[BC Trips] Research Journal #7 - Firenze

After Stockholm, we headed to Italy.

Sustainability in Italy was a bit different from the other countries we visited; sustainability in Italy was not through product designs, but more from the aspect of culture. Vintage/second-hand culture has always been very strong in Italy, but has been thriving in the last years and the number of vintage stores has increased. It does make sense because Italy is a city of artisans and many fashion brands. The Italian owners of the vintage stores as well as the residences we spoke to told us that more than before, the current trend was to mix vintage items that have been kept hidden for years in the closet to your everyday wardrobe. We were told that the younger generations are going through their grandmother's closet to find one-of-a-kind or vintage clothes from the 40s and 50s and this has become a part of their lifestyle; to re-discover the past and reuse without buying more; a fabulous sustainable lifestyle and thinking.

 In Italy, we first visited Rimini, a small city facing the Adriatic Sea which is about 1.5 hours by car from Bologna airport. Rimini was our "base camp" and from there we travelled to other cities in Italy for researching. First, we headed to Firenze (Florence), as we wanted to visit the “SUSTAINABLE THINKING” exhibition held by Salvatore Ferragamo museum. It was a spectacular exhibition and definitely exceeded our expectations. As a long-established brand leading the shoe industry, we were impressed by the fact that Salvatore Ferragamo were working with many different companies and individuals to develop environmentally friendly recycled materials. The exhibition showed both the history and art of their past as well as the current new efforts. Definitely a must see exhibition! (** the exhibition is over now... Hopefully they will exhibit again soon)

After the museum, we strolled around the city looking for vintage stores. There were many stores all with different concepts. Please stop by them when you're in Firenze! Next, we will blog about our findings in Milan, which we went to after Florence.