Eco-Friendly Designers: 10 Success Stories

Without chasing fashion, and without running the risk of finding yourself in the field of false sustainability, where everything seems green, new generations of eco-designers are now emerging. How can they be recognized? By their materials, of course, all natural, but also by their ability to produce clothes and accessories by recycling materials destined to become waste. Scraps of fabric, sacks, and citrus fruit nets recovered from the agri-food chain, and even banana leaves. Here are 10 stories to explore further.

Index of topics

Laura Strambi

Photo Credit | laurastrambi.com/it

A designer who combines quality clothing with respect for the environment. The brand is characterized by a minimalist style and clean design, combined with a strong feminine identity. The collection—both clothing and accessories—is entirely eco-friendly and made in Italy . For green, sustainable fashion that reflects its goal: the importance of preserving the environment for future generations.

Tiziano Guardini

Photo Credit |www.tizianoguardini.com

Dresses made of non-woven fabrics, which are entirely hand-woven from materials such as leaves , bark , and pine needles . Her project aims to use advanced technologies aimed at eliminating CO2 emissions. Hers is a woman who replaces satin and chiffon with organic fabrics in her clothes, producing eco-sustainable and cruelty-free garments . " Nature, as a starting and finishing point, maintains all its characteristics intact, transforming into a luxury and contemporary product, impalpable and material at the same time ," reads the official website.

Giuseppe Buccinnà

Photo Credit | www.giuseppebuccinna.eu

Among today's eco-sustainable designers, Giuseppe Buccinnà creates fashion that is attentive to reality and its mutability, drawing inspiration from contemporary art. Sustainability guides the entire production process, and implies absolute respect for workers and the environment. Production takes place entirely in Italy, in collaboration with suppliers selected for their reliability and environmental awareness. High-quality garments, design, and environmental responsibility are the cornerstones the brand strives to ensure.

Alessandra Micolucci

Photo Credit | www.alessandramicolucci.com

Fruit-based clothing for this young, eco-friendly Venetian designer, who sources the fibers for her clothing directly from banana plants . Alessandra has revived the use of bananas for textiles in the East, using them to create soft, high-quality fabrics and yarns, which she uses to create rigorously handcrafted garments.

Margherita Francesca and Giulia Paglia

Photo Credit | Facebook.com/PagliaMilano/

Margherita, Francesca, and Giulia Paglia are three Milanese sisters who launched these eco-sustainable creations, crafted from scraps from large companies , which are then transformed into beautiful fabrics used to make jackets, shirts, dusters, and trousers. Nothing of their work goes to waste, as the scraps from their production are in turn reused to create eco-sustainable accessories like brooches, belts, and clips.

Gilberto Calzolari

Photo Credit | www.gilbertocalzolari.com

When eco-friendly designers meet recycling. This is the case with Gilberto Calzolari , a firm believer that there's a different way to create fashion. A fashion that's glamorous but doesn't forget to care for the environment. For his creations, he uses fabrics such as SEAQUAL polyester, derived from plastic recovered from the sea, and EVO Nylon, extracted from castor oil seeds. He recycles unusual materials such as jute bags and tulle from citrus fruit packaging nets ; and he uses padding made with 100% recycled fibers from PET bottles.

Nicholas Chiuppesi

Photo Credit | Facebook BENNU

His name is Niccolò Chiuppesi , and in February 2021 he decided to found BENNU , his brand that aims to "recover from the past to protect the future." His exclusive collections of tailored blazers—each a unique and numbered piece—are born from research in warehouses and unsold stock. The brand's pieces blend Italian tailoring tradition with a commitment to embodying the change that characterizes our time.

Flavia Amato

Photo Credit | Facebook Malìa – natural couture lab

Her dream was to "create an atelier where I could combine my passions for health, organics, and fashion, blending them with artisanal craftsmanship and a captivating style." And she did. From Flavia Amato 's love of fashion, Malìa Lab was born in 2016. An organic tailoring studio where the Calabrian pattern maker and clothing designer creates and tailors ethically and sustainably made garments . Garments that respect the well-being of the body and the environment, far removed from consumerism and capable of becoming trendy.

Blazé Milano

Photo Credit | Facebook BLAZÉ MILANO

Their names are Corrada Rodriguez d'Acri, Delfina Pinardi, and Sole Torlonia, and they are the founders of Blazé Milano . The brand's creators have always championed the versatility of the blazer as a timeless piece of clothing and are aware, as they stated, of having a strong responsibility despite being a niche brand: "that of demonstrating how extremely high quality and refined design can perfectly coexist with a totally eco-sustainable approach." They recently launched Blazé Atelier, a made-to-order service for unique and personalized garments, designed to last over time . Furthermore, together with Arizona Muse, they have created an eco-sustainable capsule collection.

Judith Tanzi

Photo Credit | garbage-core.com

For the clothing and accessories of her brand, Garbage Core , which she founded in 2019, Giuditta Tanzi uses exclusively secondhand fabrics. Her vision of fashion is oriented towards upcycling . Indeed, the ideas for her pieces come from the used clothes she finds. Clothes that she pairs together, unstitches, and dismantles to transform them into something totally new and unique. And, of course, handmade. When creative expression and sustainability coexist.

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