Culture and Sustainability: An Interplay on the New Made in Italy Landscape

Nadica Maksimova; Flavia Piancazzo

doi:10.6092/issn.2611-0563/15813

Authors

Nadica Maksimova Università di Bologna

She is a PhD candidate at the Department for Life Quality Studies at the University of Bologna. Her research interest is centred on the relationship between fashion and sustainability, with particular attention to sustainability-related content representations. Her current research focuses on the analysis of the sustainability discourse developments on the pages of Vogue Italia from its first publication in 1965 up to the present day.
She is a member of the International Research Center Culture Fashion Communication and Journal Manager for ZoneModa Journal.
Flavia Piancazzo Università di Bologna

She is a PhD candidate at the Department of Science and Culture of Well-Being and Lifestyles Doctoral Program at the University of Bologna. Under the advice of Professor Simona Segre Reinach and Professor Mariella Lorusso she is currently investigating the topic of cultural sustainability addressing the issues of cultural appropriation and racism in fashion. At the same time, she is Junior Fellow at the “Culture Fashion and Communication International Research Centre”, DAR - Department of the Arts. She received her master’s degree in Fashion Culture and Management at the University of Bologna in November 2019.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2611-0563/15813

Keywords:

Born-sustainable, Earth Logic, Holistic Approach, Fashion and Sustainability, Italian Context

Abstract

The current global interest and urge to propose alternatives to the predominant super-polluting and non-ethical fashion system require major attention to the unconventional fashion production models. Sustainable start-ups are often analysed as both circular systems and devices to re-activate local crafts, pointing toward not only the environmentally-friendly practices but also underlying the need to take better care of people, both as workers and consumers. However, little to no research is dedicated to the assessment of the holistic approach to sustainability of these born-responsible fashion entities. The analysis adopts the Earth Logic Fashion Action Research Plan (2019) framework by Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham and critically examines 60 born-sustainable brands in the Italian context. Through the analysis, it will be presented and discussed that born-sustainable does not imply a holistic approach, nor does it guarantee attention to the often-wrongly-separated environmental, social and cultural aspects of the sustainable agency.

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Culture and Sustainability: An Interplay on the New Made in Italy Landscape

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