A Dutch fashion label wants to reconcile fashion design and biology and turn the design process upside down – among other things with the help of a living coffin by Bob Hendrikx. How is that supposed to work? Read on to find out.
Not all clothes are the same. The decisions that designers make in relation to the fabric determine, among other things, the life cycle of the product. It is certainly not the intention of fashion designers to have their designs end up in a landfill. However, the reality is this. Because too much textile waste ends up right there, taking decades, if not centuries, to break down. Places like the second hand market in Accra, Ghana, as well as the illegal dumping sites in the Atacama Desert in Chile are proof of this.
It is obvious that this type of design is at odds with nature, because there is no such thing as waste in nature. For many fashion designers, this is a daunting reality, but it should be taken as an invitation to rethink the design process. How about we reverse the process and start with the destination where the product will ultimately end up?
This article is by Marije de Roos, Circular Fashion Detective and Founder/CEO of Positive Fibers, a Dutch circular fashion brand that is pioneering its own supply chain concept called ‘bio-circular supply chains’. Every manufactured product comes from nature and then goes back to nature where all materials serve as a nutrient for a new life cycle. The world’s first bio-circular designer jacket made from regenerative natural fibers is coming to Kickstarter later this summer.
fight against climate change
Clothing ends up in landfills, which in turn are sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Producing more goods without a clear vision of their end of life will not do the environment any good. Also, to quote the Changing Markets’ Foundation, the fashion industry is ‘addicted to fossil fuels’, as the organization put it in its report entitled ‘Synthetics Anonymous’. If we as an industry want to reduce or at least not increase greenhouse gas emissions, the only way we can do that is by changing the status quo. Design approaches like upcycling are on the rise, but here’s why they’re not the panacea to the rise in greenhouse gases.
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Rethink the design process
The reason I mentioned Hendrikx’s living coffin in the beginning is because the process always starts with the materials. This particular product is made from mycelium, the root structure of fungi, which can grow in a variety of shapes and densities. It seems obvious that the only way forward is through change, and this is an example of how that change could be shaped. While traditional design processes start from the aesthetic vision of the designer, the true future of design could begin with materials. This shift in thinking opens up possibilities – such as a new approach called biodesign. The author of the book of the same name, William Myers, explains the biodesign approach as follows: “Go to nature and try to incorporate biology into the design processes and the finished product.”
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New ways of manufacturing
When it comes to fashion design, there is a pioneering Dutch company that puts biology at the heart of the design process. Have you ever heard of the term ‘biofabrication’? Dutch company Neffa, run by designer and founder Aniela Hoitink, does just that. They create the material and manufacture their product in the same place. Imagine your next handbag being made in one place, from the materials to the finishing touches. This is what Hoitink and her team have been working towards: a one-stop factory where brands can have their products developed with a minimal, if not negative, environmental footprint. In addition, this production solution eliminates the need for complex supply chains, textile waste and high CO2 emissions. Recently, Neffa has started to expand and set up factories in other European countries. This summer there should be exciting news from this company.
Shift from conflict to collaboration
Rather than designing the product to end up in landfill and in conflict with nature, it’s time to partner with nature. Designing in collaboration with nature requires an understanding of living things such as bacteria and other microorganisms. As I mentioned earlier, the design process needs to be turned on its head. Instead of starting with the design aesthetic, designers should start with the materials and understand their capabilities that make up the shapes. This is quite literally an organic rather than structured approach to her work, but one that I can only see as the future of fashion freeing itself from landfills.
How do you get started with biodesign?
Biodesign comes in many different forms, but basically it starts with an understanding of living things like microorganisms. A book I highly recommend is ‘Biodesign’ by William Myers. For a TED Talk I recommend Neri Oxman (MIT Media Lab), Emma van der Leest (BlueCity biodesign lab), Suzanne Lee (Biofabricate) and Theanne Schiros (AlgiKnit). For fashion designers interested in getting started with biodesign, Stanford University’s Biodesign Guide is a good resource to get started.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ