ok? One is a site that you actually enter with a subscription, but has tons of articles that are also accessible for free: Foundation Revealed. You can find everything related above all from corsets to swimwear. It is a large Anglo-Saxon community that loves costumes, loves proposing and recreating them, everything that was worn underneath, that is, they are truly very very particular historical reconstructions. Another wonderful site is Underpinning museum. Someone with this passion did a crowdfunding and set up this museum where there are all the vintage garments, from all eras, and continues to add them. Some are reproductions, some are originals. It is a virtual museum. I don’t remember if they are British or American. It truly is a wonderful archive of photographs, full of spectacular models.”

Let’s talk about some ideas for courses. You can’t find the beautiful bodysuits of the past anymore. I found myself, for at least 2-3 years, with a desire for those very very feminine bodysuits. What about a course to make them?

Cinzia: “We will do everything!”.

Carolina: “Here it’s getting difficult!”.

Slowly, slowly, I’d love to make one of those, perhaps starting with a simpler model. When you come here to sew are there machines available?

Carolina: “She (Emma) brought hers, she set it because so at home it already starts from ‘to make this seam we use this stitches and this thread tension etc.’ But there are also some sewing machines available. In the pilot course we used all the machines we have here in the laboratory to understand which were the best settings based on each machine, the right needle, the size of the stitch, the type of thread to use. We invite you if you want to sew at home too, maybe if you have the opportunity to bring your own machine, because it’s a particular setting, then it’s worth it”.

One leaves the world outside. She/He sits there, thinks about sewing. There is herbal tea, a biscuit. I really like this dimension, that is, it’s not just the course itself. We come here, we chat, which is not just ‘you make your own bikini’, but you create a world, a network of people to be with.

Tamara: “Indeed, a world opens up for you. The first few times I needed Cinzia, I always need Cinzia but now I can understand. I didn’t call Cinzia and tell her: ‘I have to make an electric toothbrush case’. I called Cinzia and said: ‘Among the waterproof fabrics, which one can you give me?’.”

And then she gives the advice on fabrics.

Tamara: “I have to be honest about the suggestions for fabrics: I’ve never seen them quite as beautiful as here at Cinzia’s. The quality, the choice is really something special.”

Cinzia: “When I can, I also try to choose totally or partially recycled fabrics. One thing I always say is that polyester is demonized a lot, and it’s true, absolutely true, but unfortunately cotton doesn’t have a particularly low impact.”

I totally agree, there isn’t the perfect fabric, but many people think: “It’s natural!”, actually natural doesn’t mean it’s sustainable. it doesn’t actually exist. Polyester has pros and cons, the cons of course being that it comes from petroleum. The pro is that it doesn’t use as much water as is used for cotton. One fabric cannot be demonized over another.

Carolina: “Mine, among other things, is a sector where it is difficult to say: ‘We sew sustainably’, because for example natural fabrics that can be used are few. Clearly, according to common feeling, most of the fabrics used in lingerie are polyester. It’s clearly demonized by now, but yes, wait there too. It gives you features that help you wear it in a certain way, it’s long-lasting, because in any case it takes time before it breaks.”

This is why it is important that you like it a lot, to keep it for a long time.

Tamara: “I am in contact with young people in my work, and they don’t have this culture.”

Cynthia: “Except Emma!”

Tamara: “She’s really are a rare case!”

Emma is our gem.

Tamara: “Even my pupils and others, even the generation immediately before (like that of my nephew), grew up with the possibility of buying at low cost and having a thousand alternatives. When I was younger it’s true that maybe I bought anyway, but it was much more expensive regardless, and you didn’t have all this variety that allowed you to have such an affordable price. Even if the sweater for me, the trousers cost me enough, it was a more conscious choice. Now if you go to the shops the shirt costs €10, if you’re not convinced you buy it anyway.”

Carolina: “Let’s say that this fabric costs €2 per meter for the industry. Then there’s the thread, the current, the lining, the buttons, the zipper. We add 5 €.”

It doesn’t add up…

Tamara: “But the fabric is the one that takes the most money from me in the project.”

Plus the working hours.

Tamara: “Work must be quantified”.

Cinzia: “Work in the sense of how long it takes you to do the thing”.

Tamara: “Yesterday a girl said to me: ‘How beautiful this is! Well, how long does it take you to make the pants?’ That’s not how long it takes. You buy the fabric, you buy the thread”.

Emma: “It’s not just ‘you buy the fabric’ here. It’s ‘you go out, get in the car, go get the fabric, choose it”.

Which is the same thing that smaller brands do.

Emma: “I’m lucky because I studied sculpture and installation, so I really know the value of handmade things, plus I also had my grandmother who sewed. Hence also the importance of taking used things. In all the work I do, even sculpture, I always try to have as little waste as possible, use as little plastic as possible, natural elements. Even in that field, which is very difficult.
Grandma wants a hand modifying her swimsuit!”

Cinzia: “Now you give her a hand, instead!”.

(Emma shows the bikini she is sewing). All: “Wow. How beautiful, very beautiful!”

Cynthia: “Can I tell you something? My first bikini didn’t turn out so well! Mine was much wavier.”

Carolina: “In fact I was about to say: ‘Ask them how it was!’ I guarantee you that to be the first bikini it’s coming out great!”

Now a curiosity: I still can not sew straight!

Cinzia: “Ok, come and have a lesson with me! Look, actually you lack the reference point. When you’re in a car, what keeps you going straight is following the lines out of the corner of your eye. On a deserted road it’s the lines that allow you…, in fact when they aren’t there on a country road, it’s only asphalted for example, it’s difficult to stay in one’s lane. When you sew it’s a bit the same thing. When sewing you need to choose a reference point, whether it’s the edge of the foot, the notches on the needle plate, a guideline, a reference point”:

Mi piacerebbe venire a fare il corso! I would like to do the course!

Cinzia: “Great”

Grazie per questo pomeriggio insieme! Mi piace pensare che un mestiere come quello della bustaia non stia scomparendo, che sia qualcuno/a che continuerà ad appassionarsene e a raccontarne la bellezza, magari imparando proprio da Carolina, incuriosito/a dalla sua intervista e dal blog. Ci meritiamo di indossare un intimo comodo e bello!

Thank you for this afternoon together! I like to think that a profession like that of  ‘bustaia’ is not disappearing, that there’s someone who will continue to be passionate about it and tell its beauty, perhaps even learning from Carolina, intrigued by her interview and blog. We deserve to wear comfortable and beautiful underwear!

Carolina Gi website; Instagram

Photos by: cover, Riccardo Scrocca; Carolina Gi, Cinzia, Tamara, Emma.

A shop window in the streets of Pienza catches my eye. It is the laboratory of Raffaella Zurlo, Ricreare Lab Shop, which recovers and transforms materials destined to be thrown away. Upcycling for Raffaella means looking at potential waste from another point of view. We chat with her about her creations and the world of creative recycling.

Not only that: she also tells us how she managed to create an Instagram profile that intrigues and pleasantly entertains on three different themes, in common they have the offer of artistically produced objects with less impact on the environment. In addition, she also reveals to us what it is like to deal with upcycling in this Tuscan country, entering the territory.

In the podcast episode you will discover:

• 01:11 – The incredible meeting with Raffaella!
• 03:40 – What Raffaella does (and what does upcycling mean, which is not recycling)
• 05:38 – Metals: what do they have to do with it?
• 06:44 – Respect for patina
• 07:00 – The emotion talking about Piero Angela
• 10:35 – Waldorf dolls: how they come from Raffaella’s hands and recovered materials
• 12:10 – Do you know what ‘scardacci’ are?
• 14:45 – The most beautiful things recovered by Raffaella
• 6:22 pm – When Jude Law sat here!

Tips for brands:

• 20:30 – What is it like to carry out upcycling projects in Pienza
• 23:33 – The pandemic: how Raffaella reacted
• 11:43 pm – How do you get to build a beautiful Instagram profile
• 26:07 – Relying on a professional
• 27:55 – How much time Raffaella dedicates to social media
• 29:28 – Advice for those who want to start upcycling
• 31.37 – Let’s talk about money
• 33:04 – On Clubhouse with Bottega di Cartone

Raffaella also recovers garments for children and adults.

Do you want to know more about upcycling and get to know other brands? You can download our free guide here> Upcycling: da rifiuto a tesoro

Since we like to explain well and make known the partners we work with, we asked Benedetta and Caterina a few questions, to find out what it is, what it offers and how to join the WHATaECO project.

Hi Benedetta, hi Caterina, how did you meet? How was your collaboration born?

“Modena is not a metropolis and we have known each other since we were girls. We also attended the University of Law together, but it is sustainability that has united us every day in the WHATaECO project. It all started from an exchange of views on the difficulty of finding sustainable alternatives to products of daily use. Add a pinch of entrepreneurial spirit and the refusal of a career as a lawyer and WHATaECO was born!”.

Why did you decide to start this project? What made you take the first step?

“Awareness, necessity and courage. We were looking for a low-impact site that promotes sustainable alternatives of different product categories, and we have not found it. More and more people are buying online and greenwashing is rampant, so we have studied the solutions to create an online platform that meets the asks but did it in a sustainable way. WHATaECO is in fact powered by clean energy, we work in dropshipping to halve transport and everything we do is compensated. Even the packaging is sustainable: reused as much as possible, plastic-free and sealed with our paper tape”.

What is your goal?

“We believe in a world that enhances and grows thanks to sustainable entrepreneurship. Our mission is to promote sustainability by providing easy access to goods that are daily needed without having a negative impact on the planet. We currently work with over 130 Italian and foreign brands that share the our vision but there are new products online every week. There are many medium and long term goals that we wish to achieve but we don’t want to spoil you too much!”.

How do you select the brands on the website?

“By materials, corporate values and what the product or service conveys. We offer a catalog of selected brands on the European territory that share our mission, create ethical employment and are part of the virtuous business network that we aspire to be able to help to see a change in the world of commerce. All our products are fair trade, cruelty-free, durable or compostable if disposable and designed to have a lower impact on the environment “.

What products do the brands you choose offer? What can we find on WHATaECO?

“A little bit of everything! The categories currently are Clothing, Cosmetics, Home, Baby and Leisure but the catalog is always growing and we are very proud to have also launched the online courses and experiences category, that we would soon like to expand with sustainable tourism projects. Based on the outcome of the online crowdfunding campaign, which will close in September, we hope to also open the category dedicated to food and drinks!”.

You have started a crowdfunding campaign, can you briefly tell us what it consists of and how we can participate?

“It is a huge project in progress, and there are 68 days to go (Ed: now there are less than 60 days!) to close the campaign. We are thrilled with the feedback we have received, because we have managed to raise over 50,000 euros in a couple of weeks, reaching and exceeding the inseparable threshold of the minimum target. We have many ambitious goals to be able to support our brand partners and we sincerely hope to be able to reach the maximum target! You can invest until the end of the summer with a minimum share of 250 euros by becoming a full member of WHATaECO! For those wishing to invest more than 1,000 euros, you will also get free shipping costs on the site for 1 year”.

What was the hardest part of this project?

“We face difficulties on a daily basis. Managing a business for women under 30 in Italy is not easy. Furthermore, being a new brand, the greatest effort is to make ourselves known, to convey to our community that we are Benedetta and Caterina, young, easy-going but with clear ideas: we nurture the ambition to be able to give value to ethical and sustainable businesses. because a different and virtuous economy is possible!”.

It doesn’t seem to be easy, but you are doing very well! And the best part of the project?

“To have the opportunity to meet (digitally and physically) wonderful people. Every day we relate to brands and partners who have put everything into play for a good cause, content creators who carry out a magnificent work of dissemination on the issues of sustainability and social justice with admirable dedication, and conscious consumers who contact us, interact and occasionally write us ‘Finally WHATaECO!’ “.

What aspects of sustainability do you pay attention to in the project?

“We take into consideration procurement, production chain, materials used, durability and disposal. We ask brands many questions (and sometimes their employees too!) to understand their approach in every aspects. To make sure they share and apply our values, we always ask to sign our code of ethics”.

I’m curious: how did you start your zero waste path?

Caterina: “I think it all started when I got into gardening. Taking care of the plants, sowing seeds, watering the summer evenings is one of the things I love most to do in my free time. This closeness to nature has opened my eyes: how lucky are we to be surrounded by so much beauty? How small and passing are we compared to a tree or a bulb that every year gives us a wonderful flower? So I started thinking about the impact of my daily actions, I started to inform myself, to study and to act, and .. I never stopped!”.

Benedetta: “I was the emblem of superficiality when it came to purchases. I led a radically different lifestyle from what I try to pursue today and I have to be honest: I was more carefree. The ‘Zero waste wanna be’ approach leads you to constantly ask yourself questions, to question everything and often have difficulty finding an alternative. Sometimes it is frustrating to feel like a fish out of water or not being able to perfectly embody your ideals, but I would never go back, and do my best every day to improve”.

What do you recommend to those who want to start this journey?

“Think before you do anything. And think for yourself. We do not want to let consumers fall into the trap of ecological consumerism. We encourage consumers to choose WHATaECO when they need to replace something. We do not need bamboo cutlery to be sustainable, but to think before acting and take into account the needs and circumstances of the present moment. It is not philosophy: before having an aperitif, we think and order the drink without a straw. Refusing, very often, is the first step in starting a zero waste lifestyle“.

Thanks Benedetta and Caterina! We follow your crowfunding campaign and we are happy to be present on WHATaECO!

Here you can find WHATaECO:

Site
Instagram
Equity crowdfunding campaign

And here, our course!

Foto: WHATaECO

Maybe you are doing the slalom between articles, posts and stories that suggest purchases for the holidays, now here is also Dress Ecode on the subject! We have worked hard in the last weeks so that it was not the usual Christmas guide. We are not for pushing to buy in the occasion of a particular holiday or time of the year, because the consumption model we propose wants to spread greater responsibility in our daily choices.

We hope you will find here useful tips not only for buying but also for experiencing this period, and for choosing gifts, with an extra focus on sustainability.

Non troverai una carrellata di marchi e prodotti. Anche perché non riusciremmo a includere tutti quelli che ci piacciono. Abbiamo preferito focalizzarci sulle idee, in linea con la nostra filosofia di diffondere come acquistare in modo più responsabile. Per conoscere brand e artigiani che realizzano i doni che consigliamo, qui sul sito trovi davvero tanti spunti selezionando la categoria «Dove acquistare». You won’t find a roundup of brands and products. Also because we would not be able to include all the ones we like. We preferred to focus on ideas, in line with our philosophy of spreading how to buy more responsibly. To learn about brands and artisans who make the gifts we recommend, here on the site you will find many ideas by selecting the category «Where to buy».

You will not find discounts, because we would like all the work and commitment behind artisanal, handmade, slow and more sustainable products to always be recognized at the right price. Instead, you will find a surprise at the end: how much we like brands that talk about other brands!

Available in preview to the most loyal readers who have chosen to adopt a Dress Ecode, this guide is a gift to all readers.

A long article that becomes a guide, because there are many things to say on the subject of gifts and parties. It is not exhaustive, but full of contents to be read even in episodes, to find tips for choosing gifts in a more responsible and pleasant way, valid all year round, not just at Christmas.
And here it is, a special issue of Dress Ecode dressed up for the holidays!

If you like it and want to receive more, join the group of people who want a greener and more ethical fashion (and lifestyle). You will be able to read the guides that we have already created and you will receive the next ones that we will publish exclusively.

Let us and the brands you decide to buy a gift from know that it was useful* and if you followed a suggestion you read!

Do you want to read the guide? Click on the image below:

* We write as objectively as possible and independently , which is why we choose not to receive sponsorships. If we decide to include advertising information, we will communicate this clearly.

Besides the actual shoes ending up in landfills at the end of the life cycle, during the tanning process also the shoe factories produce significant waste:

• dust, scraps and leather clippings polymeric materials and fabrics;
• adhesives and solvents;
• packaging (canned goods) partly dangerous as it is used to contain chemical substances.

Peterson+Stoop’s story, Dutch brand founded by Jarah Stoop and Jelske Peterson, is based exactly on the concept of giving a new life to thrown away shoes. Not only saving them from the landfill but also increasing their value by giving them a new start in the high shoes fashion industry, thanks to the implementation of TPU soles and thanks to a new vegan leather and cork design.

First of all, starting from the beginning of your story, when and where did you two meet?

“We met in art school in Amsterdam, Jarah was in her 3rd years and sat on the newcomers committee, she among others is responsible for letting me into the school”.

How did your project start? What was the initial vision and reason for doing so?

“After art school and after Jarah just graduating from Royal College of Art in London we decided to share a studio, both doing our own thing. We obviously spoke a lot about our work and goals and after doing one assignment together in which we designed and made shoes for Heineken, we decided to join forces as our collaboration felt so natural”.

Where did you take inspiration from?

“We take inspiration from Dutch artisanal shoe making techniques. I worked at a high-end cobbler for 7 years, and I have been highly inspired by that work and I decided to take it with me in the new project with Jarah. I asked myself questions like: Where does a shoe tend to brake? How can we design a shoe that makes it repairable?”.

What are the materials and fabrics you use for the creation of the shoe?

“We only use vegan leather. This is leather that is tanned without the use of chemicals. With the support of the Worth project ((contest giving annual funding the best innovative designs in Europe) and the European Union, we were able to create our own outsoles together with a factory in Spain. They make our leather soles, and soles made from TPU, a fully recyclable material“.

Where do you take your stock to meet your clients’ demand?

“Our second-hand shoes instead mainly come from a sorting centre in Poland. But we also buy from sites like Vinted“.

Where have you gained the most attention and market?

“Since we started in 2018, Japan is definitely the market where we are having the best success for our shoes.  About 80% of our wholesale goes to Tokyo”.

What sustainability principles do you stand by the most? 

“Repair. Jarah and I strongly believe that if something is made in such a way that it is repairable, then it can last you a lifetime, and that makes it sustainable”.

What is the easiest and the hardest part of your job?

“Surely one of the easiest parts of our job, as it is our passion and ideology, is to keep working with resilience. The hardest thing instead, due to the actual world situation and artisanal challenges at large, is to keep working and to keep having work!”.

What is next for the company?

“Grow, we hope. The main issue is that we need to find more sources for our second-hand sneakers so we can grow more rapidly and spread out all over the world in the long run”.

Riccardo Zazzini

Site: https://petersonstoop.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petersonstoop/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterson.stoop.design

This year will be Friday 27 dedicated to discounted shopping. On November 30th, it will be Cyber Monday, specific for consumer electronics purchases.

What’s green about all of this? On Black Friday itself, not much. For some it is an opportunity not to miss opportunities: a mountain of offers that sellers on Amazon and companies will propose us.

However, we have the possibility to choose a more positive environmental impact, adopting a conscious approach to our purchases:

• We can resist the temptation to buy, just because they are on offer, objects that we can do without.
• Before the 27th, we can prepare by examining our actual needs. Instead of waiting for the day of the discounts, with the risk of buying impulsively, let’s try to think first if there is something we actually need to get to take advantage of the offers.
• In 2017 an antagonistic initiative was born in France from an idea of Envie, a network of eco-friendly companies: Green Friday. The companies that join do not offer discounts to customers, but instead undertake to donate 10% of their daily turnover to associations committed to promoting responsible consumption.

The IKEA’s initiative – On the occasion of Black Friday, it will invite to resell the brand’s used furniture to give them a second life. From November 27 to December 6 the conditions of the buy-back service will be available on the dedicated page of the site. Those who want to bring their used Ikea’s furniture can carry out a pre-evaluation of the product, before going to the store for the final evaluation and delivery. They will receive a voucher with a value of up to 50% of the original price of the item. The campaign is part of IKEA’s goal of becoming a circular business and having a positive impact on the climate by 2030.

The most sustainable option? Don’t buy anything superfluous.

If instead we need something, prefer brands that are more attentive to sustainability and artisans.

Those are the ones participating to Green Friday:

SILVIA GREEN PERSONAL SHOPPER will bring new light to the garments in your wardrobe that you don’t know how to match and therefore you don’t wear. Together with you, she will create a capsule wardrobe to optimize time and costs, in a one-hour consultation, giving practical style advice based on your physicality (cost €39). From November 27 to December 4 Silvia will donate 10% to Dress Ecode (thank you!), In order to help us spread a more conscious lifestyle. It will help us to fairly compensate smart employees who investigate and write about sustainable fashion.
Facebook: MyS-Silvia-Mazzara
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvia_greenpersonalshopper/

THE STRAYSHOP, the online shop of “craftivism” (craftsmanship and activism), a craft that has animals, the environment and the planet at its heart: everyday objects that help people to be more ecological. From 5 to 30 November, they will use 10% of their sales to personally plant, with the help of a gardener, an elm and two Paulovnias in the garden of the workshop, before the cold arrives.
Site: https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/thestrayshop
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestrayshopp/
Email: thestrayshop@gmail.com

ISAANDDORA, ethical, light and green jewelry brand will join Green Friday with its unique pieces made by hand with natural yarns by Dora and Isabella, two vegan creatives united by love and respect for the environment and animals. They will donate 30% of the sales made between 5 and 30 November to the Progetto Vivere Vegan association.
Site: www.etsy.com/it/shop/isaanddora
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isaanddora/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaanddora/

LE CERNIERINE, a project to recover zippers (from factory waste) to give them new and brilliant life by transforming them into unique and sustainable bijoux, will participate by donating 10% of sales. From 27 to 30 November, they will thus support the Maremosso di Brescia voluntary association.
Site: https://www.etsy.com/it/shop/LeCernierine
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lecernierine/?hl=it/

VIC, VERY IMPORTANT CHOICE, the first service of eco Renting in Italy and in the world, for one month will donate 10% of sales to AIRC, for the prevention of breast cancer. From November 27 to December 27 they will participate in Green Friday with their selection of items, all exclusively ethical and sustainable, in rental service for special occasions for 5-7 days.
Site: https://veryimportantchoice.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veryimportantchoice/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veryimportantchoiceit/

BLANK, the sustainable fashion boutique that selects for you the best Italian and European sustainable brands, will turn Black Friday Green from 27 to 30 November by donating 5% of the order value to the Fashion Revolution movement. Fabrics with low environmental impact, ethical production and transparency are the foundations of Blank’s philosophy, but aesthetics are also important, to choose a garment that you will want to wear forever.
Site: https://en.blank-fashion.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blanksustainablefashion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blanksustainablefashion/

GREEN MAMA, brand that promotes and creates washable nappies for early childhood, from 23 to 29 November will donate 15% of revenues to Plastic Free Onlus. Washable nappies are the modern, safe and sustainable answer to the classic disposable plastic. They are made of Oeko-Tex Standard certified fabrics, reusable from the first months of life and allow your baby’s skin to breathe better. So we avoid filling the landfills with waste and… they help us save money!
Site: https://www.greenmama.it
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenmama.it/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenmama.it/

FORTUNALE, the project from Puglia that produces organic wool sweaters, made with natural dyes, will involve its customers in a circular economy and recycling operation until 15 December: “Diamo…ci una maglia”. The initiative adds to the brand’s usual commitment for each sweater delivered to planting a tree in land confiscated from the mafia, in collaboration with the “Semi di Vita” Agricultural Social Cooperative, which deals with the reintegration of young people in difficulty. Each tree planted is numbered and the number is embroidered on the sweater, delivered in plastic free packaging and up to 80% of its fibers recyclable. We have talked about Fortunale here. On the occasion of Green Friday, they will add the possibility of receiving a discount of 50 euros on the cost of the sweater if you send an old wool sweater. You can get the discount by entering the discount code FGF50 and deliver the old sweater to the courier who will bring you the new one.
Site: https://fortunale.eu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortunalenature
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortunale_nature/

FLOWER POWDER, totally handmade jewelry and t-shirt brand inspired by nature, from 27 to 29 November will join Green Friday by donating 10% of sales to AIRC, the foundation for cancer research. Marta, a regretful jurist, creates jewels with flowers and 100% natural ingredients and organic cotton tees decorated with naturally dyed yarns, to spread the rediscovery of the value of handmade, in a world of conformed fashion, and sustainability.
Site: https://flowerpowder.store
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flower-powder-111933763536016
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flower_._powder/

SERENDIPITY PLASTIC FREE SHOP, the online shop with the alternatives that accompany you in your choice of life without plastic, will donate until August 31st
part of the sales of each purchase to the Worldrise Onlus association to protect the Mediterranean corals. The campaign that Serendipity has chosen to support is the adoption of a forest of gorgonians, the corals of the Mediterranean in the area of Scilla (Calabria), in danger due to phenomena related to climate change. Not only for Green Friday but until the end of August each purchase will support the protection of these corals, which are essential for the biodiversity of the sea.
Site: https://www.serendipity-shop.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serendipityshopitalia/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendipityshopitalia/

Do you know other initiatives? Or will you propose it yourself? Write to us, so we will spread them!

Puoi ascoltare qui l’articolo: NVK Daydoll 

Brand in focus è un ciclo di interviste realizzate per Sfashion-net*, nostro partner nella diffusione di una moda alternativa al fast fashion. Per loro intervistiamo Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef di NVK Daydoll, designer e architetto cosmopolita, nata a Londra con un nome russo scelto da madre olandese e papà siciliano. Desideriamo raccontarti la storia del progetto di Natasha per l’impegno in una moda etica e salutare, per le linee pratiche e femminili degli abiti modulari e i riferimenti alla natura.

Natasha, ci racconta come e perché ha deciso di iniziare questo progetto di moda elegante e pratica, che oltre alla bellezza ha a cuore l’ecologia?

“Laureata al Politecnico con pieni voti in Architettura dopo un soggiorno all’estero, ho scelto Milano per vivere e sviluppare le mie attività professionali. Una breve esperienza al Dipartimento di Tecnologia e Design con Ezio Manzini mi ha condotto a focalizzare le mie ricerche sul tema della sostenibilità, ancora non centrale nel mondo della moda.
Proprio questa lacuna nella disponibilità di capi ecosostenibili mi ha convinto nel 2010 a dare vita al brand NVK Daydoll, una proposta di abbigliamento completa che interpreta l’abito come una scelta di stile: quello di una donna e un uomo responsabili che conoscono la moda ma non ne subiscono i diktat, che sono consapevoli del proprio corpo, dei propri gusti, delle proprie esigenze, del proprio valore“.

Quale tipo di moda propone NVK Daydoll? Quali capi e tessuti possiamo trovare?

“In sinergia con lo stesso laboratorio e gli stessi lavoratori del primissimo giorno di nascita della collezione, propongo non dei semplici abiti ma un progetto: una moda creata per generare eleganza, benessere, praticità. Una linea completa di capi – abbigliamento intimo, costumi da bagno, vestiti, giacche, pantaloni, gonne e spolverini – realizzati in Modal-Tencel®, un filato antibatterico derivato dalle fibre del faggio. Una collezione brevettata, traspirante e anallergica, dotata di straordinarie doti di morbidezza e praticità, che avvolge la pelle come una carezza, si lava alle basse temperature con ridotto dispendio energetico e non necessita stiratura. Un tessuto ecosostenibile e innovativo che declino in linee essenziali e minimaliste, accarezzando e valorizzando le forme femminili e adatti anche ai climi più freddi”.

Qual è l’aspetto per lei più importante di NVK Daydoll?

A quali aspetti della sostenibilità il suo brand presta attenzione? Abbiamo visto che la collezione è “etica” e “salutare”, ponendo cura nella scelta di tessuti più sostenibili e di dettagli che rispettino la salute del nostro corpo.

“Progettualità, inventiva ma anche etica: tutti i capi NVK Daydoll sono certificati secondo il Protocollo di Kyoto, riportano il marchio Peta-ApprovedVegan e il logoFurFree. La trasparenza della filiera, del rispetto dei lavoratori di tutta la catena dal filato al capo finito è garantita dalla certificazione dell’Associazione Tessile e Salute finanziato da Ministero della Salute e finalizzato a tutelare la salute dei cittadini, che garantisce al consumatore finale la sicurezza e trasparenza del prodotto tessile-abbigliamento”.

Prevede novità nella collezione?

“Prevedo di continuare a sviluppare nuovi modelli in grado di soddisfare nuove esigenze di funzionalità, salute e bellezza in capi che continuano a dialogare con la contemporaneità con uno sguardo al futuro”.

Cosa ne pensa del fare rete con altre microimprese?

“Credo nel lavoro di squadra e nella rete con altre microimprese, come dimostra l’attuale assetto di fornitori del brand che è stato implementato negli anni senza interruzioni con gli attori dell’asset produttivo”.

Sito: http://www.nvkdesign.it

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nvkdaydoll/

* Sfashion-net è un portale che raccoglie brand, progetti e micro imprese della moda critica, con lo scopo di dare loro visibilità, di diffondere in maniera concreta un’alternativa reale al consumo del fast fashion e di creare una rete, una community coesa e attiva di realtà che, pur restando indipendenti fra loro, possano conoscersi, entrare in contatto, sviluppare strategie e progetti condivisi. Inoltre i brand possono fruire di consulenze, formazione e servizi dedicati alla loro tipologia di impresa.

English – Femininity, nature, well-being and elegance: NVK Daydoll’s conscious fashion

Brand in focus is a series of interviews made for Sfashion-net*, our partner in the diffusion of an alternative to fast fashion. For them we interview Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef from NVK Daydoll, a cosmopolitan designer and architect, born in London with a Russian name chosen by a Dutch mother and a Sicilian father. We would like to tell you the story of Natasha’s project for her commitment to ethical and healthy fashion, for the practical and feminine lines of modular dresses and references to nature.

Natasha, can you tell us how and why you decided to start this elegant and practical fashion project, which has ecology at heart in addition to beauty?

“Graduated from the Politecnico with full marks in Architecture, after a stay abroad I chose Milan to live and develop my professional activities. A brief experience at the Department of Technology and Design with Ezio Manzini led me to focus my research on the theme of sustainability, still not central to the world of fashion.
Precisely this gap in the availability of eco-sustainable garments convinced me in 2010 to give life to the NVK Daydoll brand, a complete clothing proposal that interprets the dress as a choice of style: that of a responsible woman and man who know fashion but they do not suffer the diktats, who are aware of their own body, their tastes, their needs, their own value“.

What kind of fashion does NVK Daydoll propose? What garments and fabrics can we find?

“In synergy with the same laboratory and the same workers of the very first day of the collection, I propose not just clothes but a project: a fashion created to generate elegance, well-being, practicality. A complete line of garments – underwear, swimwear, dresses, jackets, trousers, skirts and dusters – made in Modal-Tencel®, an antibacterial yarn derived from beech fibers. A patented, breathable and hypoallergenic collection, endowed with extraordinary qualities of softness and practicality, which wraps the skin like a caress, washes at low temperatures with reduced energy expenditure and does not require ironing. An eco-sustainable and innovative fabric that declines into essential and minimalist lines, caressing and enhancing feminine shapes and also suitable for colder climates”.

What is the most important aspect of NVK Daydoll for you?

“The most important aspect of my brand is its extraordinary contemporaneity and versatility. From the first garments created for the beachwear collection, able to withstand the elements of salt and sun, to the latest models that enhance femininity, the brand was built with a ‘structural-architectural’ approach: the weak and ‘yielding’ points of feminine curves were in fact designed with a double layer of fabric which thus gave it the necessary resistance, while the single layers make up the portions of the garments less adherent to the human body”.

2 garments of your brand that have a special meaning for you: which are they and why?

“There are two garments or rather a line called Leaf Collection and a garment called Shield, which have a particular meaning for me.

The Leaf Collection is a clothing system that includes dresses and sweaters made up of two structurally identical elements which, worn one after the other, combine to create a new model of fashion design: modular dresses that elegantly wrap the woman’s body enhancing its femininity through a practically unlimited color combination. Each element is in fact made with a double layer of fabric, proposed in one or two-tone version for double-sided use: hence the possibility of multiple color combinations between the two halves, for a dress that can change color according to needs, occasions, but also the mood of the wearer. The Leaf Collection develops the concept of the double through the mathematical potential of multiples and the colorful palette of colors available for the creation of garments that are always customizable. The new collection is called Leaf in homage to nature and to the beech plant from which the ecological fabric of the collection is derived. Leaf also has a suggestive assonance with ‘Lief’, ‘Love’ in Dutch, my mother tongue. I conceived this line inspired by the union of two halves that merge into an embrace and that in that embrace are defined and multiplied.

Recently the antibacterial and breathable fabric of the collection has made it possible to produce Shields masks, tested by Next Technology-National Research Society which has also verified in case of prolonged use the total absence of skin redness, itching, scratches, irritation to the nose or in the throat, difficulty in breathing and also perception of unpleasant odors. The ergonomics of the design favors comfort and adherence to the conformation of the face with the unparalleled sensation of softness typical of Tencel-Modal fabric, while to guarantee an additional request for protection, there is a slot for insertion of a PM 2.5 filter. Like all the items in the NVK Daydoll collection, the washable mask is also multifunctional and can be used as a protection device but also transformed into a cheerful bandana or a practical neck warmer“.

What aspects of sustainability does your brand take care of? We have seen that the collection is “ethical” and “healthy”, paying attention to the choice of more sustainable fabrics and details that respect the health of our body.

“Design, inventiveness but also ethics: all NVK Daydoll garments are certified according to the Kyoto Protocol, carry the Peta-ApprovedVegan brand and the FurFree logo. The transparency of the supply chain, respect for the workers of the entire chain from the yarn to the finished garment is guaranteed by the certification of the Textile and Health Association funded by the Ministry of Health and aimed at protecting the health of citizens, which guarantees the final consumer safety and transparency of the textile-clothing product”.

Are you planning to introduce any news in the collection?

“I plan to continue developing new models capable of satisfying new needs for functionality, health and beauty in garments that continue to dialogue with the contemporary with an eye to the future”.

What do you think of networking with other micro-enterprises?

“I believe in teamwork and networking with other micro-enterprises, as evidenced by the brand’s current structure of suppliers that has been implemented over the years without interruptions with the players in the production asset”.

Site: http://www.nvkdesign.it

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nvkdaydoll/

*Sfashion-net is a portal that brings together brands, projects and micro-enterprises of critical fashion, with the aim of giving them visibility, of spreading a real alternative to fast fashion consumption and of creating a network, a cohesive and active community in realities that, while remaining independent from each other, can get to know each other, come into contact, develop shared strategies and projects. Furthermore, brands can benefit from consultancy, training and services dedicated to their type of business.

Puoi ascoltare qui l’articolo: Wave Market Fair

Siamo fatti più per le comunità reali che per le community virtuali. È per questo che cerchiamo di incontrare di persona, contesto attuale permettendo, chi ci legge, chi intervistiamo e chi collabora con noi. Così quando Alice di Exseat bag ci ha suggerito di incontrarci al Wave Market Fair abbiamo subito colto al volo la proposta.

Wave Market Fair è la fiera che a Roma promuove l’artigianato e il design nelle diverse declinazioni. Le prossime edizioni sono previste il 5 e il 6 dicembre e il 12 e il 13 dicembre 2020. In occasione dell’incontro con Alice, abbiamo girato tra gli stand, trovando davvero un livello di qualità e creatività delle proposte molto buono. Non riesco a resistere a fare domande sulla sostenibilità o a scambiare due chiacchiere con gli artigiani e ti mostriamo alcune realtà che più ci hanno colpito.

Exseat bag 

Partiamo da Alice e Alessandro, di cui abbiamo raccontato la storia in questa intervista. Nel loro stand ho provato e toccato con mano borse, portafogli e zaini. Belli e molto resistenti! Sono adatti anche per proteggere materiale fotografico oppure i nostri computer quando ci spostiamo. Exseat bag è un progetto di design e recupero che da subito ci è piaciuto, perché ogni prodotto nasce dal riutilizzo di tappezzerie e cinture di sicurezza salvate dalle autovetture destinate alla demolizione.

Link al sito

Yuuy Diversamente pagine 

Quando abbiamo visto che tra gli espositori c’erano anche loro, è stata una gioia. Li ho cercati tra gli stand per conoscere di persona Federica, che abbiamo intervistato qui. Packaging, disegni, cartoline e mappe, ma anche risme vecchie, scarti di lavorazioni e calibrazioni colore delle macchine: ogni oggetto è recuperato, tagliato e rilegato. Così nascono quaderni, piccoli taccuini, agende e anche lampade luminose a forma di libro, con i colori dei più famosi pacchetti di biscotti, patatine, cereali, farine, cartoni del latte, sacchetti del pane, confezioni di detersivo e tanto altro ancora che altrimenti sarebbe buttato. Siamo decisamente fan di Yuuy!

Link al sito

Leaf ceramics 

È stato un colpo di fulmine: camminando tra gli stand, il design delicato e poetico della porcellana, realizzata e decorata a mano da Giulia Amorini, mi ha colpita subito. Oggetti leggeri e sottili, come non diresti mai possa essere la porcellana. Ciondoli, tazzine, vasi, orecchini che richiamano principalmente la natura e si propongono come una splendida alternativa alla plastica. Non sveliamo di più, perché racconteremo presto di Giulia!

Link al sito

Pyla 

La linea pulita ed essenziale delle collezioni geometriche di Silvia Zoppellari è saltata subito agli occhi girando tra uno stand e l’altro. Fermandoci a guardare la bellezza di orecchini e collane, non ho resistito alla tentazione di approfondire gli aspetti legati alla sostenibilità. Così Silvia ha rivelato di essere cresciuta in pieno clima familiare zero waste, grazie alla madre dedita all’utilizzo oculato delle risorse. Si impegna a non gettare via nulla: “In 4 anni ho buttato solo due cordini!”. Ogni pezzo tagliato o scartato è riutilizzato, per esempio per realizzare prototipi. È attenta anche al packaging, scelto in carta riciclata. Silvia ci ha raccontato che durante il lockdown ha continuato a spedire i suoi gioielli a chi acquistava e, trovando l’ufficio postale vicino casa chiuso, attraversava Roma in bicicletta. Ancora oggi, se possibile, in città consegna direttamente le sue creazioni in bici.

Link al sito

Wanos wood & design 

Abbiamo notato anche in altre occasioni le loro creazioni artigianali in legno e materiali recuperati, trasformati con cura per dar loro nuova vita.  Lampade, tavoli e complementi d’arredo di design e rispettosi dell’ambiente: utilizzano solo materiali ecologici, dalle materie prime alle soluzioni per il packaging (dal riciclo). Oggetti di design che ci piacciono perché con simpatia e gusto arredano la casa, contribuendo a non creare rifiuti.

Link al sito

Altre foto al Wave Market Fair!

English – Meetings and new discoveries among the stands of the Wave Market Fair

We are made more for real communities than for virtual communities. This is why we try to meet in person, current context permitting, who reads us, who we interview and who collaborates with us. So when Alice from Exseat bag suggested to meet at the Wave Market Fair we immediately jumped at the proposal.

Wave Market Fair is the fair in Rome that promotes crafts and design in various forms. The next editions are scheduled for December 5-6 and December 12-13 2020. On the occasion of the meeting with Alice, we walked around the stands, really finding a very good level of quality and creativity in the proposals. I can’t resist asking questions about sustainability or having a chat with the artisans and we show you some of the realities that impressed us the most.

Exseat bag 

Let’s start with Alice and Alessandro, whose story we have told in this interview. In their stand I tried and touched bags, wallets and backpacks. Beautiful and very resistant! They are also suitable for protecting photographic material or our computers when we travel. Exseat bag is a design and recovery project that we immediately liked, because each product comes from the reuse of upholstery and seat belts saved from cars destined for demolition.

Link to website

Yuuy Diversamente pagine

When we saw that there were also them among the exhibitors, it was a joy. I looked for them among the stands to meet Federica personally, whom we interviewed here. Packaging, drawings, postcards and maps, but also old reams, processing waste and color calibrations of the machines: each object is recovered, cut and bound. This is how notebooks, agendas and even book-shaped luminous lamps are born, with the colours of the most famous packages of biscuits, chips, cereals, flours, milk cartons, bread bags, detergent packages and much more that would be instead thrown away. We are definitely Yuuy fans!

Link to website

Leaf ceramics

It was love at first sight: walking among the stands, the delicate and poetic design of the porcelain, handcrafted and decorated by Giulia Amorini, struck me immediately. Light and thin objects, as you would never say porcelain could be. Pendants, cups, vases, earrings that mainly recall nature and are proposed as a splendid alternative to plastic. We do not reveal more, because we will soon tell about Giulia!

Link to website

Pyla

The clean and essential line of Silvia Zoppellari’s geometric collections immediately caught your eye as you wandered from one stand to another. Stopping to look at the beauty of earrings and necklaces, I could not resist the temptation to explore the aspects related to sustainability. So Silvia revealed that she grew up in a zero waste family climate, thanks to her mother dedicated to the careful use of resources. She undertakes not to throw anything away: “In 4 years I have thrown only two lanyards!”. Each cut or discarded piece is reused, for example to make prototypes. She is also attentive to packaging, chosen in recycled paper. Silvia told us that during the lockdown she continued to send her jewels to those who bought them and, finding the post office near her house closed, she crossed Rome by bicycle. Even today, if possible, she delivers her creations directly to the city by bike.

Link to website

Wanos wood & design

We have also noticed on other occasions their handcrafted creations in wood and recovered materials, carefully transformed to give them new life. Design lamps, tables and furnishing accessories that respect the environment: they only use ecological materials, from raw materials to packaging solutions (from recycling). Design objects that we like because they furnish the house with sympathy and taste, helping to avoid creating waste.

Link to website

More photos at the Wave Market Fair!