FROM BIO DYES TO MARBLE DUST: KERING-BACKED TALENT BRINGS INNOVATION AT PITTI
By Lucy McGuire for Vogue Business
Designer Flora Rabitti worked for brands like Miu Miu, Alberta Ferretti and Pucci before founding Florania in 2021.
Florania works with NGO Social Ateliers — employing female victims of violence, immigrants, or those in difficult situations — to produce genderless ready-to-wear from upcycled fabrics. The brand has already presented off schedule in Milan, Tokyo and New York, and was on schedule at Swahili Fashion Weeks.
For S/Style, Rabitti was given pre and post-consumer cotton as well as chemically recycled polyester.
"The look is a bride running away in the rain: she has a cape coat made with marble powder that transforms into a hammock when needed. She wears a circular viscose draped dress, dyed with vegetables and fruit, and embroidered with recycled-polyester sequins resembling rain."
It's not easy to reproduce upcycled pieces in a way retailers will accept, Rabitti says, so she wanted to explore new ways to make scalable fashion — to secure commercial partners without losing ethics. The showroom introduced Rabitti to various techniques and textiles, such as natural dyes and draping.
"I'll surely use that knowledge."