The curtain has risen on White Milan, the fair dedicated to the world of fashion involving some of the most important brands in the sector. The space in via Tortona, open till Sunday 22nd September, sees the participation of Cittadellarte, presenting an installation by the B.E.S.T. (Better Ethical Sustainable Think-tank) fashion designers’ collective in the Ex Carrozzeria area, as part of the project Give a Focus. This collective was formed drawing inspiration from the thought of Michelangelo Pistoletto, the visionary pioneer of current topics linked to the complex issue of sustainability that art conveys to all sectors of the social fabric. “Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T. – declared the artist in 2009 – wants to be an energizing hub merging different forces, like aesthetics and ethics, creation and production. Artistic sensibility and social commitment”. From words to action: created ten years ago, Cittadellarte’s Fashion B.E.S.T is a platform dedicated to sustainability in the fashion supply chain, from raw materials to design, from production to education (with the scientific advice of Tessile e Salute).

So back to White, where the collective work of fashion designers Tiziano Guardini, Silvia Giovanardi (Wrad), Flavia La Rocca, Fabrizio Consoli (Blue of a Kind), Yekaterina Yvankova, Bav Tailor, Francesca Mitolo (Teeshare) and Edoardo Ianuzzi (ACBC – Thezipshoe) looks like a big tree of life. It questions the spectators about the role of the self in the dynamic relationship of co-living with others and with the environment, to then stretch its branches towards five areas identifying the five main current issues in the fashion sector: overuse of chemical products, waste of water, exploitation of low-cost labour, excess of waste and climate change. The objective of the work is to symbolise the dream-utopia of a mankind both cause of and solution to modern environmental urgencies. The members of the think-tank, each working from their specific perspective, have as objective to inspire, produce and propagate a responsible and circular vision of fashion combining ethics and aesthetics. Fashion B.E.S.T. constitutes in fact the realization of a process, a work place of exchange and research connecting all the links of the fashion supply chain, from the producers to the final users; a new innovative hub releasing a common force of change, aiming at making art ethic and transparent, the new undisputed standard.

The installation will include an item of clothing that represents the synthesis of the specific thought of each designer, deliberately creating a provocative effect only apparently deriving from the concepts of selling and giving for free. Realized with extremely low impact fabrics and processes, it is a fleece in TENCEL® by Lenzing, produced from entirely certified forests, combined with recycled cotton.
“TENCEL® is a cellulose fibre produced in Austria but spun and woven in Italy through a transparent and traceable process. – we read in the press release – The cotton yarn is recycled and has not been dyed, saving water and avoiding chemical treatments. The fleece item is sewn with TENCEL® thread, making it completely compostable so that at the end of its life it can be reabsorbed into nature”. The fleece designed by Fashion B.E.S.T.’s collective specifically narrates each designer’s vision of responsibility and sustainability, and is conceived as a “physical” interpretation of the Third Paradise. The item is sold at the event, and the stock will be supplied with its own display unit, purposely designed to help retailers share the message about sustainability in the fashion sector.

“Cittadellarte, the fashion designers of the platform B.E.S.T. and White – said Paolo Naldini, director of Cittadellarte – call the world of fashion design, production, trade and consumption to take action together. To face the challenges imposed by the need to change the development model, buying sustainable fashion is not enough anymore: we have to interpret it with coherence. Perform it. Take it into our daily habits as witnesses and actors of an even minimal but concrete and active commitment in any corner, stage and sector of our lives.”