Rebirth Italy was born from the love of nature and the environment, and a passion for creativity, craftsmanship and attention to detail. A project conceived by Studio F, it brings together everything that the team has always believed in: sustainability, ethics, love for details, the pride of “Made in Italy” tradition, innovative use of materials and attention to the welfare of the wearer. An interview with Studio F was a great opportunity to discuss, among others, sustainable fashion and its future in the industry.
What is your inspiration when it comes to design?
Materials, forms and patterns of color are mixed naturally and coexist: old and retro with new, glossy materials with opaque, fabrics folded and draped into sensual and feminine shapes. The inspiration comes from the Roman Empire and Ancient Egyptian cultures, where jewelry was an essential key of feminine sensuality. The contemporary element is reflected on the materials – metal combined with leather or recycled fabrics.
When browsing through your color chart, I noticed that you work with a great variety of leathers and fabrics. Which is your favorite material to work with?
Even if it is the most difficult to work with, our favorite material is tissue. Leather comes mostly from animals whose beauty is created by nature. Behind tissue, especially the one handmade in Italy, there is human work and passion. There is no need to take the life of any creature in order to create it, contrary to leather.
You have recently launched a project with Wowcracy. Could you tell us a bit more on this collaboration?
Working with Wowcracy was very important for us, not only because we had the honor to get selected by Vogue Talents, but also because we had the chance to experience a different reality; throughout international trade fairs, buyers get to test the feel of a certain product. Evoking the same feelings through the web is very difficult.
What does sustainable fashion mean to you?
The collection was born from the need to give new place and dignity to materials (especially leather) that would otherwise go to waste, which for us was and still is unacceptable.
In sustainable fashion, the cost of materials is said to be high. Is that a challenge for new designers?
When we started in 2009, eco fashion was considered cheap, good only to be sold in the flea markets in Italy, but this did not stop neither us nor other brands born before us.
The fine leather and fabrics we use come from cutting waste (bags, shoes and clothes). Working with recovered materials to create a collection that can be put on the market requires an investment of time working which is unquantifiable.
Surely, it would be much easier for us to buy materials from suppliers or stockists, but we would lose our main purpose, and the jewelry would lose its ethical value. For new designers, this must be a new challenge to be faced and overcome.
Lately, we have been witnessing a tendency towards sustainable fashion. Do you feel that it is becoming mainstream fashion trend?
We are pleased that even more people care about sustainability. We are working hard to raise awareness – especially among new designers – through courses, conferences, exhibitions and other initiatives. However, it is important that it does not become a fad, but a way to think and act consciously.
You see your jewelry as “wearable sculptures.” Would you ever consider expanding your line to include other kinds of accessories, perhaps home décor accessories?
Absolutely! There is a big number of drawings of clothes, furniture and so much more, and we are counting years of experience in these areas. We would love to be able to create socially useful designs, but at the moment we prefer to make the most of what we are already doing.
What are your future plans?
Rebirth is like a yoga practice, in a sense that we can recirculate the energy through it. Our greatest dream is having the opportunity to involve in our project more and more people who have the same creativity, passion and ethics as we do. The collaboration and exchange of ideas recirculates and merges the energies, so that they become inexhaustible. We have already been working with amazing people, but the idea is to grow even more.
For more information, visit Rebirth Italy online.
Images courtesy of Rebirth Italy
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