GenovaJeans: The inaugural event dedicated to Jeans, their history and innovation for the future
GenovaJeans, the annual event of the Municipality of Genoa in partnership with Diesel, Candiani and ArteJeans, with the support of Eco Age, kicked off its first edition in September 2021. Combining the history and the future of jeans, which were born in the Ligurian capital and loved throughout the world, a key focus of GenovaJeans was sustainability.
The opening event of GenovaJeans 2021 was the Press Conference at the main office, the University Library, at 10am CEST. The moderator, Dr. Paolo Verri, introduced the panel speakers: Marco Bucci – Mayor of Genoa, Manuela Arata – President of GenovaJeans, Andrea Benveduti – Economic Development and Industry Councilor, Carlo Maria Ferro – President of the ICE Agency, Ursula Casamonti – Artejeans, Alberto Candiani – President Candiani Denim and Andrea Rosso – Diesel Sustainability Ambassador.
After the screening of the documentary “Jeans – The Genoa -R- Evolution” produced by Pulse Films Italia directed by Tobia Passigato and Laura Borgio and with musical performances by Jack Savoretti and Rodrigo D’Erasmo, the speakers discussed the event and their connection, not only with Jeans but with the city of Genoa; its heritage, sustainability mission and relationship with art.
The Via Del Jean and the Main Exhibitions
Partners, national and international influencers and journalists, were accompanied on a guided tour to visit the main exhibitions of the event. The tour started in the spaces occupying the University Library, with a visit to the exhibition “Jeans. From the origins to the myth” which hosts the story of the Genoese origins of jeans and their evolution over the centuries through historical finds, multimedia installations, unpublished videos, documentaries and educational insights.
The Candiani Exhibtion: Behind the Seams.
How much do you think you know about your jeans?
The second stop on the tour was the exhibition “Behind the Seams. How much do you think you know about your jeans?” created in collaboration with Candiani Denim. An interactive exhibition, set up in the Municipal Market in Piazza dello Statuto, it tells the impact that the production of jeans has on the environment and the latest sustainable solutions.
The Diesel exhibition: DIESEL’s denim heritage. A walk in its archive
Next, the guests arrived at the exhibition “DIESEL’s denim heritage. A walk in its archive“ set up at the Sottoporticato of the Doge’s Palace, a curation of legendary and iconic pieces from Diesel’s private archive, which have left the company’s gates for the first time. Accompanied by Renzo Rosso along the Via del Jeans, the guests visited “Diesel For Responsible Living | A Journey towards a sustainable future”, dedicated to the sustainable jeans of the future, “Diesel for successful living | The history of advertising” an exhibition to reflect on how jeans have been used to transform the world of advertising and finally “Diesel’s replica of the first jeans ever” where visitors had the opportunity to admire a reproduction of the first jeans ever documented in history, a replica of the garment seen in a Nativity scene’s statue recreated using hand-made fabrics and workmanship and totally Made in Italy.
Along the route of the Via del Jeans, which touches historic shops and showrooms of various local operators who have decided to participate in the great event, visitors have appreciated the famous Unicef’s Pigotta in jeans, the upcycling stations for the collection of used jeans garments organized in collaboration with Green Chic and the tribute of the CIV of Luccoli to the Via del Jeans, an installation with two mannequins entirely dressed in plants to represent the sustainability of the event.
The guided tour for influencers and journalists continued in the spaces of the Risorgimento Museum where, next to the Red Shirts and Jeans of the Garibaldini, the work donated by the famous English jeans artist Ian Berry, “Portrait of Giuseppe Garibaldi” paying homage to the “hero of the two worlds”. To conclude the tour, the exhibition “ArteJeans, a myth in the textures of contemporary art”, an exclusive collection of 35 works specially created by contemporary artists with jeans supplied by the Candiani Denim company and donated to the City of Genoa at the invitation of ArteJeans Association, founded by Ursula Casamonti and Francesca Centurione Scotto. The exhibition, held in the construction site of what will be the Contemporary Art section of the future Museum of Jeans in the Metelino building, aims to underline the belonging of this extraordinary, versatile fabric to the seafaring city, from which over the centuries it has spread throughout the world, excellence of Made in Italy and a laboratory of creativity and ingenuity.
The day ended with a Networking Event, at the Cloister of the Canons of San Lorenzo inside the Diocesan Museum at 7PM CEST. Representing the Diocese to which the Museum belongs, H.E. Monsignor Nicolò Anselmi, Auxiliary Bishop of Genoa. Among the guests of the evening, Marco Bucci – Mayor of Genoa, Alberto Candiani – President Candiani Denim, Andrea Rosso – Sustainability Ambassador of Diesel, Doina Ciobanu – Influencer, Aditi Mayer – Influencer, Patrick McDowell – Sustainability Design Director of Pinko, Ian Berry – Artist.
During the evening, guests were able to take a guided tour, inside the Diocesan Museum, of the extraordinary collection called Blu di Genova consisting of cloths that are fully considered the ancestors of jeans, the Towels of the Passion. They are in fact fourteen linen sheets, dyed with indigo and white lead painted that tell the various stages of the Passion of Christ made between 1538 and the end of the seventeenth century by Teramo Piaggio and his collaborators and inspired by the engravings of Dürer and Raphael.