Introduction

Art Nouveau was characterized by using organic forms and floral motifs to integrate art, craft, and nature into a single aesthetic language. This movement was not limited to decoration but represented a response to growing industrialization, opposing serial production and promoting a return to craftsmanship and quality materials. In a contemporary context marked by increasingly pressing environmental urgencies, sustainable fashion takes up this ideal tension, proposing an alternative vision to the linear production model that has characterized the textile industry in recent decades. The fashion industry is, in fact, among the most environmentally impactful sectors, with intensive consumption of natural resources and a high rate of pollutant emissions.¹ The textile sector, which includes clothing, leather goods and footwear (TCLF), is among the most globalized supply chains, employing about 2.2 million workers only in Europe.² However, this production system has a high environmental cost: fabric dyeing and finishing account for 20% of global water pollution,³ and the textile industry produces about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.⁴ In addition, the spread of fast fashion has incentivized a rapid and indiscriminate consumption pattern, exacerbating the exploitation of natural and human resources and generating vast amounts of waste,⁵ less than 1% of which is recycled.⁶ In response to these critical issues, eco-printing stands out not only as an aesthetic innovation but also as a concrete strategy to reduce the textile industry’s environmental impact.⁷ Adopting eco-printing is part of a broader redefinition of production practices that promotes a circular approach based on enhancing natural resources and reducing waste. This study examines the relationship between aesthetics and sustainability in fashion, analyzing the role of eco-printing in the transition to more responsible production models. Through a qualitative approach, the principles and applications of this technique will be investigated, as well as the experiences of local realities such as Rosso di Robbia, a holistic fashion business specializing in natural dyes, and Lazzaro, a vintage shop, both located in Rimini (Italy), which adopt strategies for the recovery and valorization of vintage and second-hand materials and garments. The goal is to demonstrate how the integration of eco-friendly processes can mitigate the environmental impacts of the textile industry and contribute to a cultural redefinition of fashion, promoting more ethical and eco-efficient consumption practices.

Affinities and Divergences between Art Nouveau and Sustainable Fashion

Before delving further, it is necessary to briefly address the comparison between Art Nouveau and sustainable fashion. Visual and thematic references to botanical aesthetics recur across various periods in art history. Among these, Art Nouveau has occasionally been cited for its celebration of organic forms and ornamental richness. However, it is essential to acknowledge that such parallels are primarily formal in nature and do not suggest direct or explicit inspiration. If one were to consider the ethical dimensions underpinning sustainable fashion, the Arts and Crafts movement may offer a more pertinent precedent. Its opposition to nineteenth-century mass industrial production, and its advocacy of craftsmanship, manual labor, and a symbiotic relationship with nature, resonates more closely with the philosophy of eco-printing, which emphasizes slow processes, traceable materials, and an organic aesthetic emerging directly from contact with botanical matter. Nonetheless, eco-fashion distinguishes itself fundamentally from these historical movements through its ethical and ecological commitments, which constitute its ideological core. Environmental sustainability, social equity, and regenerative practice define today’s textile production in ways that far exceed the aesthetic and social concerns of the past. Eco-printing, in this sense, reframes the relationship between art, nature, and production through a profoundly contemporary lens. Yet, acknowledging the primarily formal nature of the connection to Art Nouveau does not preclude the possibility of identifying deeper conceptual affinities. Art Nouveau pursued a reintegration of art and life, seeking to counter the aesthetic homogenization of industrial production by elevating individual creativity and adapting art and design to a rapidly changing world.⁸ Its aesthetic project was also an existential one, offering not only a visual style but a holistic lifestyle. Similarly, sustainable fashion promotes artisanal values in opposition to overconsumption and serial production, emphasizing quality, local economies, and the uniqueness of the handmade object. This shared sensibility emerges clearly in their treatment of materials. While Art Nouveau favored the artistic use of wood, glass, and metal — processed with innovative techniques for refined visual effects — sustainable fashion privileges biodegradable, recycled, or waste-derived textiles. In both cases, the material itself becomes a conceptual medium. Unlike Art Nouveau, which operated outside an ecological framework, eco-fashion places environmental consciousness at the heart of its philosophy. Its rejection of disposability echoes the Art Nouveau ideal of durability and timelessness, though reframed within a discourse of responsibility and long-term sustainability. Both movements articulate a vision of beauty that transcends superficial ornamentation and aspires to ethical and spiritual significance. Art Nouveau aimed to integrate art into everyday life, elevating it to an aesthetic and spiritual dimension. At the same time, sustainable fashion develops an ethical awareness that includes respect for the environment, workers in the production chain, and the end consumer. The relationship with nature represents a further element of continuity, understood not only as decorative inspiration but as an aesthetic and philosophical principle aimed at creating harmony between man and the environment, the same harmony sought even today by green fashion. Art Nouveau’s engagement with nature was both decorative and philosophical, aiming to create harmony between humans and the environment — an aspiration mirrored in contemporary green fashion. Botanical influences, often drawn from colonial-era expeditions, permeated Art Nouveau imagery, as European explorations enriched its aesthetic with floral motifs and exotic plants imported from China, India, and South America.⁹ Nonetheless, this interest in materials from other continents also extended to precious stones and metals, many of which were extracted through colonialist exploitation practices.¹⁰ Today, the floral aesthetic is no longer associated with elitist exoticism but with the ethical enhancement of natural resources. However, forms of economic colonialism persist: while Art Nouveau appealed to an elite clientele, responsible fashion aims to transform the industry on a large scale, making its products more accessible by countering the exploitation of cheap labour in Southeast Asian countries, where working conditions and environmental impacts are often critical.¹¹
In cultural terms, Art Nouveau combined nostalgia and innovation through a pluralistic aesthetic deeply informed by historical and archaeological references. Its theoretical constructs, such as “truth to materials” and “fidelity to function,” sought to navigate the expanding material and visual culture of the early twentieth-century,¹² allowing artists to balance modernity and nostalgia.¹³ Similar tensions animate sustainable fashion, which merges future-oriented innovation with the revival of traditional, low-impact techniques such as eco-printing. This shift reflects a broader redefinition of aesthetic agency in response to ecological urgency. While it would be historically inaccurate to position sustainable fashion as a direct outgrowth of Art Nouveau, it is nonetheless possible to trace meaningful parallels and divergences. Eco-fashion does not inherit the Art Nouveau aesthetic per se; rather, it echoes its ambition to respond creatively to the cultural and environmental imperatives of its time. In this regard, the two movements may be seen as engaging in a retrospective dialogue that reconsiders the definitions of beauty and design from an ethically informed and socially attuned perspective.

Eco-Printing Merging Nature and Craftsmanship

About 70% of textiles collected for reuse are exported overseas,¹⁹ but a significant proportion may turn into waste instead of recycled. In recent years, the emergence of responsible practices such as reuse, upcycling, or natural dyeing techniques has marked a turning point in the textile industry, offering themselves as an alternative to traditional mass production models and promoting the transition to a circular economy. In this context, eco-printing, a technique that makes it possible to decorate textiles using natural dyes extracted from flowers and leaves and other organic material, eliminating the use of polluting chemicals, fits in harmoniously.²⁰ Eco-printing enhances the aesthetic value of reclaimed textiles and transforms them into unique works of art, the result of a natural process. The growing adoption of this methodology is also due to the renewed interest in natural dyes, which has declined since the twentieth-century in favour of synthetic dyes.²¹ However, the growing environmental and health concerns related to artificial dyes²² have encouraged a return to more sustainable methods, which can impart additional properties to fabrics, such as UV protection, antibacterial and antifungal activity, and deodorizing effects.²³

Natural dyeing techniques follow a well-established process, including etching, boiling and fixing natural dyes, ensuring the stability of textile fibres and colour rendering. The fabric — which should preferably be made of natural fibres (cotton, linen, silk or wool) to promote the absorption of natural dyes — undergoes treatment with natural mordants, such as metal salt, which ensures colour fixation and which affect both the colour shade obtained and its durability.²⁴ However, eco-printing follows a separate process, unlike traditional natural dyeing, which involves extracting the dyes and immersing the fabric in a dye bath subjected to boiling.²⁵ This technique is not limited to uniform colouring but transfers natural plant shapes and colours directly onto the textile fibre, creating unique patterns. Eco-printing involves selecting dyeing materials such as leaves, flowers, husks and barks arranged on the fabric. The adorned fabric is then wrapped around a cylindrical support such as a wooden or metal stick and is steamed or boiled, a process that promotes the release of the natural dyes and the transfer of plant shapes onto the fabric, which pierce through the different layers of rolled fabric, creating a dynamic and shaded effect with delicate and natural colour transitions.²⁶ After cooling, the fabric is opened, revealing the unique design that, as no synthetic dyes or harmful chemicals were used, did not produce environmental footprints.²⁷ The textile industry consumes about 215 trillion litres of water annually²⁸ and produces 8.3 billion tons of plastic, of which 6.3 billion tons become waste,²⁹ of which, ultimately, about 23 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year,³⁰ even polluting drinking water systems.³¹ Natural colouring techniques are proposed as an effective solution to mitigate these effects as the raw materials used in eco-printing consist mainly of leaves, flowers, barks and roots: reusable materials that eliminate the risk of contamination of soil, air and water resources.³² At the same time, such methodologies protect the health of workers and consumers, as they exclude the use of toxic substances. The bioactive properties of certain plant compounds, such as anthocyanins and flavonoids, also offer antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits.³³ Eco-printing has passed the OEKO-TEX Class 1 standard, a certification system that ensures fabrics are free of harmful chemicals by a margin of 60%, ensuring safety for use on underwear, swimwear and baby clothes.³⁴

Eco-printing thus represents a perfect synthesis of creativity and sustainability. In addition to the ecological benefits noted here, this technique possesses an aesthetic value that celebrates a return to nature, evoking a sense of reconciliation with the organic rhythm of the natural world in a sensory way. It is not limited to a decorative aesthetic; rather it embodies a form of resistance to the hyper-production and consumerist excess of modern society, for giving old clothes a completely new look incentivizes their reuse instead of buying new ones.³⁵ Through recovering and enhancing pre-existing textile materials, this practice takes the form of an ode to sustainability and an invitation to reflect on the beauty of what we often overlook. In an age dominated by industry, eco-printing becomes an act of resistance, a return to a more intimate, more authentic practice capable of offering a new expressive dimension to textile design and strengthening a profound link between ethics, aesthetics and respect for the environment. Moreover, this practice, which restores life to pre-existing materials, invites us to reconsider the concept of “novelty”. Eco-printing is not a process that pushes production in unlimited quantities but enhances what already exists, intriguing a reflection on the value of things and their durability. In this sense, dressing becomes an act of care, awareness and respect for the cycle of life, where body and environment are in constant dialogue. Nevertheless, it is also an invitation to rethink beauty, moving away from artificial aesthetic canons and appreciating the imperfection and variety that nature offers, but rather, an imperfection that gives life to the uniqueness of each garment, reflecting an organic beauty, but also a continuous metamorphosis of colours and shapes.

Rosso di Robbia and Lazzaro Store Crafting Sustainability

Many small companies focus on disrupting overproduction by adopting more zero-waste approaches, valuing social and ecological aims over pure economic growth. Rosso di Robbia and Lazzaro are significant examples of a growing phenomenon in Italy, particularly in Emilia-Romagna, where companies adopting eco-friendly models are gaining increasing visibility. Emilia-Romagna, a region known for its manufacturing tradition, is also experiencing innovation in the fashion and trade sectors, with a strong commitment to eco-friendly practices.⁴⁷

The activity of Michela Pasini, the owner of Rosso di Robbia, lies at the intersection of textile craftsmanship, environmental sustainability and the recovery and enhancement of natural dyes. Her professional journey began in 2008 with a personal interest in vegetable dyeing techniques, which materialized in 2015 with the founding of the Rosso di Robbia brand. This reality represents a sustainable production model, specializing in the natural dyeing of yarns, fabrics and garments through the exclusive use of dyes of natural origin (i.e. extracted exclusively from plants and cochineal, an insect). The following analysis of the six dyeing methods adopted shows a precise choice to preserve and recover ancestral techniques. (1) Classical natural dyeing involves extracting the colour by decocting the plant in water, which is then filtered, then soaking the fabric and fixing the natural colouring through prolonged boiling processes. We can observe an example of the result in Fig. 1. (2) Eco-printing, in which the plant is placed directly on the fabric, rolled and steamed or immersed in boiling water, allowing both the colour and shape of the plant organism to be transferred onto the fibre. We find two examples of eco-printing performed by Pasini: the first is a fabric adorned with Bidens ferulifolia flowers (Fig. 2), and the second is a jacket finished with African daisies (Fig. 3). (3) The shibori technique, a Japanese method of reserve dyeing, involves folding, binding, and compressing the fabric between two rigid wooden surfaces before immersion in the dye bath, creating characteristic patterns due to the fibre’s partial resistance to dye absorption. (4) Batik uses hot wax to create patterns on fabric, acting as a barrier that prevents dye penetration. Once the wax is removed, intricate, sharp-edged designs emerge, offering a graphic effect, resulting in a resist-effect similar to the shibori technique but with greater graphic detail. (5) Painting with natural dyes allows for direct application of natural dyes with a brush to the textile surface, allowing greater design control and more artistic freedom. (6) Woodblock printing uses engraved wooden matrices to imprint colour on fabric, combining traditional craftsmanship and reproducibility of ornamental patterns.

In addition to being a green alternative to chemical colouring, Pasini’s approach is distinguished by the predominant use of independently harvested raw materials. Plants used include Coreopsis tinctoria, Coreopsis grandiflora, African daisy, Japanese indigo, and mimosa. Also found in her garden are Bidens ferulifolia, madder, ford, marigold, geraniums, Japanese maple, among others. The dye plants used are mainly derived from Pasini’s garden (as shown in Fig. 4) or from a wild collection, with specific attention paid to seasonality and local availability.⁴⁸

However, to meet specific colour requirements, it is sometimes necessary to use natural dyes of exotic origin purchased from selected local suppliers. This practice highlights the tension that exists between the desire for absolute zero-waste sustainability and the production needs arising from market requests in response to a growing demand for transparency from the textile industry: according to the Fashion Transparency Index 2023, only 23% of brands publish their methodology for identifying risks related to water and chemical use.⁴⁹ At Rosso di Robbia, a rigorous approach is taken in natural dyeing, excluding techniques that compromise ecological standards. An emblematic example is eco-printing; recent industrial trends involve using plastic layers to achieve sharper prints on uniform backgrounds, preventing the spread of colour to subsequent layers. Although aesthetically compelling, this practice raises critical environmental issues related to plastic waste production and microplastics release, with consequent implications for human health and the ecosystem. There are alternative solutions to avoid the problem, such as the use of biodegradable paper or films; nevertheless, these eco-printing options have limitations both from a technical point of view because they are not reusable and are only in small formats and from an economic point of view because they are costly. This choice reflects a broader debate in the eco-printing industry, divided between those who favour a “pure” approach and those who introduce more impactful materials, highlighting how the definition of sustainability can vary depending on production trade-offs and industrial practices. The implications of this practice raise questions about the very definition of sustainable fashion and the actual reduction of environmental impact. What emerges is a critical reflection on the different levels of ecological engagement in the textile industry and the importance of communicative transparency that can genuinely inform the consumer about the sustainability of the final product. Another problem is that product labels do not require sufficient specificity in detailing the production process. In particular, ethical labels tend to use ordinal or ratio formats.⁵⁰ However, consumers often interpret them in a binary manner, relying on iconic and nominal interpretation rather than in-depth information content analysis, which reduces the effectiveness of labels in conveying accurate and detailed information regarding the product’s production and disposal processes. Still, many

sustainable fashion designers, brands, and retailers are increasing in number, and labels such as ‘ethical,’ ‘eco,’ ‘fair trade,’ ‘organic,’ ‘natural,’ ‘sweat-shop free,’ ‘recycled,’ and even ‘second-hand’ or ‘vintage,’ have all been used to persuade customers that the fashion products they purchase are environmentally friendly and ethically sound.⁵¹

In terms of textile materials, Pasini mainly uses fabrics of natural origin, including silk, wool, linen, cotton, and hemp, although there may be amounts of synthetic fabrics within them. Finally, she has always preferred sourcing scraps and offcuts from end-of-production materials. She also acquires antique fabrics, such as cotton sheets from flea markets, silk from parachutes, and antique hemp fabrics manufactured in Romagna, using them to create garments. These antique fabrics and vintage or used apparels, having not undergone intensive treatments, are particularly good at absorbing colour. Pasini’s continuous search for usable materials has brought her closer to the reality of the Lazzaro shop, where she has found an extensive alternative in fabrics, taking old garments from the shop and reselling the textiles through the same channel in a creative collaboration with the store. Lazzaro is a vintage boutique and social cooperative located in the historic centre of Rimini. It specializes in selling vintage and second-hand clothing, plus promotes sustainability through the promotion of creative activities such as upcycling on discarded garments. The project was born in 2018, aiming to enhance donated clothing unsuitable for direct distribution, creating a virtuous circle between solidarity, culture and youth entrepreneurship. The store stands out for its attention to the quality and history of garments, offering customers unique pieces accompanied by cultural and photographic references that they often communicate through attentive communication in their Instagram profile. It collaborates with several local realities, including Rosso di Robbia.⁵² Unsold garments, often characterized by creases, damage, wear, holes and stains, are transformed by Pasini through an upcycling process that includes dyeing, embroidery, and creative sewing. In this context, Rosso di Robbia deals with the redevelopment of defective garments, transforming them into unique pieces through artistic processing, contributing to the creation of mini-collections intended for resale, as exemplified by Fig. 5, 6 and 7, which show some items of the capsule-collection dedicated to indigo colour, created in the summer of 2024. Specifically, Fig. 5 shows the clothes rack with the garments made ad hoc for the indigo capsule-collection, with all the upcycled pieces by Pasini, Fig. 6 presents an example of a jacket realized with the implementation of the shibori technique, and in Fig. 7 we can notice an example of Pasini’s work of embellishment of imperfections, in this case a non-fading stain was highlighted with red sewing. In the Indigo collection, Pasini first collaborated with the Lazzaro team to carefully select the most suitable pieces and outline the project together. She then worked on blazers, robes, and other discarded garments, applying colouring, embroidery, and sewing treatments. Through upcycling, Pasini intentionally highlighted holes, stains, and imperfections with brightly coloured threads or using creative intervention techniques. By doing so, she emphasized the beauty of flaws and the passage of time, celebrating the lived history embedded in each garment.

Rosso di Robbia represents an emblematic example of how artisanal practices can be integrated into a more eco-efficient production paradigm while addressing challenges related to market demand and raw material availability. Its activity is part of a broader context of rediscovery and enhancement of traditional dyeing techniques, emphasizing the potential of an approach that merges aesthetic research, historical knowledge, and environmental consciousness. This model not only promotes quality artisanal production but also fits into a circular economy context and focuses on reusing and enhancing natural resources to raise awareness of more low-impact practices in the fashion industry. In this sense, eco-printing establishes a strong connection with the principles of Art Nouveau, a movement that rejected industrial standardization in favour of craftsmanship and organic aesthetics. Just as Art Nouveau celebrated the integration of nature into artistic expression, eco-printing embraces botanical forms, allowing natural elements such as leaves and flowers to shape textile patterns directly. This technique not only restores an appreciation for material uniqueness but also challenges the environmental impact of industrial dyeing by eliminating harmful chemicals and reducing water pollution. Through this approach, eco-printing embodies an aesthetic philosophy that values imperfection and a commitment to sustainable innovation. Thus, the collaboration between Rosso di Robbia and Lazzaro encourages the recovery and valorization of used clothing and preserves historical memory. In this scenario, Lazzaro emerges not as a simple vintage clothing store but as a reality whose activity is based on a rigorous process of collecting, selecting, and marketing second-hand garments. It also promotes social inclusion with initiatives aimed at involving vulnerable segments of the population and finally creates a close bond with the local community and consumers, as opposed to the depersonalizing shop experiences of large chains.

Conclusion

Although separated by more than a century of difference, Art Nouveau and sustainable fashion have significant affinities beyond mere aesthetic choices. Both movements respond to the dynamics of serial production and consumerism that dominate their respective eras, aiming to recover a more human dimension of art and creation. However, this dialogue invites more profound reflection on the differences between a past perceived as ‘inexhaustible’ and a present that must come to terms with ecological and social challenges. Art Nouveau reacted to mass production, while renewable and vintage fashion faces ecological challenges where, through practices such as eco-printing, it confronts us with new questions, such as what the actual cost of a product is; trying to answer them by seeking an aesthetic evolution that does not give up ethical and ecological principles, in a new holistic perspective, rooted in an awareness that extends far beyond aesthetics. However, despite progress, the textile industry continues to impact the planet significantly, and there are still few (albeit valuable) achievements through eco-friendly recovery techniques or developing markets for used garments. Nevertheless, small initiatives such as Rosso di Robbia and Lazzaro are realities that fuel these reflections, inviting us to question concepts of “novelty,” “new,” and “old,” proposing a more responsible change in consumption habits.

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