ODP Collection x Tamu McPherson
For a special, made-to-order capsule collection, Officina del Poggio launched a limited run of merino wool capes and ponchos, produced with Cooperativa Alice, an organization uplifting incarcerated and marginalized women in Italy with skills training and a new future. Our correspondent Anja Tyson spoke with ODP brand founder, Allison Hoeltzel, and the cooperative agent, Lalla Radice, to learn more about this special collaboration.
ODP Collection has created this Special Edition Cape in collaboration with Tamu McPherson in bright PINK for October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 20% of the sales will support the Foundation of the European Institute of Oncology for Cancer Research.
Anja Tyson:
I'm going to start by asking Allison to tell us a bit about ODP Collection, the collection of shoes, and then now also ponchos, that she founded almost a decade ago.
Allison Hoeltzel:
Well, the brand was founded in 2014, and although we started out mostly as a leather goods brand, really the idea to expand into other product categories came about following COVID because - to be honest - I was sort of getting a little tired of the system of creating collection after collection and trying to reinvent the wheel every season and order new materials, new relaunch, everything from almost new every season with a handbag collection, because that's what the buyers were asking for. After COVID, I had already started to slow down our way of working. I wanted to focus more on capsule collections, upcycling materials and doing things that were just more special and limited edition, to reduce waste.
After lockdown, we had launched a shoe prototype that got a lot of attention, and I liked the idea of working with artisans and co-branding with them to really give visibility to the beautiful Italian makers behind the scenes. So, I decided to launch the made-to-order shoe collection, in collaboration with our shoemaker. Customers had to wait four to six weeks, but after lockdown, that didn't really seem so long anymore. That collection was a huge success - we launched one style and it continues to be one of our best sellers. That experience really taught me a lot about working with these factories in a way that is more sustainable in launching limited editions that are made to order, but also really using their expertise to learn about new product categories.
I know a lot about handbags and I knew about shoes, and now we have expanded into eyewear and hats and the idea came along to work with a Lanificio Paoletti, a historic Italian wool mill, and recreate this cape that I often used on photo shoots and was asked about all the time. But then I came to the question of who was going to make it, and talking with another designer, Pina Gandolfi, who has the amazing brand Pina G. She gave me the contact of Cooperativa Alice. It was so special that it came from Pina, and then also to discover what a special organization they are. They were so willing to work with me, to help me learn, but also to really use their expertise, to make these capes and ponchos.
So that's how the collection came about.
Anja Tyson:
Italy is the world-renowned center of artisanal fashion, and you are an American designer ex-pat. And the production philosophies you’re talking about are very sustainable; made to order is very sustainable, small batch production is very sustainable. You're putting the relatively old system of fashion (overproduction, constant turn), on its heels and turning to something that's more demand based. And this new production model demands a relationship with the customer, a storytelling quality. Tell us how you work with your artisans to tell that story.
Allison Hoeltzel:
We work it out to where we get put together a few orders and give it to them, or, um, they able produce one, one piece, and then very, very small batch. I really try to be truly sustainable with them in terms of what they can manage, and that small production order allows me to launch production when we have enough pieces on order, so that we can make sure we're not going to be producing excess pieces. A lot of it is also working with classic items, and then maybe just working with new materials, but trying not to launch too many items at once. So that also helps us be a little more sustainable and reduce waste and not turn out sample collections so often.
Anja Tyson:
I'm interested to know, Allison, the beginning stages of your collaboration with Cooperativa Alice what that collaboration looks like. There’s a non-traditional form of production or nontraditional model to digest, and trust to be established.
Allison Hoeltzel:
When Pina put us in contact, I had a clear idea of what I wanted, and Lalla was really so helpful in sending photos of things, doing trials, and I really trusted what they suggested in terms of finishing and treatments. It all started out in lockdown, and for the first few months we couldn’t even visit. I think they had already done a first trial before I even got to visit in person. So there was already a level of trust and patience. Somebody that came from a garment background would say, okay, I want this. And I want it with this type of stitch, and this type of finishing. For me, it was about for me learning from them. And also collaborating. For instance, I knew I wanted a leather tag inside the cape. And so was trying to figure out, together, how can we sew it in without it being visible, it was a lot of trial and error all managed from afar.
Lalla Radice:
And what we do with Allison is a truly sustainable project. It is a real collaboration.
Anja Tyson:
Lalla, can you give us a little bit of background on Cooperativa Alice?
Lalla Radice:
At Cooperativa Alice, we develop collections for lots of brands – some that are very well-known such as Armani, Chloé, Fendi, and more. It is a very special place, because the women who work with us have decided to change their lives. It’s a lovely place.
We have a laboratory and a sort of showroom inside the prison, and also another one outside of the prison. There are also women working for us experiencing mental fragility, so there are not only prisoners or ex-prisoners, but there are also abused women with mental fragility, or experiencing difficulties in life.
Anja Tyson:
At ATPB, we have a lot of followers based in the U.S., and here we have the highest prison population in the entire world. We are a very carceral country unfortunately. Many people in the U.S. reading this now may not be familiar with what it means to be a formerly incarcerated woman in Italy. Tell us about the experience of the woman you are working with, and what you are trying to build by employing them.
Lalla Radice:
It's very oppressive, difficult… it's life changing. There is nothing to compare it to. It is lonely, and I don’t think any of us can imagine what this experience is, or how it changes your life. Everything becomes harder. There's social stigma attached. And it is harder for women than it ever would be for a man, because the prison system itself was designed for a man, and a man’s needs. Not for the women. For example, there is no place to be a mother in prison. There is no space designed for motherhood – they make it impossible. It was the first thing I noticed, when I started working with Cooperativa Alice.
So, what we do is we try to create a sort of alternative world for these women. They can change, they can learn, they can work. If you have work, you can change your life. If you have work, you are not just an ex-prisoner or a prisoner. You are a worker. You can imagine yourself as something new.
By offering skills training and a space to learn this new trade, it gives them a new power, a new identity. They are no longer a prisoner, they are a seamstress. They are no longer only formerly incarcerated; they have a trade.
Allison Hoeltzel:
There are also a few women working with Cooperativa Alice that are not currently or have never been incarcerated.
Anja Tyson:
Allison, from your perspective as someone who is immersed in luxury fashion, in high quality, and trying to deliver the most special product. Obviously, it’s not such a leap for you to get to understanding this alternative model of production. And Cooperativa Alice has quite a few luxury brand partners. I'm wondering, from your luxury perspective, is there like anything keeping regular run-of-the-mill everyday brands - not just brands who already understand the value of this work - from investing in this?
Allison Hoeltzel:
I think one of the main things is to define: what is luxury? For some people, luxury could be having something that is more special, not mass produced. Someone else might define luxury related to the material used, or the way it's made. Then a lot of people automatically assume luxury has a high price point, and that makes it exclusive, whereas the actual make of it, they don't really know, or they don't really care about. The kind of business model that I'm implementing, with limited edition items, or items made through an organization such as Cooperativa Alice, it would be difficult for more mass-produced brands because of their scale.
It would be a great for people to consider who's making the garments, beyond just the materials and the branding. Taking it a step further and understanding: are the workers who have made this been treated fairly? Have they been paid fairly? That's something that's a lot harder for the end consumer to understand and to investigate. It’s not something you can touch or feel - you don't see it in the garment.
Anja Tyson:
Yes, and part of the reason we are collaborating on this story is to tell it in a way that's editorial, that is sumptuous, that doesn't diminish like the style of the piece by talking about the story of the production. I think that a lot of brands have a difficult time understanding that you can celebrate both of those pillars. All at the same time. You can tell a beautiful story with your pieces and also have an amazing photo shoot with really beautiful, sensuous, editorial, joyous quality. And that you can also talk about the ethics behind the production.
Allison Hoeltzel:
I think even more mass-produced brands are learning to do this and trying to give a visibility to the makers and the artisans, because I think a lot of people are scared that artisans and hand manufacturing is dying down, and that young people aren't going into it. But some of the second and third generations are coming back to it now as a trade, because they feel that now it's becoming more recognized or prestigious than in the previous generation. Craft is gaining more respect again.
The artisans themselves feel it too - they realize that people are learning to appreciate it again. The schools are now full of people wanting to learn about bag making and shoe making. It's not so much that the schools aren't teaching and that there isn't a desire to learn as much as it is that it's hard to train people, and a lot of companies rely on maybe the older workers have that experience. The investment put into a new, young worker into is a lot. So that's another thing that's amazing about Cooperativa Alice is that they spend so much time training the women so that they really learn the craft. They’re making that investment of really teaching them the trade. There are a lot of factories that are just really on a tight schedule or have a limited financial situation, and maybe do not prioritize making that similar investment in young people.
Anja Tyson:
So these women are coming into the workforce with their newly-acquired skills. There's no charitable extension where people will have to say, oh, we're going to hire this person who has no skills and train them. They're coming in as a value add already knowing all these artisanal crafts. And like Lalla was saying, being able to give them that identity, going beyond being a prisoner or a formerly incarcerated person, to be able to say that they're an artisan or a craftsperson, or an expert, that's a very personal, emotional esteem relationship for someone to have with the work that they're doing. The foundation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs is esteem. That's the most important thing that we have as humans. Creating an avenue for that is incredible.
ODP’s small batch, made-to-order collection, is available at www.odpcollection.com.
