PINKO BAG FOR ETHIOPIA
2014
Together with Marina Spadafora, in 2014 we realized a collection of bags made in a local, ecological and sustainable factory in Adis Abeba, where all employees are women: 100% African cotton and traditional patterns.
The PINKO Bags of the 1990s were a huge success for us, with the dreams, fun and hopes of an entire generation carried in them. 2014 saw the start of the PINKO Bag for Ethiopia project, representing a new vision of fashion that enhanced aesthetics with ethics.
Marina Spadafora, the pioneering designer for Africa and Italy’s Fair Fashion Ambassador, is the creative chosen to develop the new “PINKO Bag for Ethiopia“ collection.
“I believe in fashion with a mission”, Spadafora explains, “and this is what I sought to express in the PINKO Bag for Ethiopia collection. The designs are inspired by the body painting of the indigenous populations of the Omo Valley, which include over 16 different ethnic groups, including the Surma, Mursi, Kara, Kwego, Konso and Arbore tribes: small, archaic societies, driven by beauty and courage and untouched by civilization. Africa is the future; the local craftsmanship is a huge resource that exists in symbiosis with the environment. PINKO Bag for Ethiopia can bring these far-off peoples to our attention, with benefits for their protection”.
Pietro Negra, President of PINKO: “I believe that globalisation can become a positive factor if it is able to improve the well-being of cultures and populations on the fringes of the world, and if it is able to awaken curiosity in the West. Fashion is not only an end in itself”.
We have joined Fashion for Development (F4D), an international project for the development of third-world countries through fashion. F4D is recognised and supported by the UN, and promotes the culture and financial independence of women, the guardians of the invaluable craftsmanship traditions of their countries.
The PINKO Bags for Ethiopia are made from 100% African cotton, in an ecological, sustainable factory in Addis Ababa, which only employs women: “But this is a job, it’s not charity”, explains Marina Spadafora. “It’s a step - albeit a small one - designed to make a huge contribution to the financial independence of women and help them regain respect in their societies”.
