Human ET: Calypsonia’s upcycling capsule collection

19 November 2022 Redazione

Human ET is an upcycling project created by Argentinian designer Florencia Muzi and model Denisa Kucik.

Human ET is a completely sustainable capsule collection that gives new life to hotel towels and sheets, transforming them into a beach combo consisting of a kimono, tunic, bag and espadrilles. The project was presented by RiscArti at the last Maker Faire in Rome and was selected for the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR), which takes place from 19 to 27 November to raise awareness of sustainable consumption and environmental protection among European citizens and beyond.

The mini collection of the brand Calypsonia combines three important keywords for green fashion

Sustainable luxury

With Human ET, the two designers wanted to make an experiment, mixing seriality and craftsmanship, resulting in a prototype that has all the potential to be mass-produced. In a world where artificial technology dominates the scene, creativity and the human touch can truly emerge as the new luxury, the new added value.

Versatility

A concept that goes well with a capsule collection. A kimono that can be used as a beach robe or for a drink at sunset. A garment, therefore, that can transform or present different options of use. This is in line with the idea of consuming less. In this sense, it is very useful that an item of clothing or an accessory can present several variations.

Upcycling

Upcycling is a sustainable trend of giving new life to objects/materials that would otherwise be thrown away, creating not only a new product, but new value. This also reduces the use of new materials and their consequences for our planet.

Let us now look in detail at some of the pieces of the Human ET mini-collection:

The kimono

This is the statment piece of the collection. It comes to life from an old bed sheet from the Le Méridien Visconti Rome Hotel, which has joined the project as a partner. Tea-dyed and with handmade decorations and designs.

The beach bag

In natural jute, with an essential style, it is capacious, just to contain what we need to spend a pleasant day at the beach. It washes easily and is durable.

The espadrilles

These comfortable shoes were created in collaboration with DEMA Calzature, which produces sneakers for major international brands such as Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Burberry, and Louboutin. Dema was awarded the High Budget Honour on the occasion of the 42nd Industria Felix Award (fifth edition in Campania) . The award, i.e., to the best performing companies in terms of management, most solid and reliable financially. With an innovative and sustainable sole derived from coconut and a jute upper, the espadrilles are a prototype version that the two designers want to personalise over time with handmade embroidery or hand painting, to make each pair unique and an expression of the wearer.

Calypsonia

Calypsonia is an Argentinian swimwear brand created by Florencia Muzi. The brand was founded in 2013 with the aim of creating a wide range of beach products. Its strong point is its colourful and high-quality swimwear for both women and men, as well as its exclusive and distinctive prints. The idea is to offer products that will last and with which everyone can make an emotional connection. Calypsonia brings to mind the desire for adventure, carefreeness and a longing for a seaside holiday. Each collection has a limited number of products.

The idea for Human ET was born at the University La Sapienza in Rome, where Florencia and Denisa met for the first time, as they are still attending the MA Program in Fashion Studies. The Argentinean designer decleared:

I started this brand very motivated to offer products with my personal touch to the world, products that are colorful and full of life, made with love, to bring joy to your life and beauty to our world. Eventually and while being more conscious about sustainability, I started losing the love for my brand. Infact, I started losing the love for fashion. Something was not working. I knew that we weren’t being as sustainable as we wished, and that we needed to rethink not just the processes but also the values and paradigms that we followed. And even fashion in itself, in a context where fast fashion and greenwashing is overwhelming. As a first attempt, we tried to use regenerated fabrics, but they weren’t available in Argentina. Now I have moved to Italy, and the idea is to restart the brand after this reconstruction process. We don’t want to be part of the problem, we want to be part of the solution”.

The development of the brand involves the creation of all season and timeless collections, yet contemporary and limited edition. Transparency in the production process is important and the goal is to ‘close the loop’, i.e. to think about what happens to the garment or accessory at the end of its life. Packaging must be sustainable, there must be inclusiveness with regard to sizes and last but not least Florencia and Denisa want to try at all costs to avoid overproduction.

This is the point of view of model and designer Denisa Kucik:

“Calypsoniahavedoneupcyclinginthepast: theyusedleftover fabrics togeneratekindof
patch-workbikinis.But wethinkit cangofurther.So wethought that this workshopisagreat
opportunitytoexperiment withupcycling,and maybearrivetoaprototypethat canbethe
startingpoint foranew sustainableproduct.

Calypsonia has already done upcycling in the past. The brand used leftover fabrics to create a kind of patch-work bikini. We think that with the Human ET collection we can go further. We used this opportunity to experiment with upcycling to come up with a prototype that can be the starting point for a new 100% sustainable collection. And besides the prototype, we think it is a great opportunity to think and experiment with all the possibilities that the sustainable paradigm opens, with all that we can learn in the process. And even we want to challenge ourselves t othink in the entire life cycle of th eproduct and closing the loop. Collaborating with Flor was an opportunity for me to reflect and experiment, to detoxify myself from a certain ephemeral main stream fashion”.

The courage to experiment and the dedication of these two young designers have rewarded them, giving their first collection together international visibility. So let’s support their green fashion by clicking here from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 November.