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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