They create clothes, of course, but they open their fashion houses to artists and intellectuals because the business goes beyond the here and now. They are even more captivating when with their companies they share great themes of humanity such as sustainability, the environment, the recycling of materials, the circular economy. In short, the stylists. Those who plan, create, design models of clothes, accessories, mass-produced industrial products that interface with trends and costs. Those who interpret and dictate the styles in vogue, as Machina Lonati's fashion dictionary says. Arm in arm with art and creativity for a long time, they don't want to feel excluded from the challenges of climate change. So, credit to the merits. Especially if they have large turnovers and enjoy an international reputation. The Italians are there, on the front line. Contemporary patrons, envied, pampered, imitated.
The Ferragamo Foundation's initiative to host the Sustainable Thinking it is a certificate of prestige for Made in Italy and for all those who really want to protect the environment. For an entire year the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence will be at the center of world attention. In memory of the designer native of Campania, founder of one of the most prestigious fashion houses in the world, on April 12th si inaugurates, in fact, the Sustainable Thinking. Un narrative, modern journey through the early works of Salvatore Ferragamo. A forerunner in the search for natural and innovative materials. A green pioneer, he is the pride of an artisanal Italy, poor but eager to establish itself. Salvatore who opens in his Bonito - in Irpinia - a modest shoe shop and then up, up, at the top of world fashion.
The project was conceived by Stefania Ricci, director of the Foundation, together with Giusy Bettoni, Arabella S. Natalini, Sara Sozzani Maino and Marina Spadafora. To do what ? To give an artistic-cultural contribution on the crucial theme of sustainability. This trendy word, disclosed in every latitude, used by companies and institutions, to be understood as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Nothing original, please, because they are exactly the words of the 1987 Brundtland report of the World Commission on Environment and Development.
The Florentine Foundation has assumed "the burden and the honor of grafting a starting point for reflection on the increasingly urgent and topical issue linked to greater attention to the environment as a whole" . The languages and styles could only be those of clothing, art and materials. We will see works dinternational artists and fashion designers struggling with il recovery of a meditated relationship with nature. The nature that intertwines with the technique and the use of materials organic , reusable. It is not for nothing that the curators remind us that Salvatore Ferragamo had already begun this entrepreneurial journey in the XNUMXs. Hemp, cellophane, fish skin, and other valuable materials found in nature, to be transformed into quality products at the end of their life. The cars came later. First there were the tmanual roots : fundamental aspects of the sustainable philosophy attractive and convincing for millions of people. And again, materials that create intertwining will be shown, where art becomes a tool of relationship between different cultural fields. The sense of the ancient will marry with smart technologies to be perceived as the key to the renewal of fashion and the affirmation towards the general public. This is also why we believe it will be interesting to browse through the workshops, seminars and other side projects that will increase the appeal of the event until 8 March 2020. ****
