Since 2018 – the year when @marinatestino’s first #OneDressToImpress campaign was launched, the world has changed, and these last four years have been terribly challenging for the majority of the population worldwide. Some were surely more affected than others, and some are still enduring duress which might be difficult to overcome, not to say almost impossible. In particular, one category of the population, as always before, has been under terrible pressure and put in despair: girls, women and, specifically, working women. The pandemic is adding to the pre-existing issues the burden of unpaid domestic and care activities as well as forcing them out of their workplaces.
The fashion industry is composed of an immense 80% of garment workers aged 18-35 who are now over or just on the edge of unemployment and, therefore, of poverty and lack of relevance in our societies. Marina dedicated her new #OneDressToImpress to women empowerment. To equality. To the ones left behind constituting the majority of those that make our clothes as well as to those that represent fashion's target audience. Those whose voices are not heard. Her suit turned purple to ensure that they all will be looked at and given recognition while she walks the streets of New York, Paris and London during this fashion month.
Testino is trying, by wearing the very same purple suit for one month in a row, to deliver and develop the message that equality and justice within the fashion industry are strongly related to achieving the 2030 United Nations Agenda. Women account for 70-80% of the global purchasing power, and the majority of consumers and players within the industry are linked to a female component; if orientated towards the right direction, their contribution to conscious consumerism and climate justice would also be a medium to achieve Sustainable Development Goal ("SDG") #5: gender equality. What could be accomplished through consciousness, information and knowledge are exactly what this specific SDG is trying to do: envision a world where every woman is given the opportunity to live free from poverty, abuse and has the same opportunities as their male counterparts. A world in which women are free to preserve their dignity, health, well-being and economic independence.
Marina has embarked on this new journey, and along with her, this year, there are some of the most notable names of fashion's sustainability landscape. They are working in the same direction, and they have contributed to the actual realization of the suit, which is more than just a piece of clothing: it represents circularity, how collaboration between fashion players is essential for sustainability and, most importantly, demonstrates that there are new wave-changers by the day who understand that responsibility is no longer an option. The U.S. non-profit Supima has provided the sustainable manufacturer of the fabric Albini 1876 with the fibre so that Tiziano Guardini could put them together in such an amazing shape and send it to Oritain for the scientific validation process to ensure the origin of the materials. An amazing link of shared purposes and visions brought the purple suit on our streets so that the last word can be given to Marina to spread it and shout it as far and loud as possible.
As an Ambassador of World Wide Generation and member of the G17 Movement Council, Testino hopes that as many brands, organizations and creatives could join her #OneDressToImpress campaign to promote the achievement of the SDGs, achieve transparency and transform the fashion industry into a sustainable and conscious force once and for all.
Marina Testino has kindly made WWG of her famous Instagram Reels. Check it out here - Instagram Reel