[ad_1]
The sheep are flocked by ultrafine-merino-wool producer Pyrenees Park in Lexton, Australia.
Do you know where your sweater comes from? If you swipe one of Loro Piana’s cloud-soft merino-wool sweaters and wave your iPhone at the label, a digital certificate pops up on your screen detailing a bucolic Australian or New Zealand sheep station where ultrafine fibers are shaved. and factories in Italy’s Piedmont industrial region where they are washed, shaped, carded, drawn, spun, woven and dyed. You’ll also learn that Loro Piana’s merino wool, called the gift of kings, is the finest in the world—at 12 microns, less than one-fifth the diameter of a human hair—and comes from a handful of breeders. Focus on grazing management and grazing practices that maintain biodiversity. Although this may directly resemble the experience of the future. Minor reportIt is based on an advanced technology that you can use in your daily life: the data is encrypted with the blockchain and shared with your mobile device via a QR code.
A farmer plucking his hair
Loro Piana is one of the luxury brands harnessing the power of technology to meet the needs of an ever-increasing wave of consumers who make purchasing decisions based on where things come from and the practices and processes involved in their production. “The brand has always focused on the environment and local communities,” said Valentina Boffi, head of sustainability at Loro Piana. “And thanks to this system, we are now able to tell the unique story of each product level.”
Drawing merino-wool fibers at the Loro Piana factory in Verona, Italy
The technology behind Loro Piana’s enhanced transparency comes courtesy of the Aura Blockchain Consortium, a utopian-sounding – and unlikely – collaboration between rival luxury conglomerates LVMH (Loro Piana’s parent company), Richemont, Prada Group and OTB. A consortium formed in April 2021 to fast-track the application of blockchain technology to green fashion. While most conventional blockchains are criticized for the amount of energy it requires to mine cryptocurrencies, the Aura blockchain currently has only 24 computing nodes (compared to Bitcoin’s 100,000) and runs on 100 percent clean energy. Aura Brands is betting big that consumers will soon prioritize seeking the same kind of information when shopping for luxury goods that they do when shopping for organic food or clean beauty products. “You want to know what’s in the food you eat, you want to know what’s in your lip balm and your face cream,” said Daniela Ott, CEO of the Aura Blockchain Consortium. “I’m sure they’ll expect the same from fashion in three years.”
Loro Piana is the gift of the kings group neck
Loro Piana is the gift of the kings group neck
Loro Piana is the gift of the kings group neck
Blockchain authentication acts as an immutable certificate of authenticity and helps preserve luxury products for years to come. In the past nine months, many Ora-certified products have started arriving in stores, including Louis Vuitton LV diamonds with friction-free stones cut in Belgium or India and sparkling jewelry, Maison Margiela Recicla recycled leather bags and Prada Eternal Recycled Gold. Beaux.
LV Diamonds Monogram Star Cut Stud
Maison Margiela 5AC Recicla Classic Baby
Prada Eternal Gold Chain Bracelet in Yellow Gold with Diamonds
Aura isn’t the only player in surveillance technology. The Cloé Vertical project, which debuted on the Cloé Spring 2023 runway, uses a blockchain called EON to track natural materials from field to fashion show. They include linen from the French agricultural cooperative Terre de Linn and wool from creative director Gabriela Hearst’s own family farm in Uruguay. Stella McCartney’s Spring 2023 collection features a cheeky Snog-a-Log graphic tee made from climate-positive, blockchain-certified cotton grown in Turkey using regenerative practices that allow the farm to capture and store more carbon in the soil than it emits.
Chloe Vertical Wide Leg Flare Pants
Stella McCartney Snog-a-Log Recycled Cotton T-Shirt
Blockchain tracking is usually based on a QR code or a contactless chip sewn into clothing. But Sydney startup Fibres has developed a way to make the fibers of the cushions themselves visible. A light-tracing dye made from rare-earth minerals is added to regenerated cotton or wool. It can be scanned to confirm the origin of the created fabric. The FibreTrace nanotechnology-based approach, currently used by local B Corp-certified label Maggie Marilyn, is set to be adopted by global luxury players in the coming months.
In more responsible shopping, knowledge is power, and the hope is that increased traceability will put that power in the hands of the consumer.
This article originally appeared in the April 2023 issue HARPER’S BAZAARavailable on newsstands April 4.
Find the latest issue of Bazaar
[ad_2]
Source link
