You see, Perpetua and GRAPHI-TEE are basically the same thing. We are not talking about products, but of means of communication for a new and alternative way to do things, smart and innovative, to preserve our precious resources.
We interviewed Matteo Ward, co-founder of the purpose brand Wråd, to discover what happens in the new pop-up store Wråd & Perpetua® we had to invent it in Berlin.
Why are you in Berlin?
I am here with Felix, WRÅD country coordinator in Germany, for the opening of our first store, a pop-up inside the Bikini Berlin, a renowned space for showcasing research in the fields of art, design and fashion! A step ahead that excited our team because, for the first time, we have our own space to share everything about the world of WRÅD, made of communication, innovation and design. We don’t really see this as a store, but as an experience where the guests can discover more about the real cost of the fashion industry… and find alternatives that, in the last two years, we have developed to reduce the environmental and social impact of our clothes.
What can we find inside the Pop-up Store Wråd & Perpetua® we had to invent it?
You can find the result of years of research and development in the fields of communication, innovation and design. The focus of this space is the story of the process set in motion with Perpetua: a dedicated stand explains the innovative production chain that, thanks to the support of Alisea, allowed us to bring on the market our GRAPHI-TEE and g-jacket, the first products dyed with wasted graphite powder.
Tell us, how did this collaboration start?
In 2015, when WRÅD was just an idea, I approached Susanna Martucci to share with her the ideas that Victor Santiago, Silvia Giovanardi, co-founder of WRÅD and I had in order to catalyze a positive change in the fashion industry, the second most polluting one in the world, after the oil industry. Susanna sees in the project the same synergic DNA, in line with the ones of Alisea and Perpetua, that have been around for years to inspire the market to showcase intangible values through tangible products. She is willing to support the project through the resources and the experience of her group, and the question she asked that started everything was: “Matteo, couldn’t the wasted graphite be used in the world of fashion?”. From Susanna’s question, the discover that 2000 years ago the Romans were already using graphite to dye fabric and so we decided to re-invent the ancient roman technique through circular economy and innovation, to eliminate the use of chemicals when dying fabric.
How did the Endorsed by Perpetua concept came about?
You see, Perpetua and GRAPHI-TEE are basically the same thing. We are not talking about products, but of means of communication for a new and alternative way to do things, smart and innovative, to preserve our precious resources. The DNA is the same. The experience of Perpetua the pencil and the know-how acquired through its production widen the range of products and production processes in a field that, apparently, have nothing to do with the brand. This is the real strength of Endorsed by Perpetua.
Why should a company want to become Endorsed by Perpetua? Being Endorsed by Perpetua brought us several benefits: as anticipated, it made innovation in the fashion industry possible, as well as in our project that, before being supported by Perpetua, didn’t exist. Secondly, once the product was developed, it became, for the market that was already familiar with Perpetua, a guarantee of the sustainable DNA of the product itself, while opening the doors to a lot of different commercial opportunities, original and new compared to the standards expected in our field.
Why should a company want to become Endorsed by Perpetua? Being Endorsed by Perpetua brought us several benefits: as anticipated, it made innovation in the fashion industry possible, as well as in our project that, before being supported by Perpetua, didn’t exist. Secondly, once the product was developed, it became, for the market that was already familiar with Perpetua, a guarantee of the sustainable DNA of the product itself, while opening the doors to a lot of different commercial opportunities, original and new compared to the standards expected in our field.
Why should a company want to become Endorsed by Perpetua? Being Endorsed by Perpetua brought us several benefits: as anticipated, it made innovation in the fashion industry possible, as well as in our project that, before being supported by Perpetua, didn’t exist. Secondly, once the product was developed, it became, for the market that was already familiar with Perpetua, a guarantee of the sustainable DNA of the product itself, while opening the doors to a lot of different commercial opportunities, original and new compared to the standards expected in our field. The difference between making promises and keeping them is what builds the credibility and integrity of a brand, how do you keep up with the expectations? We are honest and transparent, we pursue a policy of organic growth, we want to spread the truth about our goals and the results that, as of today, we are able to guarantee. For us, the truth is the real wealth of the age we live in, the best we can offer on the market, in accordance with a sustainable industry. Nobody tells the truth anymore! And we aren’t sure of what we eat, what we drink, what we breath and what we wear!
You are all young, where does this passion and enthusiasm for the project endorsed by Perpetua come from?
From the optimism and positivity that stems from the knowledge that change is possible, and US, together, can make it happen.
What is the technology that lies behind Wråd Endorsed by Perpetua? Tell us a little about these products.
It’s called g_pwdr technology and it is a technology developed to dye our denim with wasted graphite powder. It was the result of a collaboration with a third partner with the same DNA of Wråd and Perpetua® we had to invent it: Ital Denim. Denim is one of the most polluting fabric that we can find in our closet: it takes about 9.000 liters of water for a single pair of jeans and up to 2.000 different chemicals for the dying and fixing phases. g_pwdr technology allows us to reduce this impact drastically in the dying phase, by 95% in fact, and it is the technology we used for our g_jacket. Innovation inspired by tradition, that you can find here in Berlin in our Pop-up Store and on wradliving.com.