The world is soooo small! I first heard of Elisa Negro, the founder of disTURBthecancer, years ago as a fellow Personal Image Consultant colleague of mine, in Italy. Years later, they tell me I should contact her, because she is making amazing creations for women fighting cancer.
I knew she would have been a perfect brand to involve in the Bigger Plans Project (learn why by reading Zazel’s interview) , and as a perfect professional personal stylist herself, she wanted to know more about Zazel and the outfits we chose for the video.
As you know, I wanted each piece to represent Zazel’s style and personality in full: the fucsia version was her own final decision, out of my first selection.
Elisa’s creations are not just turbans, they are pieces of colorful joy to wear anytime, anywhere, no matter what.
Enjoy the read, and make sure you choose one of her turbans to make somebody happy and stylish for Christmas 2020!
WHO IS ELISA NEGRO?
Elisa Negro is an Image Consultant, but, above all, a woman who works with love for other women. I believe to be a very empathetic person, extremely attentive to the needs and moods of others. I am a good listener and I always try to offer, together with a high quality service, emotional support to the women I relate with.
In addition to consulting activities, I am the founder and designer of NELIS & GLAM, a company that produces headbands and turbans through which I created #disTURBtheCANCER: an exceptional project of turbans specifically designed for women with alopecia, especially of chemotherapy type.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?
I have opened closets often similar one to another. Fast fashion with a cosmopolitan flavor flattened our tastes by making us accepting, passively, the fashion diktats. This is why NELIS & GLAM was born: an all-female company that deals with the design, production and distribution of headbands and turbans. They are all Made in Italy, using precious fabrics and involving expert artisan hands.
The turban is a distinctive and scenic accessory: it was my personal challenge to all women. In fact, many of my Image Consulting customers became my very first buyers. NELIS & GLAM, however, brought me closer to another aspect in life: illness.
The “Turban” is not only a synonym of “accessory to be noticed”, but also that of a “supporting accessory, in a complicated phase in life”. I began studying the fabrics and the characteristics that could better be serving women with alopecia. The #disTURBtheCANCER turban is the result of a fine research; it is made of milk fiber, a fabric with beneficial properties that wraps the lady’s head entirely.
It does not have an excessive number of seams, as these would cause irritation and itching; it also has a structure that recreates enough volume on the head to give the feeling of hair volume and leave enough room for that that will grow back.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEANINGFUL CUSTOMER STORY?
When you meet women with cancer that are suffering from the discomfort of an unstoppable and often inevitable hair loss, each story becomes significant.
I met a girl, in her early twenties, who was more terrified of leaving home with alopecia than of the disease itself. I interfaced with a friend of mine, almost forty years old, struggling to justify the sudden absence of hair, to her children . And then a more adult woman, wonderfully attached to life, who turned our #disTURBtheCANCER turbans into her distinctive accessory and personal branding factor.
HOW ARE SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSION RELATED TO YOUR BRAND?
#disTURBtheCANCER turbans are made of milk fiber, a fabric obtained from casein, with beneficial characteristics, quite difficult to find simultaneously in other yarns. It is hypoallergenic, breathable, thermoregulating, able to protect from UV rays, moisturizing, absorbent, and antibacterial.
Only natural and renewable raw materials are used to produce milk fiber, with a consequent drastic reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. In the production phase, the fiber in question also guarantees considerable water savings. It does not contain plastic fibers and is completely compostable and biodegradable.
The turban #disTURBtheCANCER is composed of a milk fiber covering and a silk headband. Our headbans are plain or patterned, knotted on the top of the head: real accessories to complete any ladies’ outfits! One of the headwear in the #disTURBtheCANCER collection was purchased by a woman with no alopecia of any kind.
“I love it so much!” she told me. It could not be more inclusive than this 😉
WHAT WAS YOUR MOTIVATION TO SPONSOR THE BIGGER PLANS PROJECT ON LACHI AND INVIDA’S SONG?
Synergies between professionals send strong messages of hope to people. Lachi’s music and exceptional voice and message are the best soundtrack to a life dancer: and ours (Zazel) is wearing a #disTURBtheCANCER turban! How amazing is that?!?!
This project warmed my heart and gave another boost to my true mission perveding all my projects and collections.
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE TO THE FASHION INDUSTRY?
I believe that the fashion industry already knows how much quality, respect for the environment and work ethics are fundamental for a better and healthier fashion system. I am hopeful: the companies that wink at the above mentioned aspects are increasing, especially after the dark years of fierce consumerism we’ve been living lately.
My message is to the people: keep on being aware of the purchases you make which will make the industry as Earth and people friendly as possible.
FUTURE PLANS?
#disTURBtheCANCER is taking its first steps into the world. My energies are focused on making the product international and available outside Italy as well. We are working on the CE certifcation as a medical device, which allows the final purchaser to deduct the costs in their tax declaration.
You know how much importance I give to connections, and this one arrived thanks to an Italian brand I will interview in the next weeks (curious? have a look at VanityWheel).
We wish all the best to Elisa and her brand. if you want to learn more and catch up with her, do it here:
website: https://www.disturbthecancer.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/disturbthecancer
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disturbthecancer/