Ebe Collective is the name of the Milan-based studio that deals with circular design and upcycling services for brands and manufacturers in the textile sector. Composed of Giulia Brugnoli, Allegra Rusconi, and Benedetta Spandri, Ebe works primarily with waste materials that are recovered and “redesigned” to find applications other than their original ones. Through research into reuse alternatives, the studio also tries to extend their life cycle and exploit their multifunctionality.
From a fabric remnant to a metal component, the goal is to prevent waste from losing value or ending up in landfills or incinerated, increasing the volume of waste. Ebe Collective takes care of the project from conception to its realization, involving artisans and social cooperatives that give further value to the projects.
One example of their work is K-WAY DUNES for the 2023 Terraforma Festival: by recovering polystyrene sheets used during Fuorisalone events and K-way fabric stock, Ebe Collective created organically shaped poufs. By making a covering hood with the fabrics and through patchwork design, they created a landscape of ergonomic dunes.
The Wallis armchair, on the other hand, was born from the collaboration with SolumStudio: in this case, the materials are second-choice stainless steel tubes screwed together and a 63m rope wrapped around the frame. This interplay created by the continuous intertwining is enhanced by the perfect shapes it generates, i.e., a comfortable backrest and seat that adapt to the weight of the user.
The Morbido collection of cushions and poufs uses scraps of multi-fiber fabrics, memory foam, and foam rubber as starting materials. After a series of color and thickness tests with the patchwork technique, the samples were sewn and filled with scraps from upholstery warehouses.
The Twins Stairs, on the other hand, use other types of materials: the steps of a spiral staircase in mahogany and metal components of different shapes coming from industrial metalworking scraps. The wood becomes a circular seat that rests on and intersects three metal legs thanks to a groove, which also gives stability, creating functional and practical stools.
