Art and sustainable fashion meet again in the third edition of the project CirculART, the initiative that sees companies, artists and fashion designers working together with Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto to show how new balanced forms of production, design and sharing can be explored through a careful choice of materials and of sustainable supply chains. Three key concepts underpin the circularity of sustainable fashion and therefore this project: Reduce – reducing the consumption of raw materials, Reuse – reuse of raw materials, Recycling – regeneration. The project proposes a new link between fashion and art, engaging both in a conscious and innovative combination of sustainability, sensitivity, beauty and union. CirculART links territory and production factories, bringing together actors from the different sectors making up the textile supply chain that work on the basis of a circular economy with companies that have chosen to embrace the ideal of sustainability and develop an innovative and avant-garde business model. The protagonists of this year’s edition are two international artists and two international fashion designers, selected through an open call launched by Cittadellarte: Augustina Bottoni, Lucia Chain, Huge Sillytoe and Rebecca Sforzani, young talents called upon to create a work with fabrics produced by partner companies, focusing on dialogue and on the enhancement of the textile industry production chain. In early 2023, the programme will give the four selected artists the opportunity to visit and work actively with the partner companies that have joined the initiative. The project CirculART is conceived and developed in collaboration between Fashion B.E.S.T.¹ and UNIDEE Residency Programs², and led by the Foundation’s team of curators.

Meetings and reunions in time, by Marcello Pipitone (previous edition of CirculART)

CirculART benefits from the active participation of several companies of excellence operating in the field of sustainable fashion: Achille Pinto S.p.a, manufacturer of textiles and textile accessories for the main international fashion brands; Albini Group, Europe’s largest manufacturer of cotton fabrics for shirts; Erica Industria Tessile, a leading company in the creation of textile prints, original and customised designs; Filatura Astro, eco-sustainable regenerated yarns; G2B S.r.l., a chemical and environmental analysis laboratory working with vertical cultivation from which indigo is obtained; Lampo by Ditta Giovanni Lanfranchi S.p.A., leader in the creation and production of zips for fashion; Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti, a Biella-based weaver for haute couture; Lenzing, world leader in the production of fabrics made from fibres derived from renewable wood raw material; Milior, a producer of high quality fabrics; Officina +39 – Chemistry plus creativity, a chemical company with thirty years’ experience dedicated to research and chemical application in textiles; Tessuti di Sondrio, a factory inspired by the century-old local textile tradition of processing cotton, linen, hemp and wool; Tintoria Emiliana, garment-dyed production and sustainable practices; Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia, a manufacturer of 100% Made in Italy fine combed and carded yarns.

“CirculART is a research and innovation format with which we have now been experimenting for three years,” said Paolo Naldini, director of Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, “we start by identifying the challenges that companies deem as most urgent, and then explore possible lines of development with artists and experts from different sectors. Once again the journey is already a fundamental part of the destination!”. Olga Pirazzi, in charge of Cittadellarte’s Fashion Office added: “CirculART is an invitation to act consciously at every stage of the production process, in order to contribute with concrete elements of social resilience, inspired by the current needs of the ecosystem and with the aim of consciously creating new forms of production”. The works of the artists and fashion designers will be presented at the 25th edition of Arte al Centro at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, scheduled for June 2023.

¹ Fashion B.E.S.T. – Better Ethical Sustainable Think-Tank, Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto’ sustainable fashion office, was created by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Franca Sozzani. Since 2009, B.E.S.T. has been working on the development of sustainability in the textile sector, to lead to a contamination between art, which assumes social responsibility, and the world of fashion, which is looking to define a new ethical and sustainable model. Fashion B.E.S.T. is a platform operating since 2009 for the design and production of sustainable fashion characterised by an artistic and practical training programme consisting of courses at Cittadellarte and at partners’ sites. The programme is based on innovative and sustainable textile research, knowledge sharing and exchange of cultural experiences. Fashion B.E.S.T. is designed for artists, fashion designers and students, who can share the educational experience of a contemporary fashion atelier committed to a role of social responsibility through the practice of sustainability. Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T. is working on a project on transparency and traceability of the sustainable textile supply chain with UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe).

² UNIDEE Residency Programs manages Cittadellarte’s various residency programmes. These programmes are open to artists, professionals and institutions from all over the world who reside for a period of time at Cittadellarte. The programme aims at providing tools for “artivators”, i.e. subjects working at the boundaries between artistic practices, processes of social change and collaborations with communities outside the art world, interweaving moments of interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange and practical activities.

Cover image: Environment, by Giulia Pellegrini (previous edition of CirculART)