Fashion, sustainability, creative recycling: these are the pillars of Serenella Novi’s Avanti Recycle Fashion project. She takes waste materials, processes them and transforms them into wonderful clothes, capable of combining creativity and style. The project was born from the two passions that guided Serenella’s life and career, the environment and fashion, two aspects that seem distant, if not even irreconcilable, and that find a meeting point in the concept of upcycling.
“Initially I believed that it was not possible to combine these two aspects, I thought that I could make clothes with recycled materials but nothing came to mind, until I really started looking around and taking the things I found around – says the designer – At that point, each object made sense. For example, I inserted a net under the carpet in the detail of a shirt, from the shower curtain I made a raincoat”.
Born in Monza, Serenella Novi graduated from the BURGO Fashion Academy and moved to Avellino after working as a costume designer in the theater and holiday villages, experiences that led her towards sustainable fashion. “The world of fashion has always fascinated me but, knowing it from the inside, I understood that I didn’t want to stay there for a whole series of reasons, including the one related to the environment. It is a theme that has always been close to my heart, even more now that the world is falling apart.”
From there the need to create something new, or rather to recreate starting from the old, the used, enhancing waste materials and giving it a new shape and a new dignity, in perfect respect of the circular economy concept. “The idea was born almost by chance – explains Serenella – Working always on tour I didn’t feel the need to buy new clothes, I preferred to have few quality things. Then I met a girl who made bags with recycled material and I understood that I could make anything even with waste. I tried and I did it, even though my experience in the village helped me a lot, where I didn’t always have the right materials to make the costumes, I often had to get by with what I found. So I really understood that you can use anything to create a special dress.”
For the realization of her clothes, the stylist takes inspiration from everything that surrounds her but to inspire her more is the type of material to be shaped. “Everyone can transform clothes that they have in the closet and that they are tired of, there are many video tutorials on Youtube that teach how to do it. But if I have to give a green tip, it is certainly to shop consciously, buying clothes that last over time rather than fashionable clothes that after one year they will no longer wear.”
The fashion industry is the least environmentally sustainable in the world and wastes resources in every production phase. This is especially true for fast fashion, which is why it is necessary to reverse the trend. “Many designers are trying to get closer to the concept of recycling and reuse, but first of all, consumers must change their mentality. As long as we continue to want to accumulate many things, it will be difficult to veer towards sustainability but I am convinced that it will soon become a necessity. Maybe we won’t understand it soon but the time will come when we realize that wasting is not a wise choice if we want to save the environment.”
Raising consumer awareness is what Serenella Novi will also try to do in Avellino, where on Sunday 26 January she will officially present her Avanti Recycle Fashion project and where she will sell her creations, sustainable and at the same time attentive to aesthetics. “I want to show that a piece of clothing can be both beautiful and green and that ‘recycled’ does not necessarily mean ‘extravagant’. My clothes are designed to be worn every day by ordinary people”.
