Courage, memory and responsibility are key aspects for Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion designer who recently received the Parete Award 2020, a recognition dedicated to the memory of Italian financier Ermando Parete who survived the Nazi extermination camp in Dachau. The award’s third edition, honoring Parete who died in 2016, was given to the Italian designer and entrepreneur “For his extraordinary personality that has marked an unmistakable footprint that still makes him an Italian excellence icon worldwide.”
Armani, in his acceptance speech, spoke about current topics, including crucial ones such as responsibility, an attitude everyone can’t avoid anymore. The designer said: “Ermando Parete represents courage and memory, fundamental qualities, especially today as we often tend to forget and look somewhere else when facing problems and injustice. Though we know that without memory there can be neither future nor innovation.”
The designer also referred to the present situation: “The pandemic happening now is a warning for all of us for checking what is not working learning from mistakes. Imagining a less individualist society thanks to knowledge and consciousness of the past can help build a different present and a better future. Though, it is necessary understanding what is superfluous and no longer sustainable for this planet. We have to recover quality overcoming the obsession of quantity. We have to ask ourselves what is necessary to have, what we truly want to be for leaving the future generations a better world to live in. It’s a task that needs to be nourished with memory and action.”
Armani’s words seem to reflect how he has started taking action in defense of the planet. Since 2016 his Group has started issuing its own sustainability report according to international standards, while he believes that producing high-quality, long-lasting clothes is a primary commitment.
According to the group, among the raw materials Armani uses there are, for one example, EA7 puffer jackets filled with Ecodown fibers produced from PET bottles. Emporio Armani Underwear includes swimwear and beachwear made with recycled nylon fiber, while some Emporio Armani accessories are made from regenerated leather fiber obtained through an innovative method that recovers the waste from processing natural leather.
It has also introduced the use of organic cotton in various productions, especially jeans, by using cotton linked to the Cotton Made in Africa initiative. Launched by the Aid by Trade Foundation, this project guarantees the cotton’s traceability and helps improve the living conditions of the African growers and their families. The main objectives include raising awareness of growing techniques that preserve the fertility of the soil and the quality of watercourses.
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