Events

“Ethical” Fashion – Pinko Bag for Ethiopia

On February 21st, at the beginning of the Milan fashion week, Pietro Negra, president of Pinko brand, and Franca Sozzani, editor in chief of Vogue Italia, presented the Pinko Bag for Ethiopia, an ethical-friendly capsule collection, with a cocktail event at the Gian Galeazzo Visconti Studio in Corso Monforte.
 
 
 
 

Guests and celebrities could see and touch the iconic handbags that have marked the history of the brand, re-styled for the occasion by Marina Spadafora, experimental designer of Milanese fashion. In the late 90s she felt the need to re-establish the human and professional codes of the entire fashion system, embarking on the path of sustainability to enhance the productive realities of the Third World. In line with her ethical fashion vision, the six Pinko Bags for Ethiopia are made in an eco-sustainable factory in Addis Abeba where work only women. On the locally made cotton are printed several graphic patterns inspired by the body paintings of the indigenous of the Omo Valley (not yet reached by “civilization” and threatened with extinction). Each design expresses the social value and the personality of every single individual, but is short-lived because the natives use to plunge into the river to clean colors and design new figures again.

 
Example of the body painting in the Omo Valley Ethiopia – Credits: Ariadne Van Zandbergen
 
 
The set of the party was characterized by the video projections on the walls; suspended installations hanging bags and vaguely reminiscent of the “mobiles” series by Alexander Calder, as well as dummies made of the same printed fabric of the bags. In the last room, smaller and more intimate, there was a sort of invitation to reflection with the documentary video directed by Jordan Stone shot in the Ethiopian population.
 
 
 
  
Matteo Ceccarini at the DJ set
 
 
Part of the proceeds from the sale of the capsule collection will be donated to the Fashion for Development project, for the development of the Third World countries through fashion. In this way Pinko doesn’t do charity, but gives a real opportunity for the Ethiopian women who work in the factory, contributing to their economic autonomy and regaining their respect in the society.
 
 
Alessandro Masetti – The Fashion Commentator
Special thanks to Pinko

Italian architect into fashion. Art curator in love with books, flea markets and interior design.

21 Comments on ““Ethical” Fashion – Pinko Bag for Ethiopia

  1. Ciao Ale, mi è dispiaciuto non essere riuscita a passare. Ricordo benissimo i primi anni 2000 e le borse più ambite di quel momento, ovvero quelle di Pinko. Io ero piccina e mia mamma non mi accontentò quindi non potrei mai dimenticarmene 😀
    Che bello incontrarti di persona alla MFW, spero di rivederti presto. Un bacio!

  2. le borse sono carine , le intenzioni lodevoli, ma perchè non si fa come nel Burkina Faso o in Marocco per l’olio di argan ( che io conosco)dove sono state fatte delle cooperative dove le donne possono lavorare e vengono assistite nella commercializzazione dei loro prodotti ….questi si che sono aiuti reali, un progetto di crescita economica e culturale che porta ad una reale integrazione.

    ave

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