Space 3R: fashion, sustainability, and community

A conversation with Chiara, President of Spazio 3R

In a world overwhelmed by fast fashion, there are realities that demonstrate how fashion can also be care, regeneration, and training. We met Chiara, president of Spazio 3R (Recycling, Sewing, Reusing), to talk about sustainability, craftsmanship, and the growth of a project that intertwines creativity, training, and community.

Profile

Chiara has years of international volunteering experience, mostly in South America, an experience that naturally brought her closer to the third sector and non-profit organizations. With Spazio 3R, she is advancing a model that combines social inclusion, professional training, and sustainable fashion, building a network of workshops in Milan and Monza.

Interview

Can you tell us how you got into the third sector?

In reality, the non-profit sector is part of my background. I have always volunteered in South America since I was 18, so I naturally approached the world of the Third Sector.

How has Spazio 3R grown?

Spazio 3R was born in Viale Lazio, in a basement that we renovated. Initially, there were home machines; now they are professional. It is well lit, has everything needed, but obviously, as we grow, the spaces must also grow.

Today, Spazio 3R is present in four workshops between Milan and Monza. The workshop on Viale Lazio remains a reference point for training. We also have a larger and brighter space dedicated to both production and professional training.

The third workshop is in Macherio, where we are starting training and inclusion courses. Near Viale Lazio, we have created a small territorial network: there we collaborate with a public primary school for the training of mothers and children, and we also manage an exhibition space activated as a temporary shop, in a perspective of proximity economy, that of the “15-minute city”: where production and sales occur, life also happens.

Can you tell me a bit about your vision of the fashion sector right now, when it is a country full of fast fashion?

First of all, Spazio 3R conceives fashion starting from materials. We do not buy fabrics: we recover high-quality remnants. The idea is that if you start from precious materials, the creations will also have quality.

Our sustainability is based on the premise that we do not want to produce industrially. Our focus is training: creating new tailoring figures able to respond to a real need.

For this reason, we only have a small part of production, artisanal, linked to capsules that enhance recovered and donated materials from companies and the footwear sector.

Can you tell me a bit about what it was like to work with Pabla and Spazio 3R?

Spazio 3R is a bit of a home for many. Many people who perhaps take part in their journey with us. Pabla also joined our group and, even though she then moved back to Chile, she has always stayed in touch with us. This is a bit of the meaning of Spazio 3R.

With Pabla, we met during a master’s program: Spazio 3R was a case study in a final presentation. Then we saw each other at an event and from there her internship with us was born. It was a natural process.

She made her communication skills available, and the fact that she was Chilean in Milan enriched the project: Spazio 3R gathers people and stories from all over the world. We are happy when the girls come back to visit us: we are always that safe harbor, where one can stop for a coffee and then set off on their journey.

Testimonial

An experience that connects Rosato with Spazio 3R

“Spazio 3R is a bit of a home for many. Many people who perhaps take part in their journey with us. Pabla also joined our group and, even though she then moved back to Chile, she has always stayed in touch with us. This is a bit of the meaning of Spazio 3R.

With Pabla, we met during a master’s program: Spazio 3R was a case study in a final presentation. Then we saw each other at an event and from there her internship with us was born. It was a natural process.

She made her communication skills available, and the fact that she was Chilean in Milan enriched the project: Spazio 3R gathers people and stories from all over the world.

We are happy when the girls come back to visit us: we are always that safe harbor, where one can stop for a coffee and then set off on their journey.

Yes, there has been growth. The fact that today Pabla has created her agency makes us very proud. It means she has developed her idea, and perhaps some things she experienced with us helped her. It’s beautiful when each person realizes their dreams with their own concepts, with their own vision.”