White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 5squares – to the equation Milan equalsfashion. Milan is also the Italianadvertising capital with an elaboratesystem of players. Creatives,photographers, image-makers,consumer-trend gurus and fashionmedia directors throng the placespromoting or launching the advertisingfor products and brands.Industrial outlets, megastores andsmall creative emporiaFrom the geographical point of view,the Milan area is a large district ofbuying opportunities. This not onlyapplies to the luxury shops in Via dellaSpiga and Via Monte Napoleone, butalso the industrial outlets, shoppingmalls and small hip emporia in theTicinese, Navigli, and Brera areas(Bovone et al., 2005) and majorprojects like the controversial Città dellaModa (“Fashion City”).5.6 The fast-changingfashion marketEthic fashionEthic fashion, i.e. fashion based on theselection and certification of materialused to make clothes and investmentsin sustainable production systems, hasbeen growing for the last 15 years, asdemonstrated by an International TradeCenter study presented at the ethicalfashion workshop during the Romefashion shows. In the UnitedKingdom, for example, the ethicalfashion market, grew by 30% from2004 to 2005 and is worth 43 millionpounds, 2.1% of the overall fashionmarket.According to the Italian Ethical andEnvironmental Certification Institute,Italy is ranked last in Europe as aconsumer and producer of organicclothes (leading producers includeThink Pink, with its Nature Labcollection, and Lifegate jeans). The useof organic textiles, transparent labellingsystems and a more sustainableproduction chain can increasepurchasers on a potential market ofaround 12 million euros. In the wake ofthis trend, over the past few yearsluxury ethical fashion is also growing:cosmetic products but also hautecouture clothes (see for exampleGattinoni’s wedding dresses) madewith material from renewableresources.Fashion and technologyTechnology and fashion are now aninextricable combination. On onehand, technology has entered textileand clothing manufacturing and, on theother, fashion has began to “dress”technology.Let us look at both trends.The production of textiles with a hightechnological component mainly cameinto being in the world of sport, inwhich tracksuits, but also bathingcostumes and clothes in generalguaranteed maximum comfort andoptimal performances. From the worldof sport, high-tech clothes spread toWHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 125