Istituto Marangon and Arcadia Debut Re-Think

ART

ISTITUTO MARANGONI MIAMI AND ARCADIA EARTH PRESENT RE-THINK

WORDS

by KRISTOPHER FRASER

PHOTOS

COURTESY of PURPLE PR

On Monday, December 3 Instituto Marangoni Miami (IMM) and Arcadia Earth presented “RE-THINK” an immersive sustainable art event aimed to raise awareness on sustainable living through art, fashion and technology. The exhibit itself took 12 weeks to complete from inception to execution.

Founded in 1935 Milan, Istituto Marangoni has spent more than 70 years in successfully training top professional in art and design. The school opened its first U.S. campus in Miami, Florida, which has become a design and art capital over the past decade.

Istituto Marangoni came to collaborate with Arcadia Earth as both parties were focused on raising awareness and sustainability. Istituto Marangoni has a focus on sustainable fashion, and Arcadia Earth has a focus on sustainable living, which created a perfect match between the two organizations. The primary mission of this joint venture is to education a new generation on sustainability through art and fashion.

The exhibit they created featured nine immersive installations with augmented reality. Two of the installations — The Marangoni Miami Key Lounge and the Arcadia Micro Plastic Room — highlighted the importance of challenging the fashion industry to reduce their CO2 pollution footprint, bringing all components of fashion art and technology together.

Re-Think at Istituto Marangoni Miami

“At Istituto Marangoni Miami, we believe that sustainability starts with the designer,” said Hakan Baykam, president of Istituto Marangono, and Valentino Vettori, founder of Arcadia Earth. “As an educational institution we provide hands on tools to help students re-think the design process from every aspect of the business where circular economy principles are incorporated into the supply chain.”

They added that, “A future fashion industry will focus on technical textile innovations, mission-oriented brands who focus on transparency and in closing the loop of the product lifecycle by recycling or repurposing. According to The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company, fashion companies have started to embrace the importance of sustainability, with 42 out of 100 fashion brands in 2017 disclosing supplier information. Consumers alike will continue to be more mindful and inquisitive about their purchases, and will be willing to support brands with values aligned to their own. At Istituto Marangoni Miami, we educate our students to be more mindful designers and consumers.”

The two organizations wanted to use augmented reality to further the discussion as they found the medium a unique, innovative and a very “wowing” discovery that highlights the needs of sharing the experience with other and, as a consequence, promote the message to a large target audience.

Baykam and Vettori noted that mounting this project was no easy feat, but it was worth it. Challenges they faced included finding sustainable materials to produce the project, design each installation so that each can be reused in the future and minimize post event waste, using upcycled materials shopped in local recycle centers to avoid producing new elements, and dealing with a 100 percent self financed budget as they had no corporate sponsors.

The event began with an intimate series of panels that stimulated different conversation amongst audiences on environmental issues and simple daily actionable solutions followed by the opening cocktail reception where guests were able to enjoy experiential installations by Arcadia Earth that were brought through life through augmented reality.

The event also featured notable guests including Marina Testino, Anastasia Koutsioukis, Ian Michael Crumm, Soledad Lowe, Arnaud Cauchois, Santiago Rubino, Iman Hasan, and Gabriela Medina among others.

Re-Think at Istituto Marangoni Miami

“A future fashion industry will focus on technical textile innovations, mission-oriented brands who focus on transparency and in closing the loop of the product lifecycle by recycling or repurposing.”

Re-Think at Istituto Marangoni Miami