eco-fashion

Manuel Arnaut and Livia Firth at the screening of the Renaissance Awards movie at Expo 2020 Dubai
This January marks the beginning of my third year as sustainability editor-at-large. When Manuel Arnaut asked me to join him, I immediately said yes, full of excitement to start exploring new territories, meet new audiences, and learn new fashionscapes. I met Manuel by accident when I was in Dubai in 2019 for Chopard, the luxury jewelry and watch brand Eco-Age has worked with for many years (and proudly so, since together we achieved a 100% ethical gold supply chain in only five years) and we instantly clicked. Manuel is open and curious and adventurous – everything you want from your editor-in-chief. I was in the emirate again this past December to screen The Renaissance Awards movie at the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and we started chatting about sustainabilty and fashion, so to open 2022, I wanted to know what, if anything, had changed in Manuel’s sustainability journey. This is how the conversation went.
The Italian pavilion
Livia Firth: What does sustainable fashion mean to you and how has your journey evolved?Manuel Arnaut: One of the things that I learned through our collaboration is that sustainable fashion is not only about the ecological side, it’s also related to the way the clothes are produced, and to the people in the supply chain. I’ve also discovered sustainable fashion is full of great solutions for things that we haven’t even thought about – for instance, the floor of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is made with discarded orange peel. The world of sustainability is full of beautiful opportunities. It can be glamorous and couture and high fashion, and this is what is exciting for me now.
LF: What’s your personal style, and if I open your wardrobe today, what would I find?MA: My personal style is quite basic, I usually dress in black, so you’ll find a lot of black staples. I prefer to buy less and to buy pieces that I can wear for longer. This is something that I know is now a trend, but I’ve always gone for staples, like a black blazer, pants, and shoes; items you can wear again and again and that you can also mix and match, as I travel a lot and it just makes my packing easier.
The Italian pavilion
LF: What is the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion, do you think?MA: I think the challenges are two: one side is to push trends, and to believe in the power of sustainable brands and fashion and to investing in production so people love their clothes for longer and respect supply chains. The second challenge is explaining to our leaders and consumers the importance of making more conscious decisions. There are a lot of people around the world who end up buying fast fashion because it’s what they can afford. This is also something we need to think about. How can everyone have access to sustainable fashion? Another thing I learned from you is that a lot of people also buy fast fashion because they love to turn around their looks fast, so they consume at a higher rate. This is something we, at Vogue Arabia, need to address too, as we are part of this machine.
LF: You travel a lot for work. What have you noticed in how different countries and fashion weeks perceive sustainability?MA: I think there’s a big change in the world in general in terms of ethical fashion. But at the same time, all those promises that were made during Covid – that the shows were going to be smaller and fashion weeks were going to be fewer days – unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. I see the fashion events and shows being as big as before, if not more… What was promised during Covid is not being delivered. It would be nice to see some of the promises being honored.
The Sustainability pavilion at Expo2020 Dubai
LF: We have nine years left to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global heating to 1.5C. What do you think the role of fashion is, or how can we use fashion to educate citizens?MA: Taking into consideration that fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, I think we have a big responsibility in getting to this target. So definitely, fashion needs to start by solving its overproduction problem, and continue to improve the supply chain and respecting the people in it. In terms of how we can use fashion to educate citizens, I think it’s also citizens that need to educate fashion, so I would ask everyone to be attentive to what they buy. Read the labels, get informed, and understand where the clothes are coming from, how they are produced, what they are produced with, and then make choices that will reflect in the success or not of the brand. Because unfortunately brands are driven mostly by numbers, so if we are able to give better numbers to the ones that are doing things properly, the industry will change.
LF: And with this mission in mind – to give better numbers to sustainable brands – we start 2022. Happy new year all!
Originally published in the January 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia
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Denim is one of the most environmentally destructive fabrics to produce, from its massive thirst for water to the pollution left in its wake. Livia Firth speaks to Alberto Candiani, owner of Italian manufacturer Candiani Denim, to find out if there’s a different way to go blue
Photography: Carla Guler

The first time I met Alberto Candiani, the fourth- generation owner of the family-run Candiani Denim, I was completely struck by his passion, knowledge, scientific research, and deep need to know every single part of his denim’s supply chain. What I did not expect was to also meet a heavy metal DJ and that we would end up talking about how to plant a denim garden.”
LIVIA FIRTH: Alberto, I love the story of Candiani’s sustainability journey starting from a garden… or better, from a nature reserve.
ALBERTO CANDIANI: Yes! Candiani was born in 1938 in the little town of Robecchetto, where Parco del Ticino nature reserve was founded in the 70s. This meant that for every decision, they had strict rules and restrictions. That forced us to become efficient and sustainable, long before the word “sustainability” was widely used. If you talk to my dad, he would say that efficiency is the grammar of sustainability. And I agree, because if you are efficient, it means you’re also sustainable, or at least that you have that type of proposition. As a consequence of that, we also had to become pure innovators.
Alberto Candiani

LF: What has been the driving force behind your innovation, research, and development? Was it always about becoming more sustainable and more environmentally friendly, or were you also driven by design? 
AC: We were driven by a vision, for sure. Innovation goes into the ingredients and the process. You want to use less water, less chemicals, less energy, and you don’t want to compromise the quality of what you do. And in order to do so, you have to invest in new technologies, you need to invest in the people, you have to have ideas, and you have to make those things real. We are driven by a need for improvement.
The Candiani Dyeing Department

LF: Tell me about the two technologies that you are the proudest of in terms of sustainability
AC: Number one is Coreva, our bio-stretch technology, which is the only bio-based and biodegradable stretch technology available in the market. We are basically replacing common synthetic elastomers with a plant-based elastomer. The circular idea is to use that fabric or that garment at the end of its lifecycle to bio-fertilize the cotton that it’s made of again. This is full circularity, which five years ago I was told by a scientific committee was not possible. And now it’s possible, it’s demonstrated, and it is scalable. We launched it in 2019 with selected R&D partners like Denham and Stella McCartney, and in January 2021 we’ll scale the production. Another technology I’m proud of is Kitotex, which we licenced exclusively for the denim world. It utilizes chitosan, which is a bio-based and biodegradable polymer, to replace the liquid plastic normally applied on the yarns in order to weave them when you create the fabric. So Candiani is going plastic free. I’m giving up on even recycled plastic right now. No nylons – they’re just not needed for what we do. I’m also looking more into microplastics and liquid plastics, which are just as bad. We are cleaning up both the process and product to become plastic and micro-plastic free.
The Denham x Candiani Collaboration Makes Use Of Coreva Bio-Stretch Technology

LF: So, in a few years’ time, you could literally fertilize a field of denim with all the old denim that has been produced in this way?
AC: This is the idea. This is why Coreva is so important. It is revolutionary. We’ve even bio-fertilized fields of cotton with our scraps.
LF: You not only know exactly where your cotton comes from, but you have strong opinions about organic cotton versus non-organic, and you look into the supply chain very carefully. Why is that so important?
AC: I like to go and visit those fields that I get the cotton from myself and I like to have a direct relationship with the farmers. I care about the quality, the provenance, how it’s made, how it’s grown. Cotton is a very intensive plant to grow, but it’s been demonized too much lately. It is water consuming, true, but more than 65% of cotton grows because it rains. Sometimes it grows in specific areas of the world where you cannot plant other stuff, and it becomes a fundamental crop for the local agricultural rotation.
LF: You supply denim to lots of different brands. But lately you have decided to explore another business model: producing Candiani’s own custom-made brand of jeans. What’s the idea behind this?
AC: Our store in Milan is going to be a made-to-measure store with wide customization opportunities. The idea is to satisfy a question I’ve been asked so many times: Where do I buy the perfect pair of jeans? When you come here, we take your measurements, and we produce your perfect pair of jeans in only four hours. We will tell you about the Italian origins of denim, which not many know – it was invented 500 years ago in the city of Genoa.
LF: Will you also put a little DJ booth in the new store? Because I know you’re passionate about music…
AC: It’s pretty much gone now! With two kids and one coming… But when I find time to write some music or to produce it, I still go to the studio and I’m still loving it, even though the DJ career is over, and my band is over.
LF: But this is what we can do in the new store! You get to go for a dance with your perfect pair of jeans.
AC: I like the idea. Apart from the fact that you may not like my music, Livia… It’s quite heavy metal.
LF: Oh no! OK, forget about the last part of us dancing then…
Photographs Carla Guler
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Originally published in the December 2020 Issue of  Vogue Arabia