Nebra Skay Studio - the digital, circular and local fashion atelier
Nebra Skay Studio is a sustainable fashion atelier (Puglia - South Italy), which uses scientific research on materials, 3D prototyping, digital tools and a local transparent artisan chain, controlled by the creation of the product at its end-of-life (E.P.R.).
The innovation is to combine the scientific research (University of Bari), the digital design tools and innovations, with the local heritage of textile craftsmanship, to respond to the serious and urgent problem of the fashion industry.
National
Italy
The region involved is Puglia, which has a large number of textile production, with skilled craftsmen who guard the skills in danger of extinction. The University of Bari is a fundamental pole, because it supports the scientific research on the materials of our atelier.
Puglia is implementing numerous growth strategies, as a region and for southern Italy, encouraging startups like ours to operate in the regional and national territory to generate innovation.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
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As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Nebra Skay Srl Type of organisation: Start-up First name of representative: Simona Last name of representative: Gassi Age: 27 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: via Pietro Nenni 45, Conversano (BA) Town: Conversano (BA) Postal code: 70014 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 327 292 3116 E-mail:simonagassi1@gmail.com Website:https://linktr.ee/nebraskaystudio
The rapidly growing fashion market, which involves many companies and workers, has a serious and urgent problem of environmental and social sustainability. In addition, recent proposals from the European Union could impose stringent rules on garments and supply chain, incompatible with current business models in the sector. Nebra SKay Studio is a digital, sustainable fashion atelier that designed and realized a circular supply chain for their products: the Nebra Skay Studio process. Our model is based on the belief that a product can be considered sustainable only if the process by which it is made is sustainable: the real social and environmental impact of clothes depends on the supply chain, and here’s our answer.
Our process consists of 4 phases: design, production, sales and after-sales. Each one is composed of different practices, all designed with a view to circularity and protection of the environment and workers: from the design of the garments and the technological and scientific research, carried out with University of Bari, to those of the partners involved in the supply chain (series manufacturers) up to the sales, storage and after-sales management strategies of the garment. This phase of after-sales-service in particular, usually neglected by most companies in the sector, represents a strong competitive and innovative character. It is based on the extension of the responsibility of the manufacturer on the garment after the sale and, in our case, on the offer of after-sales services such as repair, customization (post consumption, renewal of garments against emotional obsolescence), withdrawal at the end of the life of the garment.
Scientific and technological research, combined with innovation of production processes and business model and the local heritage of textile craftsmanship, creates a truly sustainable and competitive proposal to address the urgent environmental and social problems of the fashion industry.
sustainability
circularity
worker's rights
digital innovation
local growth
Nebra Skay Studio has social and environmental sustainability as core values. We collaborate with University of Bari for scientific research lines concerning the branch of material innovation, of the circular economy and sustainable design.
More precisely, the research activities are aimed at the design and implementation of a production cycle that is circular and sustainable from the environmental and social point of view at every stage. The Department of Chemistry has joined us in the first phase of material screening aimed at finding the best raw materials: bio-based materials with characteristics of durability, repairability, disassembly, ease of reuse and recycling to achieve the circularity of the production and life cycle, The supply chain and the business model itself is designer to achieve E.P.R. (Extended Producer Responsibility) as indicated by the latest European regulations.
The screening of materials has been integrated into the brand’s design activity, that is, in the preparation of garments and models that promote the full effectiveness of the sustainability of the raw material: single-material garment; disassemblable multi-material garment; garment with replaceable spare parts; garment easily repairable or customizable for longer reuse.
The entire supply chain has been designed in terms of ecodesign, circularity and EPR, involving some manufacturers and partners. We will also be responsible for verifying the sustainable practices of the partners; start the procedures for obtaining specific certifications related to the supply chain; suggest the optimization or implementation of innovative practices along the supply chain. We have established with all the partners a long-term collaboration aimed at supporting, year after year, the research activities that we will continue to conduct, increasing and continuously improving the character of sustainability and innovation and, thus, of competitiveness in the market of our incipient business.
Nebra Skay Studio produces tailored streetwear. We made this choice for precise reasons: the tailoring detail of our garments gives durability, quality and good fit; the streetwear style manages to reach the tastes of a very large slice of the population. All fashion, in fact, has recently focused on streetwear, while sustainable fashion often limits its offer to products with a "natural" and "bio" aesthetic.
Offering tailored, streetwear and sustainable garments allows more people to buy garments that they love and that respect the environment, thus having sustainable purchasing behaviors.
In addition, as a brand, we also organize and participate in numerous dissemination and training events on the theme of sustainability, which allow us to meet a large audience and spread the theme, raising awareness and culturally increasing buyers, making them aware.
Inclusion is a key objective of Nebra Skay Studio and it is declined in different fields.
First of all in design: our products are no-gender and have models that aim to give comfort to every type of body.
Our business model also allows us to make our garments accessible, unlike the sustainable collections of many high fashion brands. Moreover, workshops, talks and training events are almost always free and accessible to everyone, so as to make formation and collective growth.
Furthermore, the local supply chain allows us to verify the working conditions of the partner laboratories and ensure that workers are respected in their rights.
Citizens and the local population will benefit from this project not only in terms of positive economic return, but also in terms of collective local cultural growth.
We are, in fact, trying to collect funds to open the first physical headquarters, a place open to citizens, for exchange and participation, in which to organize training events on sustainability issues, but also free workshops to bring people to the practice of tailoring, typical of our area of Italy.
Puglia as a region has been an indispensable support to the birth and the first development of our startup. Thanks to regional funding, we were able to set up the company and start the first market and scientific research.
The University of Bari and the local research institutes have also been key partners in the material research phase, to help us define how to be the least impacting on the environment.
We received a second small grant from the region in August, and this allowed us to continue to develop our idea and start the creation (currently underway) of our e-commerce platform for after-sales services. Finally, in November, we participated and won third place in the regional competition for innovative startups, thus participating in the national competition PNI - National Innovation Award.
The local authorities, the University and the research institutes were, therefore, fundamental for the start-up and initial development of this idea, supporting the different initial stages.
The Nebra Skay Studio project was born from the idea of the architects and designers Francesco Decaro and Simona Gassi, in the Faculty of Architecture in Bari; consolidated following a common experience as Account Manager in a company in the clothing industry. This was the opportunity to get to know the sector and the parties involved (locally and not), to identify the critical issues and shortcomings, therefore to design a business idea that is competitive on the market.
The co-founders of the startup are Francesco Decaro and Simona Gassi, who are equally involved in the business project. Simona Gassi is CEO of the startup and transversal figure who deals with the management control, the study of the market and strategies, the care of external relations. She has administrative experience for over 2 years in the secretariat of the youth political organization QUARK. She has basic experience in the field of tailoring. Francesco Decaro is CTO and COO and deals with the technical and operational aspects of the startup. Faced with a shared artistic direction of the brand, Francesco Decaro, thanks to his skills in digital design, 3D modelling of garments and knowledge of the textile industry, takes care of all the stages of production. He has acquired management experience thanks to the exclusive management of the online magazine C A G E Architecture, of which he is founder and curator.
Both founders share the experience of Sales and Account Manager for the textile company Smart Lab Italia S.r.l. and have previous experience as freelancers in the field of communication, graphics and public speaking, So they deal with structuring communication strategies, content creation for storytelling and defining digital marketing strategies.
With the growing demand for sustainable products, industry companies have increased over the years trying to work on sustainability in a winning way. Few succeed, often due to unsuitable business models. As of 2022 there is a reduction of about 15% of Italian companies in the sector that manage to reach a good level of sustainability; only 7.4% is working on circularity; 61% of these are not trained on the subject and run great reputational risks for bad communication*.
This reduces our direct competitors to the only brands that are investing in truly sustainable practices and models, far beyond the materials of the garments (almost never big companies leaders for the difficulty in converting their production). A lot of the other fashion brands don’t offer any kind of after-sales service and tracking of garments, losing responsibility after having sold them and not giving any benefits that stimulate ethical and sustainable behaviors in customers.
Our competitive advantage lies in putting together the strengths of the main competitors, proposing a sustainable and trendy product, suitable for a wider and younger audience. The supply chain is already designed with a view to ecological transition and adaptation to current and future regulations and market demands. The sustainable garments, streetwear and fashion, will have a strong value, the result of an innovative process (digital design, 3D modeling), of a controlled and traced local supply chain (digital labelling) and a sales platform that are integrated with post-market servicessale and benefits for virtuous customers who will be part of it.
The process designed by Nebra Skay Studio has a great power of transferability and replicability. The process, in fact, presents a series of good practices that are applicable to any production chain, slightly changing the tools and knowledge.
Our research and innovation could also benefit other brands that, in the whole nation, try to achieve our goals and are close to local production chains.
In addition, this after-sales service business model is also replicable for other similar brands.
This is true not only in the field of fashion, but also in food or in any production area where we try to achieve good levels of sustainability. In fact, the method of solving problems in the process and then solving those in the product is functional in every area and can bring widespread collective growth in different sectors.
The global challenges to which the project seeks to give answers are those of the 2030 Agenda and more generally of sustainability in the European Union.
Especially in the fashion and textile sector, it is essential to start from the potential of local communities to design business models with a scale different from fast-fashion.
Fast-fashion, in fact, has a problem of sustainability not only environmental but also social, causing in developing countries a serious problem of labor exploitation. Italy, especially Puglia, is famous for its skilled labour and could grow a lot if it brought sustainable and local production, protecting the workers involved.
In addition, the existence in the local context of a startup that in addition to selling, also organizes training and awareness-raising meetings, allows the community and more generally its followers, to develop awareness and grow culturally on the fundamental issues of sustainability and safeguarding the planet.
