Photo by: Manuel Kovšča
MATEJA BENEDETTI
Slovenian sustainable luxury fashion designer
In each of my Benedetti Life collections, there is an underlying message about animal and plant species that humans have endangered.
Rose Valley (Rožna dolina in Slovenian). The name calls to mind a place that is ideal for a person who enjoys being in the countryside. And it is precisely this charming Ljubljana suburb that Mateja Benedetti has chosen as the place to live and create in. The Slovenian sustainable luxury fashion designer draws ideas for her brand Benedetti Life from nature. Mother nature is the most creative artist in the world.
She started as a costume designer for opera houses and theatres, a career that lasted for 20 years, during which time she received many awards for her creative and innovative work. As a successful costume designer she demonstrated her passion for sustainable fashion using sustainable fabrics made from apples, pineapples, wood, recycled plastic bottles etc.
In 2014 she began experimenting with her first eco-fashion brand, which was in the same year chosen by Vogue Italia among the 20 most promising eco-friendly clothing brands in the world. In 2017 Mateja was one of the five finalists at the ceremony for the Green Carpet Award, the prestigious fashion Oscar, which took place at the Teatro alla Scala during Milan Fashion Week. In 2018 she was nominated as the Slovenian female personality of the year for her outstanding achievements, and in the same year she received the Positive Luxury and the Big See awards.
In her career she has collaborated with a number of recognised international publications such as: Vogue Italia, International Vogue, Vogue Brasil, Vogue Germany, Book Sposa, Collezioni, L’Officiel, Rendez-Vous de la Mode, Collezioni TRENDS, ELLE, Glamour, Grazia, Luxiders, Ufashon, Cosmopolitan, Gloria, The Calvert Journal, The Issue Magazine etc. Her collections were displayed and praised in Milan and Paris and at Ljubljana Fashion Week, the Sustainable Luxury 1.618 Biennale in Paris, the High End Fashion Conference in Kuwait, and the world’s first Vegan Fashion Week that took place in Los Angeles in 2019.
