MARCHETTI Sustainable, a genderless capsule line that can be described as both basic and statement pieces– is challenging the ways we have understood minimalism in fashion.

Wearing the Nika blouse (Mishka) and Palos pant (Marino).

The capsule wardrobe. It’s become a cornerstone within conversations about sustainability in fashion— the idea of a few core pieces to recycle, restyle, reimagine with the seasons. But very often, this sort of minimalism has misled consumers to believe that the capsule wardrobe is some variation of a gray-scale uniform that looks fabulous when displayed with blond wood floors and white walls, but remains unexciting for those who need thrive on all the markers of a maximalist: Color. Pattern. Prints.

Which begs the question: is there a space for minimal maximalists?

Cue MARCHETTI Sustainable.

“Our pieces are designed to work with as many people as possible. For this (and many other) reasons, we saw no need to restrict pieces to a determined gender of any sort. Our collection is for anyone who feels good about wearing it and can be shared with more people this way.”

MARCHETTI Sustainable is a genderless, GOTS certified line of pieces that can be described as both basic yet statement pieces meant to be worn in multiple ways.

The line is reimagining the ways in which a few essential items of clothing– from skirts, dresses, trousers, and cardigans– can be augmented, not only for the seasons, but in silhouette as well.

Take, for example, the Mary piece, which can be worn as a dress, tunic, or cropped collar shirt when you button off the bottom portion. Or the Nika blouse, with arms that zip on and off.

The goal of the MARCHETTI collection isn’t to make consumers feel as though they need the whole line to start a capsule wardrobe, but to easily embed versatile pieces into what they already own. The line has 5 silhouettes in 5 different colors– from solid blue and whites, textured fabrics, to unique hand-painted prints for those that crave a statement piece.

Wearing the Mary blouse (Elena) and Palos Pant (Elena).

BEHIND THE BRAND

MARCHETTI started out as a small team of 3 people. The founder, Milena, teamed up with Fernando and Vita, a mother-son duo. Vita had over 20 years of experience in the garment industry in Guadalajara, while Fernando had a degree in business from the Universidad de Guadalajara.

During their first meeting, Fernando explained his goal was to change the way brands worked with garment workers. His mother had worked for 20+ years with large Mexican fast fashion and catalog brands and had firsthand seen how his mother was paid and treated unfairly.

“If there was a mistake – the workers bore the cost. If they were late, they were charged a daily fee. And they were never consulted about how to make the pieces or the process better.”

The trios shared desire to reimagine the culture that grounded fashion ethics became the basis of MARCHETTI.

Fernando and his mother now produce 100% of the MARCHETTI Sustainable line.

All MARCHETTI fabrics are GOTS certified, which is recognized as the leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers– from the harvesting of the raw materials, environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing, to labelling.

In addition to the GOTS certification, hand-printed textile and screen printing are key to the collection’s look. The entire collection is printed by two individuals: founder Milena, who does all hand-painting, and textile artist Maria Palos, who does all of the screen printing. The process consists of measuring and marking the fabric and manually laying the screen down to print the fabric 30 x 40 cm at a time. No other instruments but the screens are used (no screen printing machine or special equipment), giving the fabric a more unique and spontaneous feel.

It can take over 3 hours to paint the fabric needed to make just one garment. We allow the fabric to dry in direct sunlight and then line dry over night before sealing the ink into the fabric. Hand painted fabric allows us to create one-of-a-kind pieces that are completely unique. No two pieces are ever the same, even if they come in the same ‘print.’’

CHANGING NOT ONLY WHERE WE SHOP, BUT HOW WE STYLE

True sustainability is not only where and how we shop, but how we choose to style– repurposing and reimagining pieces is a key pillar of sustainable consumption and anti-disposability culture.

After all, while unethical production is one demon of the fashion industry, our mentality towards fully using our clothes is another.

From embracing minimalism on a philosophical level (not just aesthetic) to moving beyond the gender binary, MARCHETTI Sustainable a reminder of what the sustainable fashion movement often fall shorts on.