Instead of complaining about their time behind bars, prisoners in an Italian jail have put their sentence to good use by applying their creative talents.
Paola Mazzini, 60, is one of these designers and hopes to put the profits towards helping others. Stuck behind bars for drug charges, she used her time to teamed up with several inmates to launch their own fashion brand.
The New Zealand Herald reports, “The inmates at Milan's San Vittore prison have learned tailoring skills from a local cooperative that aims to help women behind bars, and have already made costumes for theatre and television as well as flowing dresses and long-sleeved shirts for shops.â€
The costume designs can be seen at Milan's La Scala Opera House and their line of T-shirts are sold in libraries under the brand, “Jail Cats.â€
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Prison Fashion Brands
- The rise of fashion brands founded by prisoners can disrupt the fashion industry by providing unique, high-quality products with a powerful story and message behind them.
- Fashion as Rehabilitation
- The utilization of fashion as a tool for rehabilitation for prisoners can disrupt the traditional prison system and lead to greater chances of reintegration into society.
- Prison Entrepreneurship
- The growth of prison entrepreneurship can disrupt the mindset that prisoners are unable to contribute meaningfully to society and help pave the way for greater opportunities for incarcerated individuals to start their own businesses.
Where This Applies
- Fashion
- Fashion industry players and entrepreneurs can explore collaboration with prison tailoring cooperatives to tap into a new source of skilled labor and offer opportunities for rehabilitation.
- Prison Services
- Prison service providers can explore offering more programs geared towards teaching prisoners valuable skills that can help them transition back into society and lead constructive lives.
- Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship mentors and coaches can explore opportunities to work with prisoners and provide resources and coaching to help them develop successful businesses.
