Orsola de Castro (born 1966 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) is an upcyclist, fashion designer and author. She is the co-founder and creative director of

Fashion Revolution Fashion Revolution is a not-for-profit global movement represented by The Fashion Revolution Foundation and Fashion Revolution CIC with teams in over 100 countries around the world. Fashion Revolution campaigns for reform of the fashion industry ...

, an activism movement which works towards a sustainable fashion industry. De Castro has been in the sustainable fashion space for more than 20 years, since founding upcycling brand, From Somewhere, in 1997.

Career

In 1997 de Castro started From Somewhere, a fashion label that addressed and repurposed pre-consumer textile waste. From Somewhere's 100% upcycled collections have sold around the world featured regularly in the international fashion press; collaborations include upcycled collections for

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Speedo Speedo International Limited is a distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England, known for its swim briefs. The company has roots in Australia but is no longer based there. Founded in Sydney in 1914 by Al ...

and

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS (r ...

. In September 2006 Orsola, together with her partner Filippo Ricci, started Estethica, a dedicated ethical fashion showcase at

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

for the British Fashion Council. Estethica ran from 2006 to 2014 and has showcased designers such as

Christopher Raeburn Christopher Raeburn may refer to: * Christopher Raeburn (producer) * Christopher Raeburn (designer) {{hndis, Raeburn, Christopher ...

, Katie Jones, Bottletop, People Tree and

Veja Veja may refer to : Places * Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune * Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania * Veja River, Romania * Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India Perso ...

. In 2011, Orsola and Filippo founded Reclaim To Wear, an organization that brings designers, producers and distributors to create upcycled capsule collections. Reclaim To Wear collaborations include Livia Firth and

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

. 'Topshop's Reclaim To Wear', a collaboration running from 2012 to 2014 in which Topshop reclaimed surplus and excess stock fabric from factories in Turkey, India and the UK to make 3 capsule collections. In 2013, together with

Carry Somers Carry Somers (born 1966) is a British fashion designer, social entrepreneur and campaigner. She is founder of Fashion Revolution and was previously founder and director of Pachacuti. Background Somers was born in Seaton, Devon in 1966 and a ...

, Orsola co-founded

, a creative campaigning initiative aimed at raising awareness about the fashion industry's human rights and environmental issues. Fashion Revolution was founded following the

Rana Plaza The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an eigh ...

2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse (also referred to as the 2013 Savar building collapse or the Collapse of Rana Plaza) was a structural failure that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh, where an ei ...

in Bangladesh, which happened on 24/4/2013 and took the lives of more than 1,100 garment workers. On the first anniversary of the tragedy, 62 countries took part in the first Fashion Revolution Day on 24 April 2014. Since, the campaign has seen more than 1 million people around the globe ask fashion brands "Who Made My Clothes?" on social media as a call for industry transparency. De Castro wrote her first book, ''Loved Clothes Last'', published by Penguin Life (

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

) in 2021 (Publication date 02/11/2021). The book is a memoir of her work as an upcyclist and practical guide to clothing longevity, mending and fashion activism. Orsola continues to mentor emerging designers, both in her personal life and via The

British Fashion Council The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...

, Fashion Open Studio and as a visiting fellow at Central St. Martins. Her past mentees include Bethany Williams, Angus Tsui, Kevin Germanier, Katie Jones and Matthew Needham.https://www.thisisthoughtful.com/4094/orsola-de-castro

Personal life

Born in Rome in 1966, Orsola is the daughter of Venetian artist, Matilde Dolcetti. As a young artist, she took part in her first group exhibitions of etchings and drawings in Rome and Venice aged 15. Orsola moved to London, UK in 1982 where she lives today.

Publications

''Loved Clothes Last''. Penguin Life, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Castro, Orsola Living people 1966 births Italian fashion designers British fashion designers Italian women fashion designers British women fashion designers 21st-century Italian women writers 21st-century British women writers British people of Italian descent