What the Next Generation Wants to See in Fashion

livemint.com:

In a world of fast-fashion, the next generation of designers wants to slow down. Fresh out of the world’s top design schools, they’re employing time-intensive techniques that reflect the value of natural resources and honor their cultural traditions. Some of their methods are high-tech; others hark back to ancestral handicraft.

Here, four recent graduates share their innovative processes and their dreams for the future of the industry. The Future Is Biodegradable Silvia Acién, 23, was raised on a farm in El Ejido, in Spain’s Almería province. Her parents grow tomatoes for a living and avoid using chemicals in the process.

“They were really thinking, ‘What you eat is what you are,’" she said. “I was like, OK, then what you wear is what you are, right?" A recent graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, Acién focused her thesis collection on traditional techniques taught by her family members, like the weaving method her grandmother used to create baskets for eggs and vegetables on the farm. “I want my message to be timeless," Acién said, “but not my clothes." All of her garments are biodegradable.

She uses certified organic yarns, including some made from pineapple leaves, and gives them their hues with bacteria that are cultivated on a textile and color it as they grow. “[Bacterial-dyed fabrics] evolve and change color like humans do," Acién said. “What is ethereal, like beauty, has the power it has because it doesn’t last forever." The dyes yield muted pinks and soft purple shades that fade with light and time.