𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔭𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔵𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔞𝔦𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔟𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔞𝔯 𝔣𝔲𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢
Florania is a ready-to-wear independent clothing brand, genderless and no season, which proposes a project of total look garments, made and designed in a sustainable way, hand- made between Milan (design headquarters) and Mantova (production laboratory).
The brand is founded in 2021 by Flora Rabitti, designer and illustrator born in 1992 in Mantua. Florania is now constituted by Flora Rabitti (owner, creative and design director), Fabio D’Onofrio (art director, styling director, muse), Gloria Costani (partner, production manager), Matilde Pelizzoni (pattern maker).
Florania was born from Flora Rabitti’s necessity to find a place that represented her creatively and professionally. It all started from an upcycled collection to which she then added prints and different finishings building a very specific aesthetic that Rabitti now defines as Solar Punk. “Our community echos punk culture’s energy and spirit of rebellion; yet, it’s optimist towards the future and builds on creativity rather than destruction” Rabitti says. Florania touches matters of inclusivity and sustainability at a level of authenticity that is fresh as the young talents that constitute the collective. Florania’s collections are now 100% sustainable: upcycling meets bio and natural fabrics (made from hemp, bamboo and seaweed). “I believe there has been a big trend turnaround between the necessities and interests of old generations of fashion people and the new ones: climatic and social urgencies shaped our taste and consequently, defined what we want to surround ourselves with” she says.
Flora Rabitti comes from an international background — from IED Institute in Milan, to Central Saint Martins in London and Paris’ Institut Français de la Couture — and has worked two years as a designer for Miu Miu.
Despite this, Atelier Florania’s motto is “look nearby”. This stands for Rabitti’s willingness to take up the baton of the textile and artisanal Italian traditions that are so dear to our culture. Prints and tailoring materials are all sourced nationally from sustainable realities but the majority of her work is based on research of vintage pieces to rework and enhance. The collective molds their garments starting from the materials that surround them and not vice versa. We’re moved by ethical purposes that therefore give form to our aesthetic.
Rabitti believes in an imminent shift in generations towards one that is able to bring forward authentic values in a fashion system that often has few. Soon, competition and consumption will be replaced by collaboration and care as fashion’s watchwords.
“We’re tired of a depersonalised fashion — cold and consumeristic — that sets unreachable standards. We want to prove there are alternatives in turmoil opposed to those glossy fashion realities”
By Chiara Lanzavecchia for CSM London.
