From the Sector

Tintoria Finissaggio 2000 is one of the most important Italian companies in the textile finishing sector. Founded in 1973 in Masserano in the textile district of Biella, the company offers the complete range of dyeing of all types of fibres, finishing, digital printing, lamination and membrane lining. These processes are used to give fabrics certain properties, such as colour, pattern, softness, shine or waterproofness.

At Tintoria Finissaggio 2000, customers benefit from the fact that all processes are handled under one roof, from design support to the finishing of fabrics, combining decades of experience with the new possibilities of lamination and digital printing. The dyeing plant in Masserano is a state-of-the-art facility that fulfils the strictest environmental standards. In general, Tintoria Finissaggio 2000 continuously invests in state-of-the-art technologies and production facilities in order to achieve high-quality results while ensuring sustainable production processes.

Tintoria Finissagio 2000 also focused on innovation when equipping a new stenter frame. The company opted for the latest development from German machine manufacturer Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG: the Orthopac RXVMC-20 automatic straightening system. The new straightening concept is specially designed for processing textiles with high distortion dynamics, i.e. textiles with highly variable distortion. Two individually controlled and driven straightening modules with a total of three bow and four skew rollers ensure that bow and skew distortions are corrected in small steps. The control concept is also new. A scanner group at the infeed of the straightener detects distortions even before they reach the correction rollers. This means that the rollers are brought directly into position and the fabric is corrected from the very first centimetre. A scanner group at the outfeed also recognises any residual distortion, which is then corrected on the second straightening module.

Art meets sustainable fashion in the third edition of the project "CirculART", the initiative that sees companies, artists and fashion designers working together with Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto, showing how new balanced forms of production, design and sharing can be explored through a careful choice of materials and of sustainable supply chains. Three key concepts underpin the circularity of sustainable fashion and therefore this project: Reduce - reducing the consumption of raw materials, Reuse - reuse of raw materials, Recycling - regeneration.

The project CirculART is conceived and developed in collaboration between Fashion B.E.S.T. and UNIDEE Residency Programs, and led by the Foundation's team of curators.

Fashion B.E.S.T. - Better Ethical Sustainable Think-Tank, Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto’ sustainable fashion office, was created by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Franca Sozzani. Since 2009, B.E.S.T. has been working on the development of sustainability in the textile sector, to lead to a contamination between art, which assumes social responsibility, and the world of fashion, which is looking to define a new ethical and sustainable model.

CirculART proposes a new link between fashion and art, engaging both in a conscious and innovative combination of sustainability, sensitivity, beauty and union. The project links territory and production factories, bringing together actors from the different sectors making up the textile supply chain that work on the basis of a circular economy with companies that have chosen to embrace the ideal of sustainability and develop an innovative business model.

The protagonists of this year’s edition are two international artists and two international fashion designers, selected through an open call launched by Cittadellarte: Augustina Bottoni, Lucia Chain, Huge Sillytoe and Rebecca Sforzani, young talents called upon to create a work with fabrics produced by partner companies, focusing on dialogue and on the enhancement of the textile industry production chain.

In early 2023, the programme will give the four selected artists the opportunity to visit and work actively with the partner companies that have joined the initiative.
These are: Achille Pinto S.p.a, manufacturer of textiles and textile accessories for the main international fashion brands; Albini Group, Europe's largest manufacturer of cotton fabrics for shirts; Erica Industria Tessile, a leading company in the creation of textile prints, original and customised designs; Filatura Astro, eco-sustainable regenerated yarns; G2B S.r.l., a chemical and environmental analysis laboratory working with vertical cultivation from which indigo is obtained; Lampo by Ditta Giovanni Lanfranchi S.p.A., leader in the creation and production of zips for fashion; Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti, a Biella-based weaver for haute couture; Lenzing, world leader in the production of fabrics made from fibres derived from renewable wood raw material; Milior, a producer of high quality fabrics; Officina +39 – Chemistry plus creativity, a chemical company with thirty years' experience dedicated to research and chemical application in textiles; Tessuti di Sondrio, a factory inspired by the century-old local textile tradition of processing cotton, linen, hemp and wool; Tintoria Emiliana, garment-dyed production and sustainable practices; Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia, a manufacturer of 100% Made in Italy fine combed and carded yarns.