Rifò, a project born from the intuition of Niccolò Cipriani, promotes the need for change in a time of real global emergency. Today, more than ever, we need an ethical and sustainable economy model that can shake the entire fashion system.
When was the project Rifò created, with what prospects and what’s the meaning of its name?
Rifò comes from my work experience in Vietnam, where I saw with my own eyes how the problem of overproduction weighs on the clothing industry. The textile industry produces much more than what’s consumed. In light of this, I decided to return to my city, Prato, and resume a textile tradition, that of the reprocessing of textiles. We use yarns made from old garments that have now become waste. The idea is to apply the principles of the circular economy to the clothing industry, by also involving people in the process through the collection of old clothes. Rifò is called like this because it was born from exactly this concept: it is in fact a Tuscan inflection of the verb "redo".
What is Rifò’s philosophy and who’s it addressed to?
Rifò is a project before being a clothing brand. Our motto is "from people to people". As well as the idea of experimenting and offering a product, we like the idea of giving back with a circular economy service, involving people in the production of second raw materials. Rifò is addressed to avant-gardists, to those who know how to imagine a new concept for a different fashion, to those who appreciate craftsmanship, quality and above all recognise an inner emotional value that goes beyond the price.
In how many and which ways is sustainable fashion possible today and why is it important?
In many, like producing locally through materials that have low environmental impact or simply appreciating an artisanal knowhow that is likely to be lost. We have been spoiled by fast fashion, but this is no longer sustainable. We have to start giving the right attention to raw materials and also to people’s manual work.
Where and how are Rifò garments made?
At 30 km we like to say. In fact it is exactly like this, our goal is to produce everything locally in the textile district of Prato that offers many possibilities. In this way we can reduce our impact on the planet and also have a positive effect on the economy of our territory, by creating new job opportunities.
What is Rifò presenting for White’s WSM?
A few selected items from our Urban Jungle A/W 2020 collection. They are reprocessed cashmere jumpers made with 95% regenerated yarn and 5% merino mulesing free wool. For the realization of each of these garments the production of CO2 has been reduced by 95% compared to the production of a sweater in virgin cashmere. Furthermore, by selecting the old cashmere sweaters by color, you can avoid dyeing the regenerated yarn again. This mechanical process therefore helps to save on large numbers of litres of water, as well as dyes and chemical pollutants, all while preserving the planet’s water reserves.
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