In the last post I talked about the t-shirts made by seven sustainable designers for ‘The Next Green Talents’, the project conceived by Federico Marchetti of Yoox and Vogue Italia; after ByBrown, Chain, Older Brother and Tiziano Guardini, today I go on with Gozel Green, a brand founded in 2012 by Nigerian twin sisters Sylvia Enekwe and Olivia Okoji, for whom “making fashion means mainly transmitting your individuality to the people around you”, so the clothes become a bit like stories that tell about you and your world more than words. The creative duo takes a lot of inspiration from their family background, a mum designer watched when they were children, a dad writer and poet, whose work relives through their creations. And certainly the undisputed protagonist is Africa between tradition and cosmopolitanism, with the art of narration that is an integral part of the local culture and that becomes material for the collections. Also the Gozel Green t-shirt follows this narrative thread, with the slogan ‘WE LIVE ON EARTH as much as we LIVE IN OUR CLOTHES’ printed in contrast to the gray organic cotton, which is a micro-story about respect for the Planet.
Even for Romina Cardillo of Nous Etudions, fashion is a powerful means of communication; the Argentine designer, the soul of the brand she founded in 2012 together with her partner, director and photographer, fills her creations with strong and maverick contents that are eco-friendly and cruelty-free because respect for environment and animals comes first. Clean and minimal cuts, deconstructions but also unexpected and contrasting details like exaggerated volumes and ruche are the stylistic code of the brand, together with the taste for tailoring that gives the garments an a-gender touch. The pink t-shirt by Nous Etudions is asymmetric, made of PIMA cotton and has the hand-embroidered slogan ‘Nous Aimons’ – ‘Jusqu’à la Lune’ across the front and the back, while the ink used on the label is biodegradable.
Last brand, last t-shirt, that ofUnravelau, a young brand (only one year old) of the equally young Dutch designer Laura Meijering, who already has clear ideas about the type of product she wants or high quality combined at the lowest possible environmental impact. Therefore Laura uses only organic and recycled materials like discarded denim, like that of many Dutch citizens who collected their jeans, then used for the new Unravelau collection. And even the t-shirt made by the brand is 100% recycled denim and is called ‘The Instagram Tee’ because it invites to think more about sustainability than luxury starting with social networks. Each piece is unique, with raw edges, orange stitching and the slogan “#REUSE. Post More Sustainable News”.
As I told in the last post, the t-shirts can be purchased on Yooxygen, the sustainable fashion section of Yoox and from next September the entire collections of the designers mentioned above will be available.
