Vanessa Troice and Daniela Askenazi met in school in Mexico City when they were both 12 years old. Troice’s family are third-generation denim producers and Askenazi’s family are third-generation textile distributors. Jeans, as Troice says, “run in their blood.”
Now in their mid 20s, Troice and Askenazi decided to follow in their family’s footsteps after college and launched their own line of sustainably made denim, Piso Uno, in 2018. Mexico City isn’t known as a leader in sustainable production. Though the government has made some strides in the last couple of years with new initiatives and promises around reducing emissions and expanding the use of solar energy, the region has some of the poorest air quality in the world.
Troice and Askenazi are passionate about producing eco-friendly garments and pushing a sustainable fashion agenda. They work with a manufacturing facility that has an in-house recycling plant, a recycled-water-treatment mechanism that returns clean water to the Atoyac River, and a system that redirects carbon dioxide into their water treatment plant, rather than back out into the environment. They often use deadstock fabric in their collections, as well as Lyocell, 100% natural cotton, and a pre-reduced liquid indigo dye. Vintage-inspired dark-wash cuffed jeans and jackets and tops with frayed edges are the stars of the Piso Uno lineup, and overalls and cropped corsets are also in the mix.
“We focus on handmade, small productions with high quality in every element of the design process. Our goal is ultimately to be a zero-waste company,” Troice says. “We believe that the fashion industry in Mexico is lacking awareness around sustainable practices and production and we want to be a part of a movement that creates awareness for the well-being of our planet.” They feel a sense of duty to spread the sustainability message to consumers and creators in Mexico City.
Doing so even as they are self-isolating at home in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t been easy. On top of the Mexican government’s slow response to COVID-19 (or non-response, as many would argue), officials have yet to implement a financial aid package for small businesses. The young duo is forging ahead nonetheless. “We are trying to look at the positive side of this pandemic, which is that we have this time to reflect, reinvent, and innovate,” says Askenazi. “We’re working to create products that adapt to the needs and preferences of our clients as well as the changes we are experiencing as a business. But Piso Uno will keep focusing on our main philosophy, which involves prioritizing our team’s well-being and caring for the environment.”
Source: https://www.vogue.com/