Culture
The Cotton Road
The Cotton Road: Threads of Memory and Modernity
Words by Teneshia Carr
Images Courtesy of EFI
At Milan Fashion Week, amid the sleek façades of design houses and the echo of cameras, a quieter story unfolded, one that began not in Europe’s ateliers but in the cotton fields of West Africa. The Cotton Road: A Journey from Seed to Garment, presented by the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) in collaboration with 10 Corso Como and Spring Studios, invited visitors to trace the path of cotton from seed to fabric to fashion, illuminating the many hands, histories, and creative visions woven into every fiber.
The event took place from September 25 to 28 at 10 Corso Como, where the exhibition transformed the iconic Milan concept store into an immersive, living archive. Visitors navigated a scenography that mirrored the cotton lifecycle, beginning in the fields of Benin and Burkina Faso, traveling through the looms and dye vats of local artisans, and ultimately arriving in the hands of contemporary designers from across the continent. The result was a spatial narrative that challenged the audience to see cotton not simply as raw material but as a vessel of memory, migration, and meaning.
EFI has been working in West Africa’s cotton value chain since 2012, supporting more than 4,000 artisans and small producers while strengthening sustainable and traceable practices. Backed by the European Union and the OACPS Business Friendly Programme, this initiative has enabled artisans to scale production without compromising their heritage, striking a balance that feels urgent in an industry still dominated by opacity and waste.