changeforthebetter

Why clothes?

25 March, 2023

And can we drive change through fashion?

Some people may wonder why clothes. And also if clothes can be a tool to promote change. We can find a brilliant response in Virginia Woolf’s words. Here is a quote from Orlando:

“Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.”

Virginia Woolf

Some authors are like anchors we can hold onto as they offer tremendously beautiful insights. Their significant perspectives help us better understand ourselves and life.

About clothes

Clothes change people’s perceptions of us. Indeed, they are part of our non-verbal language. So through them, we express our personality and our worldview.

At the same time, clothes change our view of the world. The influence is mutual. So, by making specific choices, we can have an impact. And not only on our style and image, meaning on what people can see of us at first glance. But also regarding our consciousness, so on a more profound level affirming who we are and what kind of world we want.

In that sense, we can do a lot to change. Indeed, we aren’t passive consumers but active thinkers. And by making better choices, we change the world.

So, do you wonder why clothes? And if clothes can be a tool of change?
Yes! We believe so because we do not just dress to have a better image and gain self-confidence. But by making thoughtful choices about the garments we choose to wear, we reveal that we care for people and the planet. Therefore, our thoughts, words and style correspond to our actions.

In other words, through style we bring in our contribution to change for the better.

The world you want

25 March, 2023

The world you want is the one you have already chosen.

Do you know how? Through your purchases. Through the things you buy. How much you consume and how you consume.

This is how you vote: you do it with your wallet. And you do it without even thinking because it’s the conditioned reflex of unaware humans.

Indeed, you have already chosen the world you want. And your style shows it. In fact, fashion is just one piece of the big puzzle.

Your favourite world surrounds us: overconsumption, huge quantity over quality, and human rights violated.

So enjoy it! It’s here! Enjoy your world!
Are you happy with it?

Unless you see things from a different viewpoint. Which is a possibility, indeed.
So, you are generous enough to care about the impact of your actions. And to see that this crazy lifestyle is taking us to self-destruction.

Because we – humans – are responsible for climate change.
The recent heatwave and droughts are tangible responses to our reckless actions.

Are you sure you want to vote for this world?
Are you still ok with it?

Or do you want to change?

2022

17 March, 2023

First post of the year

2022
First post of the new year.
The eighth month in this online adventure.

Tiny breadcrumbs left around.
Traces sent to those who have the eye. Diverse explorations for people like us, people who care.

If words resonate with you, you’ll feel comfortable with us.
Indeed, no obsessive marketing will draw you in. An intentional and conscious choice is your reply. It’s a matter of evolution because you are on the same page.

Due to an unforeseen event, we have shifted to the online world. It’s a resilient response to a life-changing occurrence.
However, the easiest solution would have been a quick fix. No concepts to explore, no food for thought. Just mass-market clothing, from top brands to fast fashion. Easy to sell and make money. The status quo never dies.

Perhaps we are crazy for undertaking the opposing direction. We believe fashion is not about being frivolous but a way to inspire and make a change. So, the idea is to provoke a cultural shift. Change for the better is our commitment. An engaging journey, which takes time. A long haul path. But too much effort goes unnoticed by the majority.

And that is why you are not part of that majority. Indeed, you read up to here. So, you don’t stop at titles but seek more knowledge till the end.

Values and consistency drive your lifestyle choices. Therefore, you don’t buy anything and everything. No overconsumption. You are selective.

If style and values do not align, our connection hardly lasts.
And it’s ok too. Because what we do is not for everyone. We don’t need a large audience.

We need the right people along with us.
And for you, we’ll keep on researching unique pieces, worthwhile designers. And bring about our vision around fashion, lifestyle and society by celebrating the value of rarity.

2022! Agents of change, this is for you #formodernhumans
We are proud to serve you again this year!

Not for all – Arrogance or honesty?

14 March, 2023

When we say that our work is not for everyone, it shouldn’t be seen as a sign of arrogance. On the contrary, if you ponder a little on the true meaning, you will perceive that it denotes a genuine and realistic approach.

Can we truly please everyone? No, obviously, we cannot.
To illustrate, if you usually buy fast fashion, you would never check out our selection. If you like to show off logo emblazoned garments, we are not for you. If you are a passive consumer, perhaps you will not interact with us.

Pleasing everyone is a naive goal, and though it’s impossible to accomplish, the downside of trying is that it generates a bazaar of elements. A fragmented and undefined proposal where everything is possible, but nothing stands out. Because there is no soul. No clarity.
The truth is that you have to be honest to say that what you do is not for everyone.

Over about twenty-five years in the fashion field, we saw the rise and fall of the system. A fast-paced environment in which profit and marketing took over creativity. And ultimately, it led to the exploitation of people and the planet. This system now needs a new air, something more, beyond that glossy facade. Creative visions supported by a conscious approach.

We are a drop in the ocean, but we are trying to bring a different viewpoint, providing a deeper meaning to fashion, and rediscovering its true beauty. And therefore evolve to the next level.

Our selection and thoughts are for those who appreciate the value of unconventional work that falls outside an imposed system. We aim to interact with individuals who are not passive consumers but active thinkers. Those who want to be informed because they are not stuck in the past or constrained by pointless rules but constantly evolving.

Awakening

14 March, 2023

Awakening means developing your consciousness – ethical and social – in order to become a better human.

Awakening is an intentional choice. Indeed, it is the act of opening our eyes and realizing what happens inside and around us. Once we understand the reality, the damage we have done to other people and our environment, awakening comes along.

Therefore, we become aware that doing without thinking about consequences or, in other words, acting without a long-term ethical vision is not a worthy choice.

Awakening takes our eyes to see, our brain to think and pay attention, freeing our conscience to emerge. For instance, we reach a higher level of consciousness by reading books, essays or newsletters. Following thoughtful leaders. Interacting and sharing ideas in a community. Perhaps we could list other ways, but honestly, meditation is not our field of knowledge.

Ultimately, awakening is free.
You can pay someone to turn on the light for you, but then the process is yours. And no one can do it for you.

How does it all connect to fashion? Believe us, it does. Fashion as a reflection of our society is part of a system based on exploitation. Part of the world is living at the expense of others and the planet.

The awakening’s result is that we are not satisfied with this system anymore. We cannot take it as it is. Therefore, we want to bring a change.

How do we do it?

We do it by offering you a thoughtful selection. By intentionally taking fewer items. What we really need. Unique pieces. By not adapting to fashion rules anymore but being active agents of change. By bringing in our own vision and values. More is not the answer. Instead, less but better and more ethical choices.

How do fashion brands do it?
Smaller productions – higher quality – shorter and adequately paid working chain. No sales but real balanced value. No modern slavery to serve fast fashion.

How do you do it?
Consume less. Choose wisely.

Design against waste

14 March, 2023

Waste is a major issue in our culture. Perhaps one of the biggest. Definitely a side effect of our lifestyle. Waste is the ignorant byproduct of our times, meaning the etymological non-understanding of what we leave at our back.

In other words, it is a blind and egoistic short-term vision. People don’t care. Their children will live in an open-air landfill. Not their business.

However, the problem is real, devastating, and we cannot hide it anymore. There’s no way to sweep waste under the carpet or make it magically disappear.

Acknowledging the problem and the environmental cost it carries along, is the first step. But what is the solution?

Design is the answer.
An accurate design is at the core of solving the waste issue. Changing the way we conceive products is absolutely crucial. We need thoughtful items in every single field and category – fashion, furniture, technology, etc.
Products made with eco, recycled materials. That will have multiple lives and eventually enter a circular pattern.
Items made to last.

By the way, it was so in the past in terms of lifetime. Now the life of a garment is just a couple of washings, the life of a cell phone, less than one year.
Moreover, the convenience culture played a huge role in maximizing waste habits and proliferating throwaway tendencies. Buying a new item is cheaper than repairing it. So throw it away and buy another one – even if it will last just a few months. The never-ending cycle has been triggered.

The point is that real designers make good designs.
Since fashion – like any other industry – is in the hands of people who are more attracted to marketing than design, it will be hard to see a change coming from the inside.

Unless a new generation of designers, aware of the problem and touched by it, will be willing to change for the better.
We are optimistic!

The modern migration

14 March, 2023

Modern migration from big cities to small villages is the key to sustainability and happiness.

Transformed by the pandemic wake-up call, we decided to spend our August holidays back at our roots. A tiny small village in the Basilicata region – South Italy – immersed in nature and silence. Cows’ mooing, dogs barking, or the wind was the only sound.

Travelling in the middle of the night along the woods, we met a family of porcupines who was crossing the road, spines standing on end. Such a marvel! We promptly stopped the car to enjoy the unique show that nature offered us. We let them cross, caught in the headlights.
A scene impressed in our memory.

How different life is in small countryside villages! Healthier, for sure. You reclaim the value of time, space. You don’t feel trapped like in a city apartment. However big it is, it’s cement anyway. And you realise that in exchange for fewer services, perhaps you enjoy real life.

Reading the news, it seems that the migration from big cities to the countryside has already started, as a tangible effect of the pandemic. Indeed, the idea of a slow and sustainable lifestyle flows so naturally into this context, followed by a different way of dressing – which we will explore deeper – and decorating our places.
Surely, a way of living our life in tune with nature.

It has proven that economic growth and environmental impact are directly connected. What we used to call climate change is now a climate emergency. Therefore, in order to reduce our impact on nature, we have no other choice than to change our lifestyle.

To this end, modern migration to the countryside is an opportunity. Our needs have changed, big cities aren’t the answer anymore. We need more nature.

Therefore, we are envisioning a future where people repopulate small villages, giving them a new life. Intensive mass growing leaves space for smaller communities, all interconnected so as to support each other.

Finally, we can use progress and the web not to prevail or exploit but to genuinely and deeply connect.

With this in mind, we can be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

That’s the lifestyle for modern humans.

The expiry date: fashion or mortadella?

11 March, 2023

Fashion communication – verbal, written and visual – has contributed to undermining the industry.
In a world where fast fashion became a synonym of luxury and other similar absurdities, we always feel the need to define what we say. Somehow, we need to restore the meaning in a state of general confusion.

Hysteric mass production led us to a broken industry incapable of selling all the tons of items they produce. Indeed, the surplus is burned, making room for the next manifestation of this insanity.

So, why do niche brands or even high-end designers subscribe to these practices? Why do they feel the need to hard-discount merchandise just a few months after its delivery to the stores, devaluing both products and the brand?

“This item is new now, but it’s going to be old in three months or less.” There is no consistency in that.

A devaluing communication

The poor language to attract consumers does not focus on worth but discounts or influencers:

PRE-SALE! – SALE! – Heavy discounts! – Black Friday! -60% -70%
Who offers less?!

“Today, with the influencers bad taste is everywhere.” – said Mr Valentino to “Il Messaggero”.

Herein lies a huge mistake in terms of communication, in the messaging of our industry.

When will fashion operators understand we are conceiving, producing, selling and communicating products born out of creativity. The moment we rediscover the value of that process, we’ll acknowledge the mistakes we made.

To deal with those products like they are milk or mortadella, treating them as products with a fast expiration date is not a brilliant idea.

We love mortadella, and we also believe it has a higher value than the majority of fashion products currently in stores. But, we think the actual value of the whole creative process has to be rediscovered and protected in making and communicating fashion. Like it is something meaningful, timeless, not something to get rid of as soon as possible.

What can we do to change?

Brands have to produce less, taking extreme care of the whole process.
Heavy discounts should disappear. They are not a healthy, long-term strategy.
People should consume less but better.

Let fast fashion do its work for what is cheap, for people who chose not to see. At the same time, let’s protect and celebrate the timeless value of creativity, quality, and craftsmanship. By using proper language to this end.

The wake-up call

11 March, 2023

Lifestyle is constantly evolving.
It’s not about hectic fashion anymore, that time is over.
We learned the lesson, so we are evolving towards a new era based on consciousness. The pandemic is our wake-up call. Pollution, climate change, social issues, racism, our behaviour of the past led us here. Now, we must think about what kind of world we want.

Fashion as a reflection of who we are must be involved in the lifestyle evolution process. It’s about understanding the core values, so, as a consequence, we search for a design that fits our new vision.
Creativity takes time to express itself, manufacturing quality items takes time. Trust takes time too.
No need to hurry, not anymore. Slow is ok. Indeed, the process of consciousness takes time.

So, after the wake-up call, change for the better is what we are doing.
But don’t underestimate small changes. Even modest changes in our lifestyle can have a significant impact.

2021 is our blank page. Reset and restart with us.

Knowledge vs an obsolete system

6 September, 2021

Knowledge is power. Being informed – educating ourselves – is fundamental in order to make conscious choices.
We love fashion, but we know there are many things to fix in the field. Since we have been part of the industry for so long, we are fed up with representing patterns that are no longer viable, representing an obsolete system.
When you are fed up with what you see, you have two options: you can sit and look at the show, or you take action. Decide to make a change.
We’ve opted for the latter. Change for the better is what we aim for.
Connecting with people who share the same vision is part of the journey.
Change for the better. We do it together.