Citrus fruit can be transformed into a silk-like twill; Photo courtesy of Ferragamo
Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo is demonstrating its dedication to sustainability with the first apparel collection created from fabric derived from citrus fruits.
Ferragamo’s Orange Fiber Collection is a project rooted in sustainability and innovation, ahead of international Earth Day celebrations April 22. Using Orange Fiber, a patent with “an all-Italian soul,” Ferragamo has designed a capsule of exclusive prints using the citrus fruit fabric.
Orange is the new green
As consumer tastes have changed there has been a green-fashion movement that aims to lessen the environmental impact of apparel creation, and when possible, avoid the use of animal skins and leathers.
The Orange Fiber Collection marries Ferragamo’s Italian craftsmanship and design with innovative research to create a truly sustainable fabric from natural origin.
Ferragamo is the first brand to use the exclusive Orange Fiber fabric in its designs, a twill similar in look and feel to silk.
Piece included in Ferragamo's Orange Fiber Collection
Orange Fiber was developed by Adriana Santonocito and Enrica Arena while both were students at the Polytechnic University of Milan, who has supported their idea through its development.
The sustainable fabric begins with the peels of citrus fruits after they have been juiced. In Italy alone, discarded fruit rinds create more than 700,000 tons of by-product. As of press time, Orange Fiber holds an Italian patent that was then extended to the United States, Brazil, India, Mexico and the European Union.
For the collection, Ferragamo asked Mario Trimarchi, an architect and free-hand designer to create the first Orange Fiber prints, using the Mediterranean as an influence. Mr. Trimarchi’s prints for Ferragamo evoke the region’s nature and flowers and features a theme of intense shadows.
Ferragamo has used the Orange Fiber print for a collection of shirts, dresses, pants and foulards.
Prints for Ferragamo's Orange Fiber Collection were developed by Mario Trimarchi
Brands across the luxury landscape are doing more to educate consumers on where and how clothes are manufactured.
Earlier this year, British department store chain Selfridges put focus on sustainable clothing with a series of consumer-facing education initiatives and a special collection.
Selfridges partnered together on a capsule collection with yarn manufacture Tengri, which launched in London Jan. 9. Selfridges' Material World campaign is being showcased through a window display in its Oxford location, along with a series of consumer engagements to educate on sustainability (see story).