Air of spring, indeed, of summer, according to the temperatures of the last few days (because today it rains, hell!), then there is the irrepressible desire of light clothes, sandals and above all of t-shirts! Around there are really all kinds of tee but today I want to talk about really special t-shirts because they are made by ‘The Green Next Talents’ or the future green talent out of ‘The Next Talents’, the scouting project created by Vogue Italia and Federico Marchetti of Yoox in 2011.
The first green edition was held last February; through a careful selection, seven sustainable designers from all over the world were chosen to create an exclusive eco-T-shirt with ad hoc messages on the consumer’s responsibility towards the environment and purchase choices. Today I present the first four designers with the relative t-shirts (part 1) and in the next post the other three.
ByBrown is the Dutch brand of the British Melanie Brown, pioneer in the production of recycled yarns and fabrics, nearly 20 years of experience in fashion and several awards including the one at the International A’ Design Awards in 2015 for her raindress, the raincoat-dress designed for urban cyclists who, like the designer herself, travel daily by bike through the streets of Amsterdam. Wherever possible, the brand incorporates sustainable practice into the collections involving both the materials, the design and production processes, for example it is at the forefront of innovative material using obtained from recycled coffee grounds, recycled polyester and milk bacteria, because the future, for ByBrown, is about recycling and using as few virgin materials as possible. The t-shirt made by Melanie Brown has an urban-sporty appeal, is inspired by the rain, as evidenced by the slogan ‘Respect Beyond Rain’ hand printed in collaboration with the artist and photographer Marnix Postma and made from recycled scrap materials, including milk protein fiber.
Chain is the emerging brand of the Argentinean Lucia Chain, who creates its collections in her little studio in Buenos Aires, working with organic and upcycled materials dyed with organic waste. The philosophy of the brand, in addition to sustainability that is certainly the main aspect, therefore zero production of scraps, handmade and upcycling, is a-gender, therefore garments suitable without distinction to men and women, like the t-shirt in 100% organic cotton produced for ‘The Next Green Talents’, hand stitched, with the slogan ‘Work Together for a Better Place’ and dyed using organic waste.
No gender is also the style of Older Brother, a brand made in the USA founded by Bobby Bonaparte and Max Kingery, followers of the slow food movement. For them, clothes must be created in harmony with nature, therefore they use natural dyes without heavy metals, salts and toxins and eco-conscious fabrics ranging from small batch organics to renewable plant-based synthetics.. Cotton, for example, is 100% organic and comes from the agricultural program of the ‘Sustainable Cotton Project’ which brings together a community of family farmers who grow cotton in the Californian counties of Fresno, Madeira and Merced through biological practices, which protect the earth, the air and water resources of the region. Older Brother’s t-shirt is basic, hand-dyed in a natural blue bath and showcases the slogan ‘Nearly Edible’.
The first part of the eco-t-shirt’s presentation ends with Tiziano Guardini, the Italian winner of the first edition of the Green Carpet Awards, held in September 2017. Always mindful of recycling and reuse, Guardini defines eco-sustainability as “the ability to perceive the sacredness of life”, in fact, he often works with plant materials with which he creates couture garments, such as the pine needles coat with which he participated in ‘Limited / Unlimited’, an internal project of Altaroma. In the latest edition of the Milan Fashion Week, Guardini presented a collection of 50 garments including denim fur with eco-organza linen, while the t-shirt presented for ‘The Next Green Talents’ is half recycled cotton and half recycled polyester, and is decorated with the words ‘Earth Needs Heart’.
Waiting to introduce the other three t-shirts, I remind you that they are limited edition and can be purchased on Yoox, in the Yooxygen section dedicated to sustainable fashion. I have already bought mine, but I will not tell you what, for equal publicity😉
