Today I have some very good news for you: my first book entirely dedicated to textile hemp is finally out!
Do you often wonder how sustainable the clothes we wear are? Do you dislike fast-fashion chains, and want to start your own path towards sustainable fashion?
This book is the ABC of an extraordinary fabric that you can immediately introduce into your wardrobe: hemp. In this book, hemp fabric is analysed in every single detail: from its history, its many uses, its benefits, to its cultivation, processing and spinning, and concludes with some practical tips on how to introduce hemp textile into your daily life.
Perché è così importante parlare di canapa?
Although a material that has been around for many centuries, hemp is an innovative material that represents a way out of environmental pollution. Hemp is an environmentally friendly and extremely versatile material that can be used for so many purposes: from fashion, the subject of analysis in this book, to food, construction and much more, without polluting the environment! If you want to introduce a sustainable material into your wardrobe, then you absolutely must discover and wear textile hemp.
Don't worry, it won't get you high! Textile hemp has no psychotic effect, on the contrary, it is a protagonist of the circular economy, i.e. oriented towards repair, reuse and recycling.
The book is available on Amazon at the following link at the launch price (for a few more days!) of 3.99 Euro as an ebook version, or 14.90 Euro as a (certified) paper version.
La moda sostenibile parte dalla canapa tessile!
I leave here a short extract from the book:
"I grew up among textiles, the sewing machine and timeless clothes. My paternal grandmother was a very popular dressmaker in our small town where I grew up. I would see her dress designs, elegant and timeless, and the constant succession of well-to-do ladies all looking for the perfect dress or coat to wear for several seasons. And my grandmother, with the needle in her mouth and the dressmaker's tape measure around her neck, patiently making the final touches by hand before sewing on the desired garment. Thus was born a garment of timeless style that absolutely had to last several seasons. For this reason, the fabric also had to be of the highest quality.
Photos: Gustavo Fring, Pexels
Fast forward to the 2010s. My life has changed so much and that period of carefree childhood spent observing ladies trying on tailor-made dresses is only a distant memory. The war, the bombings, the flight to Italy, the search for a new life and, above all, the search for stability took over and so there was no time for memories. But as often happens in life, as these memories are part of us, they resurface at the most important moments.
One of my life's milestones was my Bachelor's degree. I was so proud of myself, proud that I had made it; after all, graduating from a trilingual university is not something that happens every day. My big dream would be crowned at the graduation party.
The day is approaching, and I, like most people brought up in Western European affluence, say to myself "I have nothing to wear!". And so begins the hunt for the perfect dress for the occasion: not too long, not too short, not too loose, not too black, not too colourful, not polyester, not a dress that everyone has, not and not and not... And after walking around for several days and several shops, I realise that this perfect dress does not exist. Or at least, maybe it only exists in my head.
And then the memories come back, all of them, sweeping over me like the urgency. The grandmother who draws everything without pattern paper, directly on the fabric, after she has taken and calculated her customer's measurements. I see her again as she cuts the fabric, folds and sews it, as she finally presses the edges and lets her customer try on the dress. And it is at that instant that I realise that the dress for the graduation, I have to sew it myself.
You may wonder why I shared my personal experience. This event was the first step for me towards sustainable fashion, and it is from this first step, which I took many years ago, that my passion for textile hemp was born. This passion later led me to share the stories of textile hemp in Hemp-Style Magazine and to write this book.
After receiving my three-year diploma, I continued my studies but also continued to sew clothes for myself. The search for the right fabric for my clothing combined with my interest in textiles made me discover the dark side of fashion, making me ask myself again and again: How sustainable are the clothes we wear really?"
Translated with Linguana