Federico Badini Confalonieri
Federico Badini Confalonieri
ITALY
“Fashion has a role to inspire in society and new fashion designers have a role to switch quickly to a new way of working within the industry.”
Federico Badini Confalonieri has always valued nature and the environment. When he learned of the massive issue of microplastics in fashion, he knew he had to find a way to address it.
“I developed my own narrative that tells a story about social, environmental justice, and class war in the era of climate change, while reflecting on masculinity today,” shares the designer, who holds an MA in Fashion Design - Menswear from the London College of Fashion, UK, and BA in Knitwear Design from the Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. In addition to being a finalist this year, he was also a semi-finalist of the Redress Design Award 2021.
In his collection ‘Micro - Rain’, Federico upcycles waste fabrics from his previous collections using zero-waste techniques, creating fully fashioned knitwear and even challenging the zero-waste concept with a “waste negative” puffer jacket filled with collection offcuts.
As a solution to microplastic pollution, garments made with synthetic fabrics have been created with a layer of filter fabric with sealed seams to prevent the release of microplastics. Federico also designed the garments to be packable, allowing them to be sealed inside a hidden pocket made with filter fabric which doubles as a washing bag.
In designing for recyclability, many of the materials Federico sought out are made from monofibres. To aid consumers in managing garments’ end of life, his brand also offers a takeback scheme that promotes upcycling. “Creativity, innovations, and aesthetics all have the great potential to help build a better planet together,” he shares.
By identifying industrial yarn waste streams, which are fairly accessible in his home country of Italy, Federico sees the potential for larger-scale reproduction of his work. He envisions that using similar but not identical yarns on the same design can create continuous limited-edition pieces, while use of the filter fabric to address microplastics carries market potential.
Federico hopes that his design inspires consumers and the industry to unite in solving the issue of microplastic pollution. For his part, he approaches circular design “from a holistic point of view, designing with every stage of the garment lifecycle in mind, from manufacturing to end of life.”
He dreams of working for a high-end fashion brand that values sustainability, and in the meantime is exploring sustainable design with his own label, Badini C.
