TELARE LA MATERIA

A SUSTAINABLE DESIGN PROJECT

BY DAVIDE BALDA/FABRICA X UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON

Monday 15 April 2024 – Sunday 21 April 2024
Villa Bagatti Valsecchi - Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48 Varedo (MB) From 15 to 21 April 2024 Fabrica, Benetton Group’s communication research center, presents “Telare la Materia” by the young designer Davide Balda as part of the seventh edition of Alcova, a curatorial project born in 2018 which, during the Milan Fuorisalone, brings together independent brands, galleries and emerging designers investigating the future of living and making.

The project was born out of the goal to propose a series of applications to address the impact of the textile industry on the environment and encourage the disposal of discarded clothing items in the place where they are produced. Have you ever heard of Mitumba? In Swahili, this term is used to describe all any garment in poor condition which, once discarded by the fashion industry, is packed and shipped to Africa or South America, where they are collected in illegal open-air dumps and often burned, releasing chemicals into the soil and air. By collecting unsold pieces from our Green B line, Davide Balda is committed to reversing the process: reducing these products in textile fibers, both synthetic and organic, making them raw materials to be reused in other applications.

“Telare la Materia”, as a matter of fact, proposes two different applications. In the first one textile fiber is used as a plant substrate and fertilizer for plant growth. In the second, vernacular architectural elements prevail, following a circular approach.

Come and check out the project during Milan Design Week 2024.

WHO IS DAVIDE BALDA

Currently an artist-in-residence at Fabrica, Davide Balda (1998) is a multidisciplinary designer interested in researching new materials and sustainable production processes. Originally from Genoa (Italy), he graduated in Product Design from IED in Turin and holds a master’s degree in Design, Creativity and Social Practices from the Unidee Academy of Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella. Davide identifies himself as an “archeodesigner” who researches and studies techno-fossils, or fossils of the future. These are natural and artificial residues produced by human activities, useful for investigating the past, reinterpreting history and creating materials or artifacts.

The Beautiful Change

Natural, recycled, regenerated or certified by global authorities in the field of sustainability: the materials used for our garments respect the environment.

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