Page 59 - Sustainability Report 2019

RATTI GROUP | Sustainability report 2019
chain from growing mulberry trees to breeding and producing silkworms, through to the weaving and dyeing of fabric. The EFI’s project with Ratti commits to placing value on the ethics of beauty. It seeks to create quality products that recount a story that emphasises not only manual labour but, at the same time, the story of these women themselves, of their culture and traditions that stretch back to the times of the Silk Road. This is a project that has the general ambition of reconstructing the social fabric, supporting an alternative economy which is also based on the production of opium and, not least, preserves the skills of traditional craftsmanship by means of authentic creations made by hand.
Once again with regard to partnerships that do
good, Ratti participated in the Bulgari project with SavetheChildren: “Punto luce” which was inaugurated on 11 November in Ostia, to “illuminate” the future of many children and young people between the ages of 6 and 18. A space for hosting creative workshops and training courses in the awareness of how much art, creativity and education regarding beauty are key to boosting self-esteem and the expressive capacity of the young.
An educational initiative that involves every year around a thousand young people who are given the possibility of receiving help with their homework or being able
to attend courses in painting, pottery and sporting activities, while for older children the arts programme consists of three areas: cinema, photography and social design. For the project, Ratti has chosen fabrics from
its Domus division, hemming cushions and coverings
for furniture which will be used to enrich the structure. This partnership represents an attempt to combat educational poverty and to offer a valid alternative, through personal and cultural growth, and the acquisition of working competences, for young people in areas that face difficulties.
Ratti is a partner of Afwm (Afro Fashion Week Milano), an event that shines a spotlight on African designers and the style inspired by that continent. There were various
events during Afro Fashion Week: On 19 September a conference was organised at Università Cattolica in Largo Gemelli, which was preceded on 18 September by a trip made by designers from Afro Fashion Week to Ratti in Como. On 20 September, at Fabbrica del vapore in Milan, there were fashion shows from Sassape, Afroots and Wanki couture, while on 21 September at the same venue Afroots returned with an opening show, followed by Ethnic Revival by Marc Bell, Nebua and Djuije.
As the president of Afro Fashion explained: “The intention is to tell the story of an Africa that is far away from the stereotypes that identify it exclusively as a poor and needful area, while failing to understand that there is much more behind the scenes. A “mother continent”, a cauldron of ideas from which creative people – local but not only local – draw stimulation and inspiration”.
These include Ratti, which in its fabrics interprets
wax – the distinctive sign of the highly coloured and flamboyant African cloth, using cotton that is 100% Made in Italy and thereby gives life to “Italian wax”.
Ratti, in its fabrics interprets Wax
– the distinctive sign of the highly coloured and flamboyant African cloth, using cotton that is 100% Made in Italy and thereby gives life to “Italian wax”.
The project “Leonardo, prigioniero del volo”
Together with Bollate Prison, in 2019 the project “Leonardo, prigioniero del volo” (Leonardo, prisoner of flight), was launched, in partnership with Teatro della Moda (Theatre of Fashion). This brought together a number of designers, planners, patternmakers and painters to pay homage to Leonardo da Vinci, the great genius inventor. In this context, Milan/Bollate Prison, held up as a model institution with regard to the re-education and the reintroduction
into society of its inmates, chose Ratti
as its partner for technical consultancy for materials. It involved the style and communication office in its choice of these fabrics. The garments produced were displayed from 11 December 2019 to 5 January 2020 at Palazzo Morando in Milan and, later, were sold at auction in order to support Casa del Sollievo Bimbi, the first children’s hospice opened by Vidas in Lombardy, which looks after seriously ill children.
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