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I am a writer and executive administrator for Trusted Clothes, which is an ethical and sustainable fashion organization. The following is a series devoted in honor of the work done in collaboration with the Schroeckers and the Trusted Clothes team. Part 1 here.
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To lay some groundwork, tell us about your background such as family – how your context came about, upbringing – how you came to be, education – where you gained expertise, and professional experiences – where and how you built a reputation.
I could write a book about my life, but I’ll give you the quick version! I come from a non-wealthy family living in a sea side village in Northern Italy. When I was growing up, my mom couldn’t work full time as she had to take care of my sister with special needs. My mom was very giving, but also quite submissive. As a result, growing up I developed a strong sense of independence that made me want to seek building a life away from my small-town reality. I was fascinated by big cities that to me rhymed with independence. In my twenties, I moved to Milan and felt at home right away. That’s where I met my ex-husband and together we moved to the United States after he received a dream job opportunity. We embarked on a great adventure in the country that is known to make dreams come true. Soon after, my sister followed me to the United States after both my parents died way too young. While playing mom to my sister, I explored my growing need to express my creativity and I stumbled into photography, which quickly unfolded like the perfect fit for my character and personal responsibilities. I briefly went to college to study the media and started my own freelance business focusing on lifestyle, portrait, and wedding photography. Fifteen magical years followed, filled with indelible memories and building strong friendships and relationships with many of my clients. In fact, one of my past clients is now my business partner at Annaborgia!
Due to my sister’s health, we moved back to Italy in 2011, and with more time on my hands, I was hit by another creative strike. I fell in love with fashion to the point that I started researching how to start a fashion label. That takes us to the current days, where I divide my time flying back and forth between Italy and California to make yet another dream a fulfilling reality. In California, I have connected with San Francisco Sustainable Fashion Designers and together we are raising the awareness on Ethical Fashion locally and beyond.
You are the Founder and Creative Director for Annaborgia. What was the inspiration for Annaborgia? What tasks and responsibilities come with the position of creative director?
Working as a wedding photographer for over a decade had a clear impact on why I created Annaborgia and its particular market. Designing clothes is an amazing way to express my creativity, but I also want the whole project to be more meaningful, to be socially helpful. The Annaborgia line is ceremony friendly and gives brides and bridesmaids the great convenience to repurpose their looks after the wedding. The line is designed for women that are conscious about the impact of fast fashion on the environment. When I married, in 1994, there was not much talks about sustainability, but even then, I wasn’t interested in purchasing a dress that I’d never wear again, so I opted for a cocktail dress that I was able to wear many times again. It was actually special to re-wear a dress that had so much meaning to me. I strongly feel the wedding fashion is in need of a big transformation if we want to make weddings more sustainable going into the future.
During the development stages and a year into our launch, Annaborgia was relying entirely on my decisions, from the designs (while listening carefully to the expert feedback of our sample and product development team) to business operations. I am so thrilled to have welcomed Karen Canaan as my business partner this summer. She is an experienced lawyer and a true fashion expert and it’s been way easier to share the fun and burdens of a start-up with her company.
Annaborgia is vegan couture. What is vegan couture?
Our textiles are all vegan, meaning that no animal product or sub-product is used to create our designs. Remaining truthful to my vegan lifestyle, I opted to work with synthetic fibers, which I sourced carefully so that I could still offer the quality and feel of high-end textiles like silk. Our designs are hand or partially hand sewn to give them a couture touch. We’re very proud of our signature Japanese satin poly that is used in most of our designs; it’s a high-performance, non-wrinkle textile processed without toxic dyes.
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Original publication on www.trustedclothes.com.
All images courtesy of www.trustedclothes.com.
And the relevance to Good Men Project is?