I started Anonimo after a few things happened all at once:  I turned 50, my mother died, I moved to Italy, the pandemic started and so did my menopause. I had trouble sleeping because of my raging hot flashes and wanted a lightweight nightshirt that was cool and comfortable. I couldn’t find the level of quality and the oversize style I liked, so I decided to make my own. As an architect, I like to design things as well as spaces, so I found a local seamstress who could work on a prototype with me. Living in Puglia, I am surrounded by incredible Mediterranean landscape, but also a huge manufacturing industry that supports Italian fashion. I found Angela, a seamstress who worked for many of the large fashion houses (Dolce & Gabbana, Prada etc.) but now had her own small shop where she sews bespoke clothing. She told me how she had sewn many designer garments for luxury labels, but she was now ‘anonimo’, meaning anonymous.

Together we made a few samples, refining the overall size, the collar, the buttons and depth of pockets until we arrived at the garment I am now offering as a first edition. I found a textile wholesaler in my local town market, who offered remnants from luxurious Italian cotton. I decided to make my nightshirts from these remnants in order to reduce waste and not create further demand for fabric. There is already too much fabric that ends up in landfill — the fashion industry is notoriously wasteful and exploitative. I wanted to see if it was possible to work ethically and sustainably by producing on a small-scale, paying garment workers fairly, and sourcing deadstock fabric. In a way, this has become more of an artist project to see whether ethics can function within capitalism. I also just love designing things, so let’s see where this goes.