A unique business model
Sustainability is a mindset, achieved by collaboration between companies and NGOs.
To change the rules of the game with a brand whose name is a hymn to a possible new and different world. This is the purpose of Redemption. Bebe Moratti, the brand’s co-founder and creative director, after various international experiences, decided in 2012 to “found a company with two friends and a different business model, to break down the differences and lack of communication between companies and NGOs,” he explains. The first product branded “Redemption Choppers” the label’s original name are customised motorcycles auctioned as artworks. Excluding the idea of developing the brand on a merchandising model, Bebe Moratti looks to made in Italy, “a virtuous system that worked perfectly from the 1940s to the 1980s, before it began offshoring production”. Started with capsule collections of 30 pieces, the company has expanded to haute couture and more recently athleisure (Redemption Athletix, pictures above). “The woman we have in mind,” explains Bebe Moratti, “has a rock soul, strong and independent, capable of choosing essence over appearance and committed to change.” Just like the brand, which unhinges the concept of “margins at all costs”. It uses 50% of the proceeds to support shares in charities and donated 100% of
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– revenues from online sales during the lockdown to organizations such as ActionAid. The creative director and soul of Redemption continues: “I don’t like the word sustainability. It’s overused for greenwashing. Then it shouldn’t be seen as a goal but a mindset, driving you to improve day by day.” As on a path to redemption: “It’s a word we love, charged with meaning. It came up quite spontaneously when we wanted a name. Redemption is a concept that simultaneously addresses the individual and all humanity. We’re all connected, there’s no redemption for the individual without affecting others. We’ve all fallen but we can get back up.” The concepts of redemption and connectedness are central to the team’s philosophy. “Our model is based on building the value of people and skills. We want to promote open-source development. We have no qualms about sharing our innovative discoveries with the sector, including competitors, in terms of ecological materials, for instance. Our craftworkers are the company’s stakeholders. They’re given visibility, fair pay and scope to enhance their skills. For us at the centre of the work there is a return to humanity and self-trust with the right rhythms. Quality and creativity have to be at the centre, before the product as an end in itself.”
Matteo Ward
Text by Artwork by
Ian Cibic