Fuorimoda! by Matteo Ward explores the unsustainability of the fashion system: a testimony that invites us to rethink our consumption, with concrete solutions for a change involving everyone, producers and consumers alike
Matteo Ward, CEO of WRÅD and member of Fashion Revolution Italia, presented his book Fuorimoda! Storie e proposte per restituire valore a ciò che indossiamo, published by De Agostini, at Palazzo Venart in a conversation with Jacopo Ascari and Alessandra Vaccari, professor at the Iuav University of Venice – Fashion, as part of the Venice Fashion Week program, the week of artisanal and conscious fashion.
When did clothes start becoming a problem? Probably in 1678, when the Sun King decreed that from then on they would go out of fashion. Together with his minister Colbert, he invented “seasons,” a move that prompted noble followers to renew their wardrobes at least twice a year, ensuring continuous cash flows to the state coffers.
From that spark, the perfect mechanism we know today began to take shape, one from which it seems impossible to escape, producing over one hundred billion garments per year, mostly made at rock-bottom prices and destined to be forgotten in the back of our closets or thrown away within a short time.
A perfect system for a very few, but unsustainable for everyone else. This was dramatically demonstrated by the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, where over a thousand textile workers died because they were forced to work in a dilapidated building.
Fashion could not and cannot stop. But how can it make sense to continue like this? Starting from this question, Matteo Ward guides us through an investigation into the unsustainability of the contemporary fashion system, the four pillars on which it rests, and which we can leverage to help chart better scenarios.
A first possible way out within everyone’s reach? Giving clothes the same value we give to food, because a T-shirt and a piece of bread come from the same essential sources and both have an impact on our bodies.
Buying only what we need (or almost), consuming less and better, choosing consciously, demanding, as far as possible, greater clarity on what we buy, and making our voices heard as consumers and citizens.
Fuorimoda! is a journey through the streets of a sprawling industry, in which Ward addresses both those who buy and those who create clothes, in search of viable solutions to catalyze a process of change. To restore to fashion design the power to participate in and preserve the world’s variety, to rediscover its beauty, and to understand that responsible fashion is not an option for a few, but a necessity for all.
About the author
Matteo Ward is the CEO and co-founder of WRÅD, a design studio dedicated to sustainable development and a benefit corporation, winner of the Best of the Best Red Dot Product Design Award. Before WRÅD, Matteo worked for a major fashion house, serving as Senior Manager and co-administrator of the Diversity & Inclusion Council.
He is also the co-founder of Fashion Revolution Italia, a university professor, and a public speaker.
In 2023, he was the co-author and presenter of JUNK, a docuseries co-produced by Sky Italia and Will Media, which explores the damage caused by fast fashion. In the same year, he was named a Food Hero by the FAO.
Matteo collaborated with the European Commission as a Textile Expert for the New European Bauhaus project and published a children’s book with the FAO and WRÅD to raise awareness among young people about the connection between textile and food supply chains.
In 2024, he published his first book FUORIMODA!, published by DeAgostini Mondadori.
Venice Fashion Week is a project by Venezia da Vivere and is part of the City of Venice’s Major Events.
Under the patronage of the City of Venice, Fondazione Cologni Mestieri d’Arte, Tavolo Veneto della Moda (Confindustria, CNA, Confartigianato, Confesercenti, Confcommercio), Associazione Piazza San Marco, and in partnership with Vela Spa.
Event Partners: Venice Design Week, Venice Cocktail Week, Un Gomitolo a Venezia, Serra dei Giardini di Venezia and NonSoloVerde, DR Light & Design.
Special thanks to: Seguso Vetri d’Arte, Bellini by Canella, Ca’ Sagredo Hotel, Palazzo Venart Luxury Hotel, Hotel Saturnia & International.
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Venice Fashion Week is a culture and fashion event created in 2013 by Venezia da Vivere, a Venetian company specializing in digital communication, city projects, and events.
Photos courtesy of wradliving.com
