The Italian-Malian Valeria Konein command, coordinates the work. Ask if a colored coat is finished and what happened to the needles used for the other garments. Then the entire workshop seems to become a theater room. The tailor appears Erneest torup, nigriznoanoand starts sewing with a machine that sneezes rhythmic tac-tac-tac-tac. Then he also enters Without Deme, from Senegalwho, concentrated, organizes some African fabrics that have already been cut. “We make the garments with leftover fabrics from luxury fashion houses and hand-painted fabrics in developing countries, mainly in West Africa,” they explain, proudly.
Es 2025 and the image of Italy It is not that of a particularly welcoming country for the immigrants. The Government of Giorgia Meloni has made headlines by building the first migrant identification and expulsion camp outside the European Union, in Albania. Various former European and Italian prime ministers and ministers (among others, Matteo Renzi, Paolo Gentiloni, Giuseppe Conte, Matteo Salvini) have been accused of crimes against humanity for their policies on the central Mediterranean route between 2014 and 2020. And the identification of immigrants as the main responsible for crimes committed in Italy continues to run rampant.
Valeria Kone, creator of Coloriage, in the workshop. / IRENE SAVIO
But not so in Coloriage. This initiative defies all arguments. And it was Valeria’s idea. Through a crowdfunding (collaborative financing) and a small contribution from an ethical bank (for a total of 11,000 euros), this 46-year-old Italian, a philosopher by training, founded first in 2019 a free school for migrants with previous experience in tailoring but without knowledge in making garments with European techniques. Two years later, the atelier was bornlocated in the Roman neighborhood of Trasteverein which some former students also now work.
Qualified employment
The central objective of the initiative: to demonstrate that it is possible use the talent of migrants to create qualified employmentand not just using them as cheap labor. “Coloriage has two souls. On the one hand there is the school, where we teach these designers to pour their culture and knowledge into garments made with Italian fashion techniques. And it seems we have achieved something. Some, upon finishing the course, have found work or continue their training in important fashion houses; Others, however, we have employed in our boutique,” says Kone, married to a citizen of Mali and also naturalized in that country.
“The idea is that they learn the manufacturing methods and then get best jobs in the labor market, but all this without losing the contribution that their culture can give us”, adds Valeria, also explaining that, for the courses at the school, the students receive a monthly reimbursement of about 600 euros from Italian reception centers, while, for didactics, the project has the support of designers and university professors. “We pay the materials and all other expenses,” he clarifies, specifying that this is financed (like the salary of Coloriage workers) with the money that comes from the sale of the collections.
He Senegalese Khassim Diagnea mediator and teacher at the school, explains it in more detail. “Some of the students come with experience, but garment making is different between Africa and here. There, for example, we don’t use paper models to design and cut the garments, and here more precision is required,” says Khassim. “They have to learn that,” he adds. “We play with peaceful pollution between these worldsso the value of the knowledge of the migrants’ countries of origin is not lost, nor that of our sewing culture, since fewer and fewer young Italians want to dedicate themselves to tailoring,” Valeria insists.
Circular economy
Another aspect is that of the circular economy. “Before dedicating myself to this, I worked for 10 years in the fashion industry and saw what went wrong with the fast fashion. Therefore, I wanted a project that was slow fashion. Hence, we use very good textile waste from Italian fashion houses, including cottons, silks, wools, and we mix them with African fabrics, some of which come from very remote areas,” says Valeria.
Ernest Alulu, coloring saster. / IRENE SAVIO
He Coloriage success It is in what has been achieved so far. In fact, in addition to having made it, at least for now, a sustainable business, the initiative has also been awarded by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as successful integration model (within the framework of the program Welcome). And, in parallel, Coloriage also maintains collaborations with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome (the Macro) and other organizations in Antwerp and New York, where you can also purchase the garments produced in the workshop.
Another result is the integration stories. Like Ernest Alulu’s. A tailor in his country, Ernest arrived in Italy in 2016 and spent almost eight years without proper papers and in reception camps before obtaining, first training and then employment, within the framework of the activities of Coloring. “I am very grateful for this. After a long time, I have papers, and I have managed to work on what I know and see my family again. It is something priceless,” says this Nigerian immigrant with special protection. Sirin, from Bangladesh and who is still learning, would also like to follow the same path. In his case, it is up to him 11 year old son to whom he thinks. “He is still in Bangladesh, and I would like to bring him here. It is for him that I strive, but I need money and an opportunity, like everyone else, right?”
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