June Editorial

Angelina Jolie is the latest celebrity to venture into the world of fashion, but unlike many of her famous colleagues, she does it her own way, keeping a decidedly low profile—which makes it even more interesting. Far from the idea of producing garments for mass-market distribution or chasing the latest trends, the actress—a long-time champion of human rights and environmental policies—immediately clarified that she intends to use only vintage materials and deadstock fabrics for her creations. She also aims to focus not on logos and brand image, but on empowering producers, manufacturers, and tailors—the lesser-known labor force behind the industry. This news intrigued me, as it comes from an actress who has always been unconventional and deeply socially committed. Usually, big stars—from the Kardashians to Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez, to name the most well-known—have used their names to build true fast-fashion empires, perhaps not entirely necessary, with massive distribution in department stores and luxury boutiques: very high prices, materials that aren’t exactly sustainable, with the brand name as the only real value.

Atelier Jolie, as Angelina’s new entrepreneurial adventure is called, seems oriented toward diametrically opposite goals, to the point of defining her new venture as a collective.

Designers, Jolie says, often sketch or approve designs, but it is the tailors who make the difference, even though they are unfortunately the ones least valued and appreciated. Her Atelier, instead, aims to be a place where creative individuals can collaborate with a diverse and expert family of tailors, pattern makers, and artisans from all over the world. I am very curious to see the kind of products they will create—whether they will reflect the actress’s low-profile style, which is basic and textural in its choice of outfits yet always extremely special. However, I already appreciate her choice to place labor and craftsmanship at the center in a sustainable and inclusive way, rather than focusing on maxi-logos and billboard campaigns in Times Square.

On this subject, I was struck by an interview with Brunello Cucinelli, in which the entrepreneur and creator of a true “family company” in Tuscany highlighted the problem that Italian fasonisti (garment manufacturers), who are fundamental and increasingly rare, struggle to earn enough to convince their children to continue in this profession. Manufacturing companies that mass-produce thousands of garments make a profit, but the fasonisti—those capable of tailoring a garment from a reference pattern provided by a designer, the “old-school” tailors—are not as well compensated. Today, the fashion market in Italy is increasingly seeking professionals at this level, often by buying up these companies and incorporating them into large brands, resulting in the disappearance of an artisanal professional figure that was once passed down from father to son.

At Crida, though through different paths, we pursue—like Angelina Jolie—a fashion that is sustainable and respectful of both people and the environment. We struggle to find manufacturers within our reach precisely because we don’t yet have the volume of mega-brands, but we also cannot produce thousands of dresses in a small tailor shop. Yet, small and medium-sized enterprises represent the most important productive fabric supporting the Italian economy, and as such, they should be better supported and protected by the government. Italian craftsmanship in the fashion sector represents extraordinary excellence: it would be wonderful if it could continue to live independently rather than having to sell out to the “eat-all” giants of global luxury.