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Milano Design Week, Fashion & Greenwashing

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Exploring Tangible Contrasts and Ethical Dilemmas in Contemporary Events

As the Milano Design Week concluded, we reflected on tangible distinctions with Fashion Week and delved into the pros and cons of the greenwashing effect evident in contemporary events.

The Milano Design Week is an annual event which serves as a platform for showcasing furniture, objects, creativity and ideas. This season’s theme, “Materia Natura” (matter nature), set the stage for contemplating the importance of environmental sustainability in the creative and design process. Also, running in parallel with the official “Salone del Mobile,” the Fuorisalone has experienced significant growth. As a result, every corner of the city boasted its own installations and events.

Blessed with beautiful sunny days, we immersed ourselves in numerous installations, many intertwined with fashion brands, just without the please-look-at-me foolishness. But a couple of reflections began to crystallise in our minds.

Milano Design Week, Fashion & Greenwashing
Milano Design Week – “Il mare dove non si tocca” by Antonio Marras

Milano Design Week & Greenwashing

The cons:
1 – The emphasis on sustainability often appeared to be mere greenwashing, given the excessive expenditure of money and resources without tangible environmental benefits. On the contrary, waste seemed clear.
2 – Some (fashion) brands participated simply to secure a spot on the list rather than with genuine needs. Indeed, this sentiment was palpable when the quality of the installation was just a way to invite people to stop by. Even among those who collaborated on a co-marketing initiative, the focus seemed to be just the marketing strategy.

Milano Design Week vs Fashion Week

The pros:
1 – In contrast to Milano Fashion Week, Design Week is more inclusive and open to anyone. And the atmosphere is way more enjoyable.
2 – The staff responsible for welcoming attendees and ensuring security exhibit a notably kinder attitude. Since Ro is a wheelchair user, we received acts of kindness during Design Week that we were not accustomed to compared to our experiences during Fashion Week.
3 – No fashion carnival, meaning no subjects begging for attention.

suite123 staff- Milano Design Week – “Il mare dove non si tocca” by Antonio Marras

However, we loved “Il mare dove non si tocca” (In the deep sea) by Antonio Marras. Upon entering the enchanting NonostanteMarras space, we encountered a temporary bar in the inner courtyard. Unfortunately, the arrangement of plants and tables left little room for a wheelchair to pass through. Witnessing our attempt, Antonio Marras jumped up and asked people to clear a path for us. Moreover, he kindly offered assistance if we wished to explore the basement area, where he showed his ceramics and a marvellous marine set-up for the restaurant area in collaboration with the Rana family. Also, we met the beautiful Antonella Rana, Global Image and Communication Director of Pastificio Rana.
Antonio Marras’ caring attitude surprised us. Such unconventional behaviour for the fashion industry standards!

The Milano Design Week concluded amidst fusions with fashion and a deluge of greenwashing. Specifically, design wins over fashion for accessibility and courtesy, but sustainability sounds too much like greenwashing. In contrast, let’s shape events where creativity harmonizes with sustainability, inspiring and innovating without compromising our planet.

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Ethical Choices

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From Fashion to Lifestyle: Do You Take Them into Account?

“Ethical choices shouldn’t be left to us! Ethics shouldn’t fall on us!” Remarked a friend when he felt obliged to purchase products at a low price to stay within the family budget. We know that if the price is too low, someone pays. Usually, the cost falls on people and the planet: see modern-day slavery, pollution and climate change.

The low-price pattern applies not only to the fashion system but to any industry. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, we want to feel good about our choices and their impact on the world. Of course, it’s unfair to put the burden of ethical choices solely on consumers.

However, brands, corporations, and governments ignore the matter. Well, they say they care, and talk about ethical fashion. Also, they support workers. But they do not do the one thing that would allow people a decent lifestyle: paying proper wages. Why? Because enslaving people through the manufacturing chains maximizes profits, which is the only thing that counts for them.

On the hunt for low prices

So, forget ethics for brands and corporations. The ethical choice is up to the end consumers. We can divide them into two groups:
The biggest group are workers who struggle to make ends meet. Although some care about ethics, they cannot afford better choices. So they feel forced to purchase products coming from unfair conditions.
In a smaller group, we find rich people who are happy to close their eyes in the face of ethics, modern-day slavery or climate change. Actually, they don’t care! Exploiting people is okay with their worldview as long as they can keep purchasing cheap products.
What’s your counterargument? Are ethical products too expensive? People from the second group label products of a certain cost as unethical. We’ve heard this plenty of times! But they consider okay cheap stuff made by slaves. Weird reasoning! Isn’t it?

Solutions to ethical choices

Solutions such as government regulations and corporate social responsibility are essential. In fact, the burden of ethical choices must shift from consumers to governments and corporations. They must hold themselves accountable as they are in charge of the economy.

Downward price logic is the expression of a rotten society which exploits people and the planet. But in this race to the bottom, how many slaves does the economy need in the future? And do they have a planet B?

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Fashion, Connection and Micro Communities

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How a Niche Fashion Selection Ties in With Change

Fashion, connection and micro communities have something in common. Indeed, given our disaffection with social media, we promote opportunities to connect in smaller groups. That is to discuss fashion and lifestyle in the face of climate change.

Our new approach to fashion:

The starting point is our capsule selection of independent international brands and Japanese fashion. So, we begin picking out meaningful garments featuring a good design imprint and a timeless aesthetic. Clothes you won’t find everywhere.
Specifically, we assemble a fashion capsule selection intentionally limited. Do you know why?
It’s the only way we can offer uniqueness and a sustainable approach. Indeed, brands keep talking about how good they are with their sustainable practices. But, still, overproduction is their business pattern. Therefore, they flood the market with large quantities of clothes. Of course, that model isn’t sustainable at all! However, fashion greenwashing works pretty well.

From climate change to a new vision of fashion

We refuse the status quo. The climate emergency is tangible, and this topic is the heart of our radically different approach to fashion. So we send back to brands their overproduction pattern and try to conduct business our way.

In other words, the climate emergency led us to see fashion with different eyes. Through our capsule selection, we communicate our new attitude towards clothing and life. And we wish to engage with people who are on the same path. Or, at least, curious to know more about what’s going on and, most importantly, how we can reduce our impact on the planet with our daily actions.

Connection and micro communities

But that kind of deeper connection hardly grows on social media. That’s why we favour interaction in smaller communities, whether in person or online. Though we show our selection on the web, we take care of all the buying, styling and blogging processes. We interact personally with anyone who gets in touch with us.

So, fashion, connection and micro communities tie in with the change. Connections are real. And, over time, they get deeper by developing trust and respect. Local or not, the quality of interactions and the garments selected make the difference! Above all, our loyal customers aren’t just customers. They support a different vision of the world.

Get in touch with us directly from here!

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About The White Shirt

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Wardrobe staples vs fashion trends

The White Shirt: mannish cut, well-tailored, slightly oversized to oversized, pristine go-with-everything garment. Button-down or ribbon collar, it’s perfect for any occasion. And any weather too!
So, is it a trend, as magazines say, or a wardrobe staple?

The White Shirt

Fashion, we all know it, is one of the most inconsistent fields where people say one thing and, the day after, change their minds. Perhaps this behaviour could work in times of abundance when we could carry on our activities while unconsciously ignoring what we were about to expect in the future. But now that the good times are gone, we need to get serious. These aren’t times for joking.

After the pandemic, a debate on how to rewire fashion to current times opened up an evolved set of possibilities: shift towards a timeless style and privileging conscious fashion. That stated the end of fashion trends.

The white shirt: fashion trend or staple

However, after Milano and Paris Fashion Weeks, fashion magazines refocused on trends. Again, we repeat it: the fashion industry is inconsistent. People talk about one thing just to take it back as soon as the new thing comes.

Among the unmissable trends, magazines list the white shirt. And here, the inconsistency is peaking.
What is a trend? A trend is what’s popular in a specific season and which will die soon. Do you think that’s the case for a white shirt? Does it make sense to put among trends an item that is the quintessential representation of timelessness?

Wardrobe staples #formodernhumans

The White Shirt has some of the most stunning style features:
Genderless: anyone can wear it.
Comfortable: it allows the movement of your body.
Seasonless: it’s perfect throughout the year. Underneath a cardi or jacket in winter, rolled up sleeves in summer.
Also, it’s versatile and adds an elegant and classy touch even to your casual outfits. All these features make it a staple for our wardrobe of meaningful garments. So, it’s timeless: never out of fashion. Not a trend!

We are sorry that fashion experts still intend to make fashion a game of transient clothing. That doesn’t work anymore. And, undeniably, that’s not the case with the white shirt.

WhatsApp directly from here to check out our GoodNeighbors Shirts selection!

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Paris Fashion Week 24

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Between power and creativity

What was in the air at Paris Fashion Week 24? Less excessive designs, except for a few ones. In general, more elegance and simplicity. As well as in Milano, collections seemed to be more wearable.

Every season, the fashion Maisons presents high-budget commercial shows competing with the best location. Luxury venues contribute to making it a matter of power more than creativity. For instance, Eiffel’s background at Saint Laurent was impressive. However, we found intriguing the image of a worker-chic woman.

Above all, we applaud the Undercover brand, which really stood out with its essential but very evocative presentation. Its fashion show had the feeling of poetry with suits, sweatshirts, jewellery and chandeliers encapsulated in tulle. Also, the dreamy atmosphere piqued in the finale, with terrific x-ray terrarium dresses, was so mind-blowing, the chills it gave us!

Apart from the overall mood and the idea of style, we cannot understand the choice of switching Sarah Burton with the umpteenth young male designer. Sarah Burton’s collection for McQueen SS24 is absolutely stunning: a maxi red rose printed on a white slip dress or two evening gowns that seem like petals that fluctuate at every step, revealing the shade of colours. Isn’t the Kering group satisfied? Seán McGirr, the new designer, comes from JW Anderson, a move that gives the idea of a more commercial take. Perhaps they believe McQueen must reach a larger audience to grow and make more money, assuming McQueen can be a mass brand.

But what do these groups try to do? Such a move reminds us of the game played with Margiela. Perhaps they made it for a larger audience, but it’s not Margiela anymore. Will this be the path for McQueen, too?

In the end, celebrities and more celebrities. No big risk. The Paris Fashion Week 24 seems to be a matter of power and money more than creativity.

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