CHARLOTTE CASIRAGHI, AN EXAMPLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM

Princess Caroline of Monaco´s daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, who has inherited her beauty and style, is also a young environmental activist. An illustration of this is “EVER Manifesto”, a London based publication founded together with Alexia Niedzielski and Elizabeth Von Guttman. EVER´s target is to use their social status and influence, and their link with fashion, to educate the industry on sustainability by bringing alternative solutions. Therefore, they deal with relevant editors, designers, artists or architects, forcing them to step aside from their daily methodology and pushing them to consider ecology as a tool in their creative process, or sometimes just by presenting their ecological knowledge to the public. For example, Franca Sozzani (Vogue Italy´s Editor in chief since 1988), Stefano Tonchi (W Magazine´s Editor in chief), or Burak Cakmak (Gucci Group´s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility) are some of those who have already collaborated with EVER Manifesto.

Charlotte Casiraghi for Gucci Gucci

From left to right.: Von Guttman, Niedzielski y Casiraghi, for“W Magazine”, November 2011. Fuente: W Magazine

Far from being a traditional periodical issue, EVER Manifesto is published only when there is a topic which deserves special attention, either for its technological innovation or just to encourage thought and debate. Furthermore, the format of this publication is also free, either resembling a newspaper or a magazine, and distributed in fashion events, specific shops, or directly downloaded from EVER´s website. Regarding the contents, and although only two numbers have been published so far, EVER is pretty serious and intense in addressing the issues, trying to link science with artistic fields by means of sustainability, whether it is architecture, product design, or fashion.

Simón Vélez, “Church without religion”. Source: Archleague

The last issue, published in October 2011, was devoted entirely to the use of bamboo as an example of environmentally friendly material, by presenting its application in different ways. Thus, the Colombian architect Simon Velez presented his work, praising the infinite possibilities that bamboo can bring as a structural material but also stating its limitations. In addition to this, he claimed that his “obsession” for this material led him to discover new technological opportunities, such as concrete-filled bamboo, which brings additional compressive strength and allows more risky geometries (since this material has naturally a better traction performance). Besides this, it is very interesting to see how bamboo, which is generously provided by Velez´s environment and culturally considered as a “poor” material, can bring such noble architectural spaces.

Simón Vélez, “Bridge in China”. Source: Archleague

Another exciting project presented in EVER Manifesto, was developed in collaboration with Gucci Group, along with designer Frida Giannini and the “Institut Français de la Mode”. Here, product design students had to submit their own designs for a “green bag”, offering them the opportunity to make the project tangible and to produce the handbag in the brand. The winning design stood out for its simplicity in each stage of the process by using environmentally friendly materials (such as recycled cotton and bamboo), minimum waste of material and assemblies (the bag is completely unfoldable, like an origami), and for its easy craftmanship. The result is a low cost handbag with easy implementation and transportation, which make it even more sustainable.

Eco-chic bag for Gucci, winning design by Laura Popoviciu. Source: Evermanifesto

Finally, and according to an interview for “W Magazine”, Niedzielski stated that “we are not eco-warriors. So much of the language of environmentalism is just not appealing. Why not make these ideas more seductive?”. They also admit not to dress always in green clothes and that they can not change the world, but they want to make their own contribution to aware the fashion industry there is a lot to be done. And EVER Manifesto proves that they have already done a great job.

Casiraghi visited “Big Bambu”, by Mike and Doug Starn for Biennale di Venezia, June 2011. Source: Harpers Bazaar