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Exhibition concept
Stefania Ricci
Promoted and organized by
Comune di Firenze
Fondazione Ferragamo,
Florence
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo,
Florence
In collaboration with
MUS.E
Museo di Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence
Museo Novecento, Florence
With the patronage of
Ministero per i Beni
e le Attività Culturali
Regione Toscana
Supported by
SBAPSAE FI-PT-PO
Curated by
Giusy Bettoni
Arabella S. Natalini
Stefania Ricci
Sara Sozzani Maino
Marina Spadafora
Installation design
Guicciardini&Magni Architetti
Studio Associato
Clothes installation
CIVITA Group. Opera
Laboratori Fiorentini, Florence
(Simona Fulceri)
Exhibition graphics
RovaiWeber design
Interviews
Rocco Gurrieri
Video editing
Daniele Tommaso
Art & Interaction design
Contents curated by
Hakan Karaosman,
Politecnico di Milano
Graphics and technology
InformaSistemi
With the contribution of
the students of Liceo Classico
Michelangiolo, Florence,
coordinated by Professor
Stefano Fabbri Bertoletti
in collaboration with
Fondazione Ferragamo:
Olimpia Ariani, Diletta
Bassilichi, Giasmina D’Angelo,
Lavinia Dacci, Ginevra Focone,
Ilaria Galarducci, Carolina
Gentili, Martina Gentili, Nicola
Giambalvo Del Ben, Valentina
Giordani, Lodovica Mannocci
Galeotti, Alessandra Menaldi,
Federica Menaldi, Francesca
Montemagni, Linda Pierucci,
Costanza Spolverini, Abrahm
Wyni, Guglielmo Zoli
Coordination of
organizational secretariat
Chiara Fucci
Paola Gusella
Organizational secretariat
Ludovica Barabino
Francesca Coronella
Gregorio Gabellieri
Maria Rosa Ventimiglia
Shipping
Apice Firenze
Insurance
AON S.p.A. Insurance &
Reinsurance Broker, Florence
Technical sponsors
AON S.p.A. Insurance &
Reinsurance Broker, Florence
Apice Firenze
Bonaveri Unipersonale
Other venues
LUCY+JORGE ORTA
Sala delle Udienze, Museo di
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence
12 April – 4 July 2019
Curated by
Arabella S. Natalini
Stefania Ricci
Sergio Risaliti
ROOM AND PERMANENT
COLLECTION
LUCY+JORGE ORTA
Museo Novecento, Florence
12 April – 4 July 2019
Curated by
Arabella S. Natalini
Stefania Ricci
Sergio Risaliti
PARADIGM. THE
BAUBOTANIK
ARCHITECT’S TABLE
Museo Novecento, Florence
12 April – 4 July 2019
Curated by
Laura Andreini
Francesca Neri
Luca Puri
Sergio Risaliti
THE WALL
SOS SCHOOL OF
SUSTAINABILITY
Museo Novecento, Florence
12 April – 4 July 2019
Curated by
Laura Andreini
Eva Francioli
Sergio Risaliti
Stefania Rispoli
CINEMA
In Between Art Film
Before We Vanish
Museo Novecento, Florence
12 April – 4 July 2019
Concept
Beatrice Bulgari
Curated by
Paola Ugolini
Coordination and
organization
MUS.E
Insurance
Strategica Group
Technical sponsor
Apice Firenze
SYMPOSIUM
A TALK ON
SUSTAINABILITY AND
THE FUTURE OF FASHION
Salone dei Cinquecento,
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence
10 April 2019
The exhibitions at Palazzo
Vecchio and Museo
Novecento and the
Symposium were made
possible with the support
of Intesa Sanpaolo
Catalogue
Electa
Edited by
Stefania Ricci
General coordination
Chiara Fucci
Paola Gusella
Maria Rosa Ventimiglia
Image and graphic design
RovaiWeber design
Translations
Oona Smyth and
Lauren Sunstein on behalf
of Scriptum, Rome
Photographs of clothes
and interviewees
Irene Montini
Photographs of artworks
and fabrics
Arrigo Coppitz
SUSTAINABLE THINKING
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
Palazzo Spini Feroni, Florence
12 April 2019 – 8 March 2020
Acknowledgements
This exhibition project would
not have been possible
without the unconditional
support of the Mayor of
Florence, Dario Nardella,
the Ferragamo family, the
Salvatore Ferragamo company
and Intesa Sanpaolo
The exhibitions curators
and catalogue authors
wish to thank
Ministero per i Beni e le
Attività Culturali
Regione Toscana
Comune di Firenze
Fondazione Ferragamo and
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo,
who promoted and organized
this exhibition project, as well
as museums, institutions
and private collections taking
part in the project:
Aerocene Foundation, Berlin
Agenzia Lane d’Italia, Biella
Cittadellarte – Fondazione
Pistoletto Onlus, Biella
Durini Archive and Collection,
Bolognano
Fondazione Centro Studi
Piero Gilardi, Turin
Galleria Continua, San
Gimignano / Beijing / Les
Moulins / Habana
Mostra permanente del
Ricamo di Tavarnelle,
Canonica di San Pietro
in Bossolo
Museo Civico della Paglia,
Signa
Pinksummer Contemporary
Art, Genoa
The participating artists:
Paola Anziché
El Anatsui
Salvatore Arancio
Baubotanik (Hannes
Schwertfeger and Oliver Storz)
Mario Cucinella
Sheila Hicks
Rä di Martino
Piero Gilardi
Jose Guerrero with
Antonio Blanco
Sigalit Landau
Masbedo
Elena Mazzi
Lucy+Jorge Orta
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Janis Rafa
Oliver Ressler
Tomás Saraceno
Pascale Marthine Tayou
Ari Versluis & Ellie
Uyttenbroek
The fashion designers:
Paul Andrew for Salvatore
Ferragamo
Nathalie Ballout
Alberto Brandoli for
Progetto Quid
Cangiari
Romina Cardillo for Nous
Etudions
Luisa Cevese
Lucía Chain for CHAIN
Maria Cornejo for
Zero+Maria Cornejo
Rosario Dawson and Abrima
Erwiah for Studio 189
Maria Sole Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo
Eileen Fisher
Javier Goyeneche for Ecoalf
Tiziano Guardini and
Barbara Mugnai
Sylvia Heisel for Heisel
Shinichiro Ishibashi for KUON
Stella Jean
Katie Jones
Flavia La Rocca
Hoh Pabissi
Lilla Pápai for Wyhoys
Christopher Raeburn for
RÆBURN
Mats Rombaut for Rombaut
Adriana Santanocito and
Enrica Arena (Orange Fiber)
for Salvatore Ferragamo
Cameron Saul and Oliver
Wayman for Bottletop
Laura Strambi
Matteo Thiela
Angus Tsui
Hellen van Rees
Andrea Verdura
Matteo Ward, Victor Santiago
and Silvia Giovanardi
for WRÅD
Bethany Williams
The companies that have
contributed sustainable fabrics
and materials for the exhbition:
Ananas Anam
Asahi Kasei Corp.
Brunello S.p.A.
Camira Fabrics
Clerici Tessuto & C. S.p.A.
Casa Clementina di Sissi
Castellano e Stefano
Panconesi
Ereena
Felice De Palma S.n.c.
Filatura C4 S.r.l.
Filpucci S.p.A.
Filz Torino Feltri S.n.c.
FLOCUS™
Fratelli Piacenza S.p.A.
Frumat S.r.l.
Fulgar S.p.A.
Green Line
Gruppocinque S.p.A.
Iluna Group S.p.A.
Lanificio Bisentino S.p.A.
Maeko S.r.l. Tessuti & Filati
Naturali
Maglificio Ripa S.p.A.
Manifatture Italiane
Scudieri S.r.l.
Mapel
Marchi & Fildi
Mectex S.p.A.
mYak
Nuova Fratelli Boretti S.r.l.
Orange Fiber S.r.l.
Organic Cotton Colours
Pozzi Electa S.p.A.
Prodotti Alfa S.r.l.
Rifinizione Santo
Stefano S.p.A.
Solvay
Sinterama S.p.A.
Tessitura Serica
A.M. Taborelli S.r.l.
TINTEX Textiles
Torcitura Lei Tsu S.r.l.
Trevira GmbH
Vegea S.r.l.
Villani Leonello S.n.c.
Chiara Vigo
We especially wish to thank:
Giuseppe Abatista, Cristina
Acidini Luchinat, Rosalba
Acquaviva, Giuseppe Anichini,
Alessandro Arvalli, Michaela
Asanger, Sara Azzone,
Annalisa Baroni, Chiara Baroni,
Deborah Belfiore, Surya
Bellandi, Valeria Bellantoni,
Duccio Benedetti, Antonella
Berruti, Viviana Bertanzetti,
Andrea Bianchi, Filippo Bigi,
Veronica Bogao, Enrico Carlo
Bonanate, Teti Bonsignore,
Andrea Brugnoni, Alberto
Bruno, Marco Brusamolin,
Giacomo Bucciarelli, Laura
Buonocore, Lorenzo Calcinai,
Laura Camilloni, Andrea
Cammarosano, Letizia
Campana, Pia Canales, Lucia
Cantini, Geny Carannae,
Angela Carraro, Yuri Cavallini,
Gel Ceccarelli, Michele
Cecchini, Elena Chiti, Giulia
Ciappi, Filippo Cilia, Flavia
Corridori, Alessandro Corsi,
Rita Corsini, Santo Costanzo,
Alessia Cucci, Giovanna
Cucciniello, Martina Danesi,
Baronessa Lucrezia De
Domizio Durini, Deianira
De Maio, Silvia De Pisapia,
Candela Diaz, Luciano
Dimotta, Fabio Di Nicola,
Daria D’Onofrio, Giorgio
D’Orazio, Giulia Ermini,
Giuseppe Fais, Viola Fantoni,
James Ferragamo, Renato
Ferri Pacini, Lorenzo Fiaschi,
Stefano Fiordi, Letizia
Franceschini, Carlo Francini,
Furio Francini, Carla Francioni,
Stefano Fratini, Simone
Frosecchi, Roberta Gabucci,
Angelo Galliotto, Ludovica
Gallo Orsi, Giovanna Gavosto,
Elisa Ghelardi, Michelangelo
Giombini, Monia Granatelli,
Riccardo Grassi, Marco
Graziano, Aldo Innocenti, Li
Jun, Kenji Kawasumi, Paolo
La Morgia, Serena Lavarone,
Alessandro Lemmo, Maria
Teresa Leoncino, Anna-
Mari Leppisari, Marcello
Lin, Claudia Lubatti,
Patrizia Maggia, Antonella
Maggiorelli, Chiara Magini,
Elodie Maincent, Margherita
Maino, Giovanni Manfredi,
Chantal Marchetti, Claudio
Marenco Mores, Maria
Giovanna Marletti, Eliana
Marsico, Frédéric Martin
Bernard, Roberta Masucci,
Elena Materia, Tamu
McPherson, Guillaume
Meilland, Germana Mentil,
Francesca Meozzi, Stefano
Miglio, Marco Milanesi, Luca
Minghi, Simone Monticelli,
Mirna Moretti, Tiziano
Mugnai, Luca Mugnaini,
Luigi Mulas De Bois, Paola
Musso, Andrea Nardi,
Valentina Nenciolini, Momoko
Okusa, Chiara Onniboni,
Giorgio Paoletti, Mita Papi,
Fabrizio Paschina, Daniele
Pasquini, Oriana Pastore,
Silvia Penna, Francesca
Pennone, Matteo Persivale,
Marco Pesciullesi, Serena
Pini, Gianni Piolanti, Giuseppe
Poeta, Anna Raggioli, Barbara
Rapaccini, Alessia Ravaldi,
Marzia Ricchieri, Carolina
Riccieri, Patrizia Rinaldi, Kerol
Rocco, Livia Romoli Venturi,
Linda Rosellini, Tommaso
Sacchi, Irene Saladino,
Stefano Salvatici, Giacomo
Sandretti, Francesca Santoro,
Massimo Sanzani, Fabrizio
Saska, Letizia Schatzinger,
Elisabetta Schinchiarol,
David Seagel, Marisa Selfa,
Massimo Senesi, Davide
Serufilli, Laura Sheu, Francois
Souchet, Matteo Spanò, Olivia
Spinelli, Massimiliano Tellini,
Aureliè Tiffreau, Tommaso
Tombelli, Federico Tonsa,
Laura Trambusti, Lia Trovelli,
Cristian Tumidei, Ginevra
Vaggelli, Carmela Valdevies,
Riccardo Vannetti, Danilo
Venturi, Mimì Vila, Yoshikazu
Yagamata, Yu Ying, Kotoha
Yokozawa, Tian Yujin, Prisco
Zanardi, Ludovica Zarrilli,
Alessandro Zuri
All the private collectors who
wished to remain anonymous.
Matteo Pucci for his help with
the set for the photo shoot.
Special thanks to the
young women of the
textile workshop in the San
Patrignano Community. Under
the guidance of Barbara
Guarducci, with enthusiasm
and professionalism they
made the sustainable
tapestries displayed in the
Salvatore Ferragamo shop
windows in Florence.
Our gratitude to Veronica
Tonini, Livia Mazzoni and the
Salvatore Ferragamo Green
Team, responsible for the
sustainable initiatives within
the company, and to all those
who have enthusiastically
collaborated on the exhibition
projects.
Our heartfelt thanks to Andrea
Bonaveri for kindly making
available the biodegradable
mannequins used in
the exhibition.
To Green Media Lab for the
Symposium communication.
To AON S.p.A. Insurance &
Reinsurance, Florence for
their technical sponsorship.
The Museo Novecento
expresses its gratitude to
Manifattura Tabacchi for their
support in the realization of
Paradigm. The Baubotanik
Architect’s Table
010 ⁄ Sustainable Thinking Stefania Ricci
016 ⁄ The Materials of Independence Sofia Gnoli
032 ⁄ Sustainability: New Paradigms for the Fashion Sector Francesca Romana Rinaldi
038 ⁄ Luxury Fashion to Spread Ethical & Environmental Stewardship Hakan Karaosman
047 ⁄ Fashion is About Beauty, Passion and Creativity Ellen MacArthur
048 ⁄ Sustainable Thinking in Fashion Sara Sozzani Maino
Marina Spadafora
058 ⁄ Responsible Innovation: A History of Materials Giusy Bettoni
070 ⁄ The Culture of Diversity Stefania Ricci
074 ⁄ Towards a Sustainable Art: Works and Visions Arabella S. Natalini
084 ⁄ Can Art Save the World? Sergio Risaliti
090 ⁄ San Patrignano: Weaving the Future Barbara Guarducci
098 ⁄ 1 ⁄ ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
110 ⁄ 2 ⁄ SALVATORE FERRAGAMO AND HIS MATERIALS 130 ⁄ 3 ⁄ TRANSFORMATION
188 ⁄ 4 ⁄ CRAFTSMANSHIP AND SOCIAL FASHION
212 ⁄ 5 ⁄ INTERWEAVINGS
226 ⁄ 6 ⁄ SOCIAL INNOVATION
232 ⁄ 7 ⁄ INNOVATION
286 ⁄ 8 ⁄ ART, TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE
294 ⁄ 9 ⁄ THE CULTURE OF DIVERSITY
306 ⁄ 10 ⁄ BACK TO NATURE
345 ⁄ LUCY +JORGE ORTA AT THE MUSEO DI PALAZZO VECCHIO AND MUSEO NOVECENTO
353 ⁄ BAUBOTANIK SOS SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BETWEEN ART FILM BEFORE WE VANISH
Contents
Sustaina-
ble Think-
ing The 1987 Brundtland Report defines the term “sustainable development” as the ability of
man to meet “the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of fu-
ture generations to meet their own needs”, whereby the future quality of life would not be
inferior to present levels.
This definition clearly shows that this human “ability” is a global challenge that can only be
tackled by means of concerted structured actions that are both profound and wide-ranging.
In fact, this vision is not limited to production methods but also implies a greater focus on
the environment overall: from the energy used to the amount of waste, from the choice of
raw materials to workers’ health. The presence of all of these factors entails the need for
a holistic approach in which anthropocentrism stops endangering the conservation of re-
sources and the ecological equilibrium of the planet.
Nonetheless, given that the point of view is inevitably that of humans, this equilibrium must
be restored and maintained beginning with humans, considering their quality of life, of work,
and their relations within a fragile, threatened ecosystem.
It is becoming increasingly necessary and urgent to change our mindset at every level as
part of a process generated by a more aware and shared way of thinking that is capable of
engendering new strategies of development and co-existence.
The project
Starting in April 2019, the Sustainable Thinking project includes a series of exhibitions and
collateral initiatives involving the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence and other public
institutions of the city with the aim of offering food for thought on an issue of vital impor-
tance for the future and suggestions for a paradigm shift, focusing specifically on the world
of fashion, art, and architecture.Stefania Ricci
11
Bonaveri biodegradable mannequins made from BPlast and BPaint patented in 2016
In fact, the area of sustainability is one being explored by many
artists. Some have focused on a more thoughtful relationship
with nature, the use of organic materials and upcycling of ma-
terials or on the relationship between nature and technology,
while others believe in the importance of a collective commit-
ment to refounding society overall.
There is an increasing tendency in the field of architecture to
design and construct buildings with a reduced environmental
footprint, respecting ecological principles and the need for
sustainable development.
The fashion industry, on the other hand, has for some years now
consciously tackled sustainability as a positive challenge that
is not just capable of meeting consolidated consumption de-
mands but also of offering new opportunities for responsible in-
novation to a selected international clientele. It does so through
the experimentation of a new generation of young designers as
well as through innovative approaches adopted by luxury brands
with a consolidated market presence. Research has led to the
design of new high-performance ecological materials and to the
optimization of production processes reducing water and ener-
gy consumption, use of toxic substances, and waste production,
which is extremely high in this particular industrial sector.
For the Salvatore Ferragamo brand, investing in sustainable
development is believing that the use of innovative materials,
links with the local area, respect for the environment and of
workers are all key to the company’s success. Sustainabili-
ty may also be the best way of keeping faith with the values
transmitted by the company’s Founder who first began exper-
imenting with natural and unusual materials in the 1920s, as
part of his philosophy aiming to consolidate the physical and
psychological wellbeing of his clients.
The project is just one of the many activities placing the Mai-
son Ferragamo at the forefront of luxury lifestyle brands that
have embraced the path of transparency and ethics.
The aim of Sustainable Thinking is not so much to present an
exhaustive overview of “sustainable practices” as to highlight
some of the most significant contemporary artistic experienc-
es in this area, flanking them – in dialogue and resonance – with
the main research areas being investigated in the context of
sustainable fashion design and materials sourcing.
The exhibition presents materials, works, and clothes that
have been created recently and/or especially for the occa-
sion, projects intended to exemplify and articulate the multi-
ple, indispensable forms of the “ethics and aesthetics of sus-
tainability” in an easy-to-understand format for all visitors,
who are offered the possibility of interacting with the themes
examined instead of just observing them.
The exhibitors invited to participate – artists, textile and yarn
manufacturers, and fashion designers all from different gener-
ations and geographic areas – offer a plurality of gazes, each of
which, in its own special way, focuses on alternative production
processes capable of inspiring new projects that can enhance
the difference, using new technologies rather than submit-
ting to them, adopting a glocal approach and safeguarding
our ecosystem.
Is this a utopian vision? Maybe. But it is also a very realistic
perspective because it is both necessary and urgent, requir-
ing the mobilization of the most creative forces in every field,
especially in the creative hothouse of everyday artistic and
aesthetic practices, where fashion is a very active player, in
the conviction that they can make a decisive contribution to
shaping a more equitable, sustainable world. An invitation to
take care of the future by starting with the present.
The project was developed with the support of a scientific
committee of experts, scholars, and art historians with ex-
tensive knowledge on issues linked to sustainability as well as
of a series of curators responsible for the different sections.
The project will involve an exhibition at the Museo Salvatore
Ferragamo and other initiatives in prestigious venues in Flor-
ence, including Palazzo Vecchio, which is not just the City Hall
but also one of Florence’s historic landmarks, and the Museo
Novecento.
Collateral exhibitions and events
The exhibition at the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo opens with
an introductive section on the theme of sustainability and
environmental pollution. A series of easily consultable touch-
screens present content curated by Hakan Karaosman, lec-
turer in Luxury Management at the Politecnico di Milano, illus-
trating the main changes underway in the world of fashion, with
the support of statistics, diagrams, text, images, and videos.
A large site-specific installation by Pascale Marthine Tayou im-
merses visitors in a plastic-contaminated landscape: despite
being an explicit condemnation, it also contains a message of
hope celebrating the continuity of life. Also in this room is a
section paying homage to Joseph Beuys, the great German
artist of the second half of the twentieth century, pioneering
explorer of environmental, political, and cultural trends; it fea-
tures a number of works belonging to his Defense of Nature,
an initiative begun in 1972 and continuing until 1985 by means
of different projects, many of which carried out in Italy, on the
farm belonging to the Baron and Baroness Durini in Bologna-
no (Pescara). These works have been preserved thanks to
the personal commitment of Lucrezia De Domizio Durini, who
has continued to keep Beuys’ inheritance alive and who has
generously agreed to collaborate with our initiative.
The common theme running through the following section of
the exhibition is that of materials, beginning with those used
by Salvatore Ferragamo during the period of autarky, albeit for
very different reasons to those inspiring today’s companies to
carry out R&D in materials. The display features a variety of
celebrated models of shoes made by Ferragamo in the 1930s
and 1940s, grouped by material – leather, fabric, lace, and nat-
ural fibres – rather than chronologically.
The next section, Transformation, includes works of art, yarns,
textiles, clothing, and accessories produced using a variety of
materials – from the luxurious to the everyday – that would all
have reached the end of their life cycles if they had not been
transformed into quality products through a combination of
technology and creativity, thus complying with the concept
of circular economy. This section also focuses on the role
of craftsmanship in processes of reuse, contributing to the
rediscovery of long-forgotten traditional skills that can offer
local communities a source of income and means to social
affirmation.
An important part of the exhibition is dedicated to innovation,
introducing one of today’s key themes, that of interdisciplinary
research where science, responsibility, and aesthetics come
together to create something new. As well as showcasing gar-
ments and new generation textiles, the exhibition also displays
a number of projects by Tomás Saraceno, an artist and archi-
tect engaged in long-standing collaborations with biologists,
astrophysicists, engineers, and architects who have produced
sculptures and installations responding to global ecological is-
sues. They include his Aerosolar cycle and Aerosolar Journeys,
flight projects that use the earth’s natural thermal currents
to lift up lighter-than-air structures, documented by a video
describing these experiments and by a backpack containing
everything needed to make a sculpture fly and to allow the
individual owner to begin to explore the skies.
Obviously, one of the sections was dedicated to natural mate-
rials. A widespread return to nature has led to the rediscovery
of native wools, which fell out of favour for clothing use a long
time ago, and of nettles, whose bast fibres were abandoned
when “intelligent” synthetic fibres appeared on the scene. The
rediscovery of this plant, as of materials like cork and hemp,
has been accompanied by the recovery of ancient cultivation
systems and of artisan processes that had all but disappeared.
This section of the exhibition is highly interactive, giving vis-
itors the opportunity to try on garments made from natural
fibres and to feel their consistency, weight, and unique handle.
The artworks on display here are by two great Italian artists,
Piero Gilardi and Michelangelo Pistoletto, both known for their
strong social conscience and for their particular focus on the
relationship between humans and nature.
When looking at its growth prospects, a truly responsible and
sustainable enterprise must ensure that it integrates into its
daily running a series of social goals that take into account
workers’ rights, favouring the development of their skills and
respecting diversity. In a global world like today, this means
embracing differences in religious belief and culture, sexual
orientation, age and gender, skin colour, and disability. As well
as being important from an ethical viewpoint, embracing di-
versity not only improves the image projected by companies
but also creates an environment where everyone feels at ease
and can express themselves freely, leading to less stress and
an improved work performance in general. And that is not all.
Understanding and including diversity contributes to innova-
tion and change because they make it possible to enhance
different points of view.
Ellie Uyttenbroek and Ari Versluis, two Dutch artists who have
been exploring these themes for the past twenty years, were
asked to represent the positive value of diversity with their
work Exactitudes, a photographic project involving all the staff
at Salvatore Ferragamo over the past months.
And it is the diffusion of this sustainable thinking, more than
the results obtained up to this moment, and which can still
be improved thanks to the progress made by technology,
that is the main aim of Sustainable Thinking, an initiative first
conceived in 2018 by the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo and
launched through the involvement, in both the main project
and collateral events, of all the people working for Ferragamo.
The staff enthusiastically agreed to devote time and energy
to the project, fully aware of the importance of the message
being communicated – not only for the success of the brand
for which they work but also for the future of the new genera-
tions. With the aim of making the entire Ferragamo world feel
like an active part of this philosophy, a competition was held at
the end of the year asking everyone working in the company to
create a slogan of no more than four words on the theme of en-
vironmental sustainability and social responsibility. Hundreds
of slogans were submitted and votes were made online by the
Ferragamo staff and by an internal jury made up of Millennials.
Another competition involving junior stylists was held with the
aim of creating a capsule collection of accessories made from
sustainable materials for men and women. The results were
judged by an international jury made up of journalists, experts,
and influencers, which chose the work of two young design-
ers, Flavia Corridori and Luciano Dimotta, who designed a
backpack, a shopping bag, and men and women’s sneakers
made from chrome- and metal-free tanned leather with soles
made from natural rubber and cork. The multicoloured rib-
bon distinguishing the whole collection is made from a woven
textile made of a hi-tech polymer obtained 100% from used
plastic bottles recycled through a mechanical rather than a
chemical process.
12 13
To mark the inauguration of Sustainable Thinking, the windows
of the Salvatore Ferragamo store in the Palazzo Spini Feroni,
Florence, the building also housing the museum, will show-
case a truly unique project: eleven tapestries – one in each
window – woven by the San Patrignano weaving workshop
under the supervision of Barbara Guarducci. The San Patrig-
nano centre is famous for working with young addicts with the
aim of reintegrating them in society. And artisan work, with
the technical expertise, dedication and care that this needs
helps these young people to rediscover the value of beauty
and love for themselves. The tapestries were woven by young
women on handlooms with a warp and weft of waste materials
donated by Salvatore Ferragamo that would otherwise have
ended up in landfill: various types of plain fabric, suede, kidskin
and calfskin, and grosgrain ribbon with the company’s logo.
Young people are also the centre of attention of many of the
collateral initiatives planned for the coming months, includ-
ing conferences, workshops, and labs held by artists, fashion
designers and experts. One such activity involved a number
of students from the Liceo Classico Michelangiolo, Florence,
and was intended to inspire them to reflect. Their thoughts
and comments on the theme were collected, examined and
filmed, becoming an integral part of the final phase of the
exhibition, together with interviews with the curators, textile
manufacturers, stylists, and artists. The photographs of the
garments and the films are both the work of young talents,
Irene Montini and Rocco Gurrieri respectively. Although they
have yet to build up a big portfolio, it was decided to give their
talent and passion a chance.
Another competition, this time on the subject of recycling,
involved some of the leading international schools of fash-
ion. Students will use recycled materials (many of which fine
leathers and textiles left in the stockroom after previous col-
lections) donated by the Ferragamo house and their projects
will be displayed in an exhibition that is scheduled to open to
the public in June 2019 during the Pitti Filati show in Florence,
an unmissable event for trend spotters – whether journalists
or insiders.
The exhibition continues beyond the Museo Salvatore Fer-
ragamo, involving one of the city’s leading museums, Palazzo
Vecchio, the City Hall and one of the prominent symbols of
Florence. Here, in rooms frescoed by Battista del Tasso and
Giorgio Vasari, is a special installation by Lucy + Jorge Orta,
two artists from England and Argentina respectively, whose
work hinges around sustainability and ethics. By agreeing to
show their art in Florence’s emblematic seat of political power,
the two artists, whose work is also on display in the Social
Innovation section at the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, cannot
avoid entering into a dialogue with the interior and decorative
scheme of the palace, charged with history and with political
references, myths, and allegories evoking the close relation-
ship between the world of art and culture and the political
and economical affairs of Florence and the Medici family. The
project that the Ortas have conceived for Florence is linked to
the Life Guards series, symbolic figures that enter into rela-
tion with our present state of emergency, the food and water
shortages, water and air pollution, and political and economic
crises of today. The sculptures are made out of a combination
of new-generation recycled textiles, military equipment like
the Red Cross stretchers, and modular devices. The objects
surrounding these guardians are both functional and sym-
bolic, and allude to the fragility of vital resources threatened
by exploitation and climate change. They are messengers of
sustainability and future defenders of the resources indispen-
sable for the life of the planet. The Ortas use a contemporary
language to tackle the naturalist and cosmological Humanist
themes of the time of Cosimo I and Francesco I de’ Medici,
exponents of a Renaissance culture that was causing changes
with a huge impact on the Humanist consciousness during the
birth (at times dramatic) of Western society and globalization
at its beginnings, after the geographic discoveries made by
Christopher Colombus and Amerigo Vespucci. Their projects
mingle fashion with art, ecology with anthropology, and didac-
tics with creativity, exploring the common ground of attention
to detail, careful research into materials and aesthetics synon-
ymous with ethics and sustainability. In line with their philoso-
phy, the works in the Palazzo Vecchio and in a new section of
the Museo Novecento (which from now on will be dedicated
to hosting exhibitions of contemporary artists whose work
is an expressive manifesto of rebellion) respond to a glob-
al vision dominated by the four elements according to the
classic naturalist and cosmological iconography passed down
from ancient Greece to our Renaissance. The main element
is water, also evoked in the large installation with a boat and a
figure at the Museo Novecento. Water and air obviously evoke
the research carried out by Leonardo da Vinci, the great artist
and scientist who died five hundred years ago. His works and
studies investigating the mysteries of nature and the func-
tioning of the elements will be on display in the exhibition that
the Palazzo Vecchio will be dedicating to the Genius of Vinci
in March 2019, installed in the Sala dei Gigli next to the Sala
delle Udienze hosting the work of the Ortas.
The exhibition project combines the desire to bring together
ancient and contemporary, the avant-garde of the Renaissance
with the pioneers of our time, love of the earth and the study
of Leonardo’s elements with the issues of sustainability and
respect for our planet at the centre of the Ortas’ message.
The Palazzo Vecchio will also host a variety of other initiatives.
On the day after the inauguration of the exhibitions in the pres-
tigious setting of the Salone dei Cinquecento, there will be a
symposium involving the leading exponents of sustainability,
which local residents are invited to participate in free of charge,
young people in particular. This will be a unique opportunity to
find out more about how business models are changing and
the state of art of research to improve the environment: in
brief, it will show us the atlas of the future.
On the occasion of the Sustainable Thinking exhibition, the
loggia on the ground floor of the Museo Novecento hous-
ing the models, drawings, and projects of great Italian and
international twentieth-century architects will host the work
of the German design studio Baubotanik, which uses living
trees to support architectural structures, reducing the dis-
tance between humans and nature and contributing to a
better quality of life. Their innovative techniques are used to
build tree-inspired homes and living architecture challeng-
ing conventional approaches and encouraging us to become
more environmentally aware and attentive. All of this requires
thinking based on cognitive processes, on the acceptance
of uncontrollable factors, and on the wish to recognize such
factors as aesthetic opportunities.
“The Wall”, built with plasterboard onto a ground-floor wall in
the Museo Novecento, holds the layouts of exhibitions that
were impossible or never realized. Since 2019, diagrams and
specific infographic-based projects have been used to tackle
universal cross-disciplinary themes involving different languag-
es and subjects, as well as focusing on artists and architects
making a decisive contribution to art history in the twentieth
and twenty-first century. The latter include promoters of sus-
tainable architecture such as Mario Cucinella, who was delib-
erately chosen for Sustainable Thinking to fill the gap between
ethics and architecture. Cucinella’s vision of architecture draws
on all aspects of sustainability – ranging from connection to
landscape to the reduction of environmental footprints and en-
ergy savings – while seeking to bring together aesthetics and
ethics. Cucinella founded the SOS School of Sustainability in
Bologna to provide innovative post-graduate training in social,
economic, and environmental sectors through practice and
research. The school was invited to Florence to meet young
people here and to organize short workshops and seminars
on sustainability over the coming months.
Lastly, in April–July, the Museo Novecento will be holding a
film exhibition called Before We Vanish curated by Paola Ugo-
lini in collaboration with In Between Art Film, the film produc-
tion company founded by Beatrice Bulgari in 2012. A group of
videos will be screened exploring themes linked to nature and
the environment, thus creating a dialogue with the Sustainable
Thinking exhibition.
Many people have contributed to the Sustainable Thinking
initiative with its many shows and collateral events, starting
with its curators, Sara Sozzani Maino and Marina Spadafo-
ra, sustainable fashion experts, Giusy Bettoni who brought
her technical expertise in yarns and textiles, Arabella Nata-
lini, contemporary art historian, and Sergio Risaliti, artistic
director of the Museo Novecento. Without forgetting about
the artists, fashion designers, and companies that donated
yarns and fabrics and whose production is in some cases still
in the study and experimentation phase. Truly cutting-edge!
Most of the works and garments on display were created es-
pecially for the exhibition, in the awareness of the educational
value of this initiative. The mannequins used to display the
garments were generously offered by Bonaveri, the leading
Italian manufacturer in this sector, and represent the latest
developments in the field: made from BPlast and BPaint and
patented in 2016, they are biodegradable and have a reduced
environmental impact compared to mannequins made from
petrochemical plastics.
Even the materials used to produce the exhibition equipment
and the paper used for this catalogue are sustainable. A sus-
tainable project right across the board that makes me very
proud as the director of the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo and
of the Fondazione Ferragamo.
My sincere thanks go to everyone mentioned above who
helped make this exciting and ambitious project possible.
My heartfelt thanks also go to the Ferragamo family and to
everyone at the Salvatore Ferragamo company who believed
so strongly in this project, supporting it through all the stages
of its development. I would also like to thank Intesa Sanpaolo
for supporting the exbibitions at the Palazzo Vecchio and at
the Museo Novecento as well as the Symposium.
Finally, I would like to thank the Mayor of Florence Dario Nar-
della, who has always been aware of environmental sustaina-
bility and social responsibility, and all his collaborators, espe-
cially Tommaso Sacchi; and the management of the Museo di
Palazzo Vecchio, the Museo Novecento, and Andrea Bianchi in
MUS.E for having participated actively in the project from the
very beginning, accompanying it as it progressed.
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