One often doesn’t think about clothes making as a rehabilitative process, and this isn’t for lack of imagination but rather, sadly, indicative of the times we’re living in where fast fashion and exploitative processes from origin to storefront are eternally trending.
Fashion label and community-centric initiative, PIETÀ seeks to change that, quite literally, by enabling inmates of Peruvian women’s and men’s prisons to earn their own money and support their families while awaiting trial. Creating something which transcends their environment without being ashamed of their reality, the collection’s aesthetic while luxurious (only high-quality fibres like cashmere and pima cotton are used) reflects the stark architecture of jail.
Established in 2012 after founder Thomas Jacob visited a prison in Lima, the project has maintained its original ethos. Using only natural, ecological and recycled materials, PIETÀ adopts a holistic approach to sustainability seeking to be good for the environment and the community.
Taking their name from a masterpiece by Michelangelo, the collective recently released a limited-edition selection of t-shirts in collaboration with the Berlin-based agency SHOTVIEW. Featuring selected works by renowned photographers like Caroline Mackintosh, Daniel Roche, Alex Aikiu and Horst Diekgerdes, the collection reflects the transformative power of creativity with 100% of the proceeds from the sales going to the initiative.
