Do you have that sensation that you hear “sustainable” everywhere and it’s becoming that meaningless word that sooner or later will be deemed to represent what’s not? You know, like people tell you “amazing” just to open their mouth but not their brain?

Well, I have bad news: a sustainable living is the ONLY way out of this mess, so what are we going todo with all this sustainability?

We better DO, conscientiously undo all that we have been pushed to do the past 2 decades, start from something and build the way up. It’s like reaching the top of the mountain (in this case it’s a landfill of trash) and then say: “Nope, I am bored, how am I going to go down? Someone send an helicopter. I want to go to THAT hill, it’s clean, it has the beach and smells good”

Just DO.

Arcadia Earth was just that: an all immersive, experiential art installation that made you the main character of the world, with caves made of paper, chandeliers made of plastic collected from the beach, where your dinner table was sitting on a green beautiful pile of trash and ocean waves were waves of plastic bottles not water.

Arcadia Earth was a unique and innovative experiential environment where guests were inspired to make simple behavioral shifts and conscious actions. The experience featured different installations curated by ARCADIA in partnership with artists Tamara Kostianovsky, Cindy Pease Roe, Etty Yaniv and Samuelle Green that explore how from eating less meat to reducing plastic use will help us live and embrace a more responsible lifestyle.

ARCADIA is an invitation to embrace a new lifestyle, the good ol’ slow living with a forward thinking twist. Each installation was developed using upcycled materials, augmented reality animations and reusable elements in the effort to reuse - recycle and reduce waste at the end of each show. I

Founded and designed by award winning experiential designer, Valentino Vettori, Arcadia Earth was born of a growing awareness of the ecological and environmental challenges we face and a desire to create a hub where brands, communities, activism, and innovative technologies come together to explore, enjoy and engage in being part of the solution.

I had the pleasure of a personal tour of the installation with Valentino and asked him a few questions. Be ready for the ride: he is unstoppable, resourceful, a disruptor, a doer, a believer, because if there’s a problem that we have created there must be a solution. With more than 20 years’ experience of working with leading fashion institutions, Valentino Vettori is passionate about restructuring how customers interact with brand environments. Vettori’s main objective has always been to inspire and engage the emotions of those visiting his installations.

FB - You believe in disrupting retail as is

VV - Retail, as physical space, needs to evolve from its commercial value (defined by the dollar x sqft formula) to a storytelling value (emotions per sqft). The future of retail is the ability to trigger sales via emotional connections and leave the e-comm to serve effectiveness and convenience

FB - How can we give life again to a rack of clothes

VV - A rack of clothes is no longer needed as it represents the old way of shopping full sized and color options. The future is to have 1 sample reference and use digital technology to serve physical needs. In addition, the sample should be featured at the end of an immersive storytelling experience describing its meaning and values ( like in a museum when you buy a book after seeing the exhibit .. exit trough the gift shop)

FB - Customers are ready for responsible consumption, or at least receptive and available to be inspired again, how do we prepare designers?

VV - Designers are unaware of solutions and alternative materials.. someone, (like YKK for the hardware, Supima for the cotton or TENCEL for the yarn) should create a new line of sustainable alternatives to the most difficult fabrics like Lycra, nylon or leather. Those solutions should receive tax brakes and government grands to incentivize their use (right now they are too expensive and not price competitive)

FB - It’s a revolution, the rules of consumption are fast changing, not many understand them, can you predict who will be winning?

VV - The demand for better products will force the change. Like the ORGANIC movement, consumers will become aware of the problem associated with the current fast fashion industry and polluted processes and will demand solutions. The winner may end up be the fast fashion itself as this new trend its already started and they are normally quick to own it