“Being Cool is Nothing New”, the new sustainable project by Istituto Europeo di Design and Fashion Revolution

Subverting the culture of consumism through the customization of used and recycled clothing, to discover again the beauty of unicity and creativity. This is the purpose of the new project promoted by IED Istituto Europeo di Design and Fashion Revolution for a more sustainable fashion We want always something new and be oriented toward the future instead of looking back, is probably the most important part of our desire for fashion. Shopping is therapeutic, “releases endorphins” said some recent scientific research, but this is only the excuse we use to justify our propensity to consumption. The world is only one and it seems that we are making everything possible to speed up its destruction. Nevertheless something is moving into fashion world and, despite of people who don’t believe in global warming, a new sensitivity is in the air. Many famous brands are turning their policies in favor of a more sustainable productive process, other are banning animal furs. But there’s still a lot of work to do, especially to make the new generations aware about the damage caused by over-consumption. Because the change starts from young people.

IED Istituto Europeo di Design kwows this and is dedicating this year to sustainability, launching a series of initiatives which addresses the various aspects of ecological and ethical design. In January during Pitti Immagine Uomo the famous school of fashion, design and communication launched the special project “The Time is Now” for sustainable fashion in collaboration with CID Consorzio Italiano Implementazione Detox (a consortium for the detox of industry), following the Greenpeace‘s campaign “Detox” to persuade brands to make their fashion free from toxic chemicals.

Today IED launches a new project in partnership with Fashion Revolution, the organisation founded in 2013 by Orsola De Castro and Carry Somers for a more conscious, ethical and sustainable future for fashion industry To present this new initiative called “Being Cool is Nothing New”, the school organized a talk with Orsola De Castro, Sara Azzone (director of the Fashion School IED Milano), Sara Sozzani Maino (Deputy Editor of Vogue Italia and Head of Vogue Talents) and Riccardo Conti (journalist and teacher at IED).

“When you make a visible mending on a garment you already have, his it’s begins to communicate, to tell something about you” Orsola De Castro to the IED students During the academic year the school will give life to a multi-disciplinary project to involves the students of the courses of fashion, design, visual arts and communication, promoting the creative re-use and customization of clothing against the acceleration of consumption. In an important event next autumn in the school’s headquarter in Milan, the students, actively involved into each aspect of the organization, will teach to other high-school students what they learned about sustainable fashion during this project. The purpose is to encourage young generations to become consumer-traders, reinventing the way to produce and use fashion through creativity having respect for the environment and workers, thinking about the future of our planet.