How textile innovation company Byborre aims to transform the design process

Dutch textile innovation company Byborre is committed to promoting the circular economy for textiles. In an investment round this year, the company received almost 17 million euros. With the capital injection, textile designer Borre Akkersdijk wants to expand internationally and further invest in automation, material research and data analysis to make the supply chain more efficient, productive and transparent. Akkersdijk tells FashionUnited exactly what Byborre has to offer.

How did you get into it?

I come from the world of design. I have always been very interested in everything on and around the body, including textiles. We hardly think about it, but it is an everyday product that we come into contact with every day from birth. There is probably nothing we use more than textiles and I thought it was crazy that we as manufacturers and designers had no control and couldn’t make decisions about how textiles were made. As a designer, you just had to choose from what was offered to you. That needs to change.

In 2015 I met Arnoud Haverlag, who brought his knowledge from the world of technology with him. We combined his knowledge with mine about textiles – from yarns to knitting machines – and started our mission to digitize the textile design and production process. Because with digitization you can control everything to produce – in this case – textiles. Then it’s all about choosing a color that’s visually blended, knitting graphic patterns and choosing from responsible materials. Ultimately, we developed a program for this that we have actually always used ourselves: Byborre Create. We found that more and more brands started using the tool, which also created a demand for finished textiles.

By adding textiles to Byborre, we will better serve the needs of design teams. Our textiles are delivered with a textile passport containing information about the origin of the materials and the emissions saved. He also mentions the percentage of recycled materials and water consumption. We want to make everything as transparent as possible.

How does the production of textiles work?

It’s very simple: People who can handle Photoshop and Illustrator can make textiles with us. It starts with the software program: there you will find a number of textile packages to choose from. When you indicate what type of product you want to create, a few options will appear. Designers can choose from a range of raw materials, ranging from recycled and microplastic-free yarns to natural fibers such as merino wool or organic cotton. Next, it’s time to start designing. This is done in Byborre Create [das Textildesign-Tool, Anm. d. Red.] and is in Byborre Textiles [die Textilbibliothek, Anm. d. Red.] not possible. After designing, it’s time to produce. After the design has been submitted to us, the pattern is made in our knitting laboratory. The design will be completed and sent within two weeks. If the customers are satisfied with the sample, they can place an order with a low minimum order quantity. At Create, the patterns are sold by the metre. Production starts at four hundred meters for a custom design. At Textiles you can order from dozens of meters.

Byborre is not only active in the fashion industry. Where else?

Is correct. Byborre is also active in the interior design sector, where we produce, among other things, sofa upholstery. We are also active in the automotive industry and work with BMW, for example. In the fashion world, we work with high-end brands like Alexander McQueen and Palace Skateboards, but also with young talent and emerging brands.

We work with all industries that use textiles to make textile use more transparent and make fewer but better products. Over a thousand designers currently work on our platform, including more than three hundred brands.

What exactly do you intend to do with the capital injection?

First of all, we want to grow internationally in key markets such as Italy, Scandinavia and the United States to strengthen Byborre’s position. There is a lot of production going on in these countries, and that means there are a lot of influential brands there. So there is something to be done there. We will increase our presence here by building local teams and investing in the production chain so that it is as well connected as possible per region. We used to invest in Japan as it was a source of inspiration for many designers. There the focus was on Byborre Editions, which as showcase served. As a result, many initial collaborations came about and we have created great brand awareness over the years.

The next step is to make the software program even more accessible. Byborre Create will be further expanded so that designers can become even more creative. And at Byborre Textiles we strive for a broader textile collection that is transparent and immediately accessible.

What does this growth step mean for Byborre?

An investment is a growth step that enables a company to drive innovation. Innovation costs money. If you want to keep a certain pace while doing this, such steps are necessary. I think we know where our brand values ​​lie. We have reached a point where we can replace the old standard in textile development. With this we have a positive influence. It’s not often that you find a flywheel that says the bigger the better. Because the more textiles we sell, the more positive impact we have. I think Byborre has an opportunity to help the industry and we may continue to do so for a long time.

This article was published on FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ