Dover Street Market Ginza (DSMG) is featuring the ethical brand Carmina Campus. It features new items from its "Made in Africa" line. The brand designs bags and accessories using recycled materials. We spoke with designer Ilaria Venturini Fendi, who visited Japan. --Please tell us about the collection you're presenting at DSMG this time. The "Made in Africa" line features bags developed and produced in Kenya. The exterior is made of durable canvas fabric used in safari tents, and the interior is lined with traditional kanga fabric, a colorfully printed fabric. The project's slogan is "NOT CHARITY, JUST WORK." It aims to particularly empower women, providing training to help them acquire skills that will enable them to become independent in the future.

--I understand you originally come from the Fendi family, the Italian luxury brand, and were the creative director of the "Fendissimo" line. How did you end up starting your own business?

When I left Fendi, I wanted to make a fundamental change in my life and thought I'd never return to the fashion world.

My father loved nature, so I spent my childhood living in the countryside, surrounded by nature. I later moved to live with my mother, who is also a member of the Fendi family, and entered the fashion world, designing bags and accessories. However, with globalization, Fendi was sold to the LVMH Group in 2000, and I began to feel like I couldn't keep up with the rapid pace of fashion. I was exhausted by the fact that no matter how hard I worked to design something, it would quickly become outdated once the season ended.

That's why I became interested in agriculture, where time flows differently from fashion. I wanted to embrace the seasons and live in harmony with nature as I had done in the past. After leaving the company, I started running an organic farm on the outskirts of Rome. While I was involved in agriculture, I began to think about ecological support and social contribution, so I offered my farm to participate in a beekeeping course organized by a university in Rome. I met a Cameroonian woman there, and we became close friends, which led to me traveling to Cameroon. People there kept bees indoors, while others lived outdoors. Despite this, the women gave me traditional hats knitted from Cameroonian wool. Wanting to help their situation in some way, I created "Cameroon bags" using the hats. Dover Street Market London began selling these bags, and that's how the brand began.

--I see. How has it evolved since?

It's a new type of entrepreneurship that combines fashion and social contribution activities, and I consider it a design activity that gives new life to unwanted items. I now reuse scrap materials, deadstock, final disposal items that have been discontinued, and products that have failed quality control to create bags, accessories, and even furniture. We have one line produced by highly skilled Italian artisans, and another line produced in Africa using African materials. I don't expect this to change the world, but it at least provides a way to talk about various issues happening around the world.

--Are there any differences in design between your time at Carmina Campus and your time at Fendi?

Before, the design came first and I would choose materials to fit it, but now I use what's available, so I look at the materials and get inspired. I like to go to factories and search for materials among the factory waste.

For example, in my collaboration with the car brand BMW Mini, we made bags using discarded car parts used in car crash tests. Car steering wheels were used as bag handles, and rearview mirrors were repurposed. BMW covered the production costs of the bags, and all profits from the bags were donated to Africa.

--How do you feel about returning to the fashion world while continuing to farm?

To me, raising sheep and making cheese and collecting materials to make bags feel equally natural. I left fashion because I wanted to have some time for myself, but now I'm busy again (laughs). But now I'm busy doing what I love, and I'm very happy.