After a long career in fashion, James Mendolia had grown disillusioned by
an industry that seemed to care little about the waste, plunder and
destruction it left in its wake. Through his work in fabric development and
merchandising, he counted Ralph Lauren, Barneys and Italian manufacturer
GFT (which has produced collections for Dior, Armani, Valentino) among his
employers. The common element throughout his career was the ever-present
connection to Italy, whether it was working with its factories, sourcing
fabrics from its mills, or collaborating with its craftsmen. So when he
decided to strike out and do something to tackle the industry’s problems,
he teamed up with with a business acquaintance, Milan-based Giusy Bettoni, who had already established
the initiative C.L.A.S.S. Their aim was to showcase new technological advances in
fabric, and they have been behind the increased visibility of Re.Verso,
BACX, ROICA, ECOTEC and Newlife, trademarked and copyrighted names that, at
first glance, might mean little, but in fashion terms, mean upcycled wool
and cashmere introduced at Gucci, ecosilk at Erdem, and technosilk at
Maxmara.
“Giusy and my paths just kept crossing,” said Mendolia. “And we both
thought There’s got to be something we can do. The company was
founded in 2007 by Bettoni who wanted it to be a design-centered approach
involving like-minded individuals who challenged existing processes and
generated change. Sustainability is a word that’s kind of gone out of
fashion; now we talk about smart textiles.
“Students have the power when they make a garment to crusade for smart
sourcing and therefore expand our outreach. They are the decision makers of
the future. And today’s students are naturally good at staying connected,
forming communities, and are much stronger collaborators than previous
generations, who were perhaps much more competitive and kept knowledge to
themselves. Students seem to instinctively have more awareness of these
issues than professionals. This type of positive thinking is built into
their DNA. But the new division of C.L.A.S.S., which is about educating,
not only speaks to students, but faculty too, who perhaps are new to this
type of thinking. I’ve just come from Kent State’s NYC studio; I’ve met
with FIT, and later this week I go to DOMUS in Milan and Westminster in
London. In April I’m speaking to LaSalle in Montreal, and I want to involve
schools in Latin America in the conversation also.
Just last week, Mendolia and Bettoni hosted a fashion workshop at the
CFDA headquarters to bring smart textiles to the attention of this year’s
finalists in the CFDA+Lexus Initiative, a group of designers which includes
TOME and Prabal Gurung. Among the technological advances they exhibited
were cutting-edge polymers made from Italian post-consumer traceable
plastic bottles and the only cotton that actually conserves water
(currently, cotton is the textile industry’s most popular fiber yet it
consumes massive quantities of water, is riddled with pesticides and has
destroyed large-scale ecosystems in various parts of the world, creating
ill health for people living or working near the cotton farms). The duo are
conscious that smart textiles must be luxurious and beautiful or they will
hold no appeal for designers nor customers. As Giusy says, “Sustainability
is a strange word; it is in between science and emotion.”
“This year is the first, but I just find myself scrambling to keep up
with my ideas. The launch week is July 11–15, when we will host a weeklong
series of interactive workshops in Milan, during which we will schedule
on-site lectures, and tour mills to illustrate the ways traditional,
established Italian companies are adopting new, responsible business
practices and what that means for creativity. That will be for students
and, later in July, we will host a week program for industry
professionals.”
“It is bringing renewed pride to the country’s exceptional
fashion-manufacturing tradition, setting them once again on the cutting
edge of innovation and allowing them to be competitive. Factories that have
been in place for over a hundred years are conserving water, installing
solar panels; it’s the new generation of Italian manufacturing. We’re
seeing the same thing happening in Japan, where the younger generation,
maybe the great grandson of the founder is leading the business forward.
None of the creativity is being compromised and there is a new
optimism.”
For information on the C.L.A.S.S. workshops and initiatives, please
consult their website http://www.classecohub.org/
By contributing guest editor Jackie Mallon, who is on the teaching
faculty of several NYC fashion programmes and is the author of Silk for the
Feed Dogs, a novel set in the international fashion industry.