The redefinition of fabric
Fabric is being completely transformed and redefined amid experimentation that (quite frankly) blows our collective minds. Experimentation with biology and technology mash together to create innovative fabrics fit for a range of purposes.
Sustainable fibres from waste natural resources - hemp, coffee, pineapples, banana and lotus have huge potential for the mass market Vegan alternative to leather, made from pineapple leaves - natural and non-woven remarkably similar to leather. Edible textiles, recycled textiles- even the hottest 2020 Oscars trend was recycling old looks.
Embedded sensors, responsive fabric and fabrics that act as an automatic thermo-regulation system are all examples of designers ‘pushing the envelope’ to uncover new purposes for experimental textiles.
Compostable denim created by adding bacteria to a sugary green tea mixture containing yeast. Once that has been left to grow for a few weeks and dried flat, the material can be sewn and dyed like a textile.
Consider a fabric that can keep you warm but will also keep you cool. The majority of smart fabrics can do either one or the other but the metatextile, created by YuHuang Wang does both, which is an absolute first in the intelligent textile space. The fabric is knitted from a yarn of triacetate cellulose and can dynamically gate infrared radiation, responding to a a person's thermal discomfort.
Another fabric is a collaboration between Designtex and MIT's Self-Assembly Lab and looks like it's alive. Built like a partition and operating as a wall covering, it is illuminated from behind by heat lamps and moves rhythmically. Small cuts in the fabric open and close in response to the movement of the lamp, making it responsive.
We have a range of candidates with vast material fabric design experience:
Joni - Lab Technician
$80K + Super
Chuan - Dyehouse/Laboratory Technical Manager
$80K + Super
Lynette - QA Supervisor
$90K + Super
What innovations have you uncovered in our industry? We'd love to catch up to discuss!
Kind Regards,
Janine, Amy & Natalie