Km0 production: what impact it has for fashion
by Edoardo Cavazzoli
In recent years the topic of sustainable fashion is becoming increasingly popular, but what does kmo fashion really mean, and what implications does it have?
Fashion at km0 means entrusting the production to local artisans, who work in close contact with the creative and commercial department.
This proximity guarantees the quality of a handmade and made in Italy product, but not only. The proximity allows to have a human and constant relationship with the artisans and their families, limiting the pollution due to logistics and transport.
Fashion at KM0, also means to control more waste, producing only what is really necessary.
This model linked to the proximity and the enhancement and recovery of production traditions also allows greater flexibility, a feature not to be underestimated in times of crisis and economic uncertainty.
Italy, land of great fashion manufacturing artisans
The production offer in Italy has few equals throughout Europe and the world. Clothing, knitwear, accessories, special processes, in Italy you can find everything you are looking for. It is no coincidence that brands from all over the world buy our fabrics and ask for the support of our esteemed master craftsmen.
Italy is famous for its textile districts. A textile district is an industrial and productive pole focused on yarns and fabrics, composed of a group of companies and industries. To compose the districts there are companies of small and medium dimensions, located in a circumscribed geographic area and tied up from the same productive purpose. These independent realities create together an economic network, which benefits the sharing of competences and innovation.
Although it is not an exclusively Italian organization, the textile district is an extremely popular scheme in our Peninsula. These strictly made-in-Italy districts were born in the 1950s and today export all over the world. Italian textile industry clusters are at the forefront of technology, yarns and production processes. Among the best known textile districts are Prato, one of the largest in Europe, the one in Lombardy near Como, the district of Eastern Sicily, the Piedmontese pole of Biella, and the manufacturing district of Montegranaro.
Proximity as an economic model
An important concept linked to km0 production is therefore proximity.
Being close to the artisans allows brands to be able to follow every step of production closely, knowing every step in detail.
Proximity also helps in the design phase because it allows to take into account any limits of a production and limit waste.
Moreover, an aspect that is often underestimated is the possibility of co-creation thanks to the knowledge of the artisans. Having direct contact with them very often allows you to optimize the time available and maximize your creativity as well as the manual skills of the craftsmen themselves.
Flexibility and small productions
Working closely with artisans also means being able to produce in an extremely flexible way: imagine if your production was in Portugal, for example, or even in China. You would have much longer production times and greater difficulty in communicating. Imagine instead if the artisan of reference were a stone's throw from your office or your home. You would have a constant comparison, the possibility to see with your own eyes all the steps and you could intervene quickly, if necessary. The advantages are countless. With Italian artisans, these benefits are also accentuated by the fact that they have productions envied by the whole world for their quality! It happens to us that people write to us from the most remote places to have the contacts of our craftsmen, who are distinguished by their mastery.
Production at km0 in times of crisis
In case of periods of crisis or uncertainty like the one we are living, having a km0 production guarantees remarkable advantages.
Specifically, being able to count on small productions, which do not need very long planning times, can allow a more controlled planning and therefore more able to adapt to the uncertainties of the market.
According to us at Ad Hoc Atelier, this is the direction in which a fashion industry that wants to be more ethical and sustainable must go. It is important to produce less, and to make garments with a story and a meaning. In addition, production must have time horizons that are not too long: in this way there is less risk and less waste.
Finally, the last key aspect of km0 production is that it allows us to streamline production chains, trying to get away from the now common logic of seasonal collections that dictate the timing of fashion and guide designers. Giving value to tradition, rediscovering ancient techniques and inventing new ones, dealing with artisans and setting creativity in motion. These are all pillars of a more sustainable 0 km fashion.
We at Ad Hoc Atelier believe in this, don't you?
Shop the article
