Advanced fabric developments lead through innovation and smart technology

Consumers are increasingly aware that fast fashion can lead to unnecessary wastage and thus can do more harm to the environment, and thus there is growing demand for high-quality textiles and well-made clothing that have a long service life and can remain in use for much longer.  

Modern fabrics now often carry special smart properties boosted by new technology and qualities such as water- and dirt-repelling functions, which help to preserve the environment and cut down on the use of resources.  

Under the patronage of UN Climate Change and in keeping with the Paris Agreement, many leading companies in the global fashion sector are tackling the effects of the fashion industry on the climate along the entire value added chain and signed the UN Charter for Climate Action.

At Premiere Vision Paris (September 17 - 19 2019), textiles with eco credentials were abound to meet the increasing demand for qualities that are environmentally correct while also integrate performance and technology with fashion trends.

US company drirelease® is a global technology company pioneering in performance and comfort textile solutions.  Its functional fabrics have qualities such as wicking, fast drying, cooling and protection benefits, with wide-ranging application, from leisure to high-performance, fashion and sportswear, as well as sleepwear and intimate fashion.  Their technology is also available in a wide range of classic and fashion-forward blends, from classic cotton to merino wool that never feels damp against the skin.  There is machine-washable silk for summer cool and winter warmth, easy-care natural linen, soft smooth acetate or Lyocell, E.C.O. (Environmentally Correct Origins) with BCI, Organic cotton and/or recycled polyester.  

Portuguese company TIMTEX introduces natural based, smart and responsible innovative fabrics such as their Naturally Advanced fabrics enhanced by the new non-salt Colorau ®  Natural dye process.  In their new collection there is a new range made from a mix of new generation fibres that enhance free movement such as REFIBRA ™ by Lenzing, Q-NOVA ®  by Fulgar and the unique GRS certified premium stretch ROICA  ™ EF.  

Meanwhile, Swiss textile maker Schoeller Textil continuously observe its responsibility to humans and the environment by manufacturing products that are compatible to sustainable climate protection by taking part in the Energy Agency of the Swiss Private Sector programme to actively reduce carbon emissions and optimise energy efficiently.  Its ecological portfolio of products that focus on sustainability includes upcycled products, such as its ECONYL ®  yarn, as well as 100% recycled, recyclable wear2wear woven and knitted fabrics or bio technologies based on sustainable raw materials.  

The ECONYL ®  Reclaiming Programme from Aquafil SPA reduces the quality of waste material occurring worldwide by collecting regenerative resources from waste disposal sites and the oceans and returning them to the production cycle.  

Photos by Lucia Carpio.

Sustainable bio-based Naia™ textile products showcased at Premiere Vision Paris in September

Sustainability and smart technology today go hand in hand when it comes to textile and clothing developments that are created to be kind to our environment, and this is one of the main highlights at Premiere Vision Paris held in September 2019, in the Smart Creation, a dedicated space at the international textile and materials trade fair, eco-friendly creations from a wide range of brands and producers promoted their new developments from yarns to finished products made by combining values combining creativity, innovation and sustainability.

One of the companies featured in this segment, and which also took up its own stand was Eastman, the maker of bio-based Naia™ cellulosic yarn made from sustainably sourced wood pulp.
Launched at PV 2018, Naia™ was celebrating one year of continuous innovation with new partnerships, products and sustainability certifications, offering a viable eco-conscious choice of materials for sustainable fashion in alignment with the industry’s shift toward the circular economy. 

“Inspired designers are now transforming a yarn that originates from nature into luxurious, soft and easy-to-care-for fabrics and fashion,” said Ruth Farrell, global marketing director of Textiles for Eastman. “Mills are delivering a wider option of Naia™ fabrics, and those fabrics are more accessible than ever before. It’s an exciting time to be fully delivering on the promise of sustainable textiles.”

Naia™  displayed at Premiere Vision Paris a selection of fashions from the Grand Final Fashion Show of the 2019 Redress Design Award in Hong Kong held on September 5, 2019.

Eastman Naia was the Gold Sponsor of the sustainable fashion design competition.

Naia brought a wide range of new eco-friendly developments to the Premiere Vision Paris show in September 2019 which showed inherent softness and lustre while being demonstrating versatility and easy-care.  

Highlights included Eastman Naia™ bamboo blend from Burmod in Turkey, wrinkle-resistant textured glossy knit from Textivision in Mexico (shown in picture above), shimmering satin woven silk blend with jacquard structure from Manifatture Bianchi in Italy (as shown in picture below), and an open mesh warp knit with a metallic appearance and deceptively soft hand from Bella Fabrics in the USA.  
The fabrics combines the richness of nature with comfort, said Ms Farrell, making them ideal for womenswear, intimate apparel and linings.

Naia™ cellulosic yarn is made with sustainably sourced wood and offers full traceability from tree to yarn's. 

According to Eastman, in developing the yarn, the company considers the entire lifecycle, from responsible sourcing to end-of-life disposal. FSC® Mix certified Naia™ cellulosic yarn is Eastman’s latest product advance in the sustainable fibers category. Eastman has aligned its entire forestry supply chain with Forest Stewardship Council® sourcing standards, including controlled wood procedures. Naia™ is also certified as biodegradable in fresh water and soil environments and is compostable in industrial settings, having received the OK Biodegradable and OK Compost conformity marks from TÜV AUSTRIA.

Made by Eastman in the USA in accordance with the highest safety, social and environmental standards, Naia™ is responsibly sourced from sustainably managed pine and eucalyptus plantations, ensuring no deforestation. Eastman holds FSC® and PEFC™ Chain of Custody certification, and all wood pulp suppliers have FSC® and/or PEFC™ Chain of Custody as well. Naia™ cellulosic yarn is produced in a safe, closed-loop process where solvents are recycled back into the system for reuse. Naia™ has an optimized, low-impact manufacturing process with a low tree-to-yarn carbon and water footprint. Naia™ has a third-party reviewed life cycle assessment compliant with ISO 14044 and is ranked on the Higg Materials Sustainability Index.

Lenzing Group joins Hong Kong's TextileGenesis platform to embark on blockchain technology

Increasingly in the world of fashion, consumers are regarding transparency as a major focus when we talk about sustainable development, and are looking to obtain information such as source of the materials being used from hangtags and labels. 
Bearing in mind that in terms of transparency, the first level of information plays an important role for the consumer when they are evaluating the value for money of their purchase.

The Lenzing Group, Austria-based world market leader in specialty fibres made from renewable material wood, announced at the Premiere Vision Paris trade fair this autumn (Septmber 2019) that it will use blockchain technology to support its TENCEL ™ branded fibre business as a means to strengthen its leading position in sustainability in the textile industry, and has selected to join
the platform of the Hong Kong based technology company TextileGenesis ™ to accomplish this ambition.  TextileGenesis use digital  Fibrecoins ™  and its CEO and Founder is Amit Gautam, who was previously executive vice president for the global textile business at Lenzing and board director of Lenzing China.
TextileGenesis ™ technology is built on a fiber-forwards approach to create real-time transparency across all five-tiers of textile supply chain for sustainable & premium fibers.  

Andreas Dorner, 

Lenzing's Commercial Textile Director Europe & Americas

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Lenzing’s Andreas Dorner, Commercial Textile Director Europe & Americas, said consumers increasingly want to understand the ingredients and suppliers of the products they buy, requesting a new level of transparency and traceability.  

The supply chain transparency from wood to garment and home textiles will enable all of its customers and partners to identify its TENCEL fibres and the respective wood source in each production and distribution step, thanks to a QR code on the final garment.

The first pilot was presented at a Fashion Summit held in Hong Kong in September 2019. Another pilot partner is WWF.  Lenzing expects the platform to be fully operational by 2020.

Ultra-sustainable Paints inspired by Birds, Blooms and Bedrock unveiled by Lorna Syson

As we become increasingly concerned about what impact decorative materials we choose for our homes can have on our environment, we welcome news of carbon neutral paints that appeal to environmentally-conscious interior designers, decorators, contractors and consumers.


Just announced this autumn is textile designer Lorna Syson's newly launched paint palettes - namely Birds, Blooms and Bedrock - her first collaboration with paint company Graphenstone, a manufacturer of ultra-sustainable paint based in Norfolk, UK.  

The carbon dioxide absorbing, energy saving durable paints are derived from raw natural mineral limestone.  The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paint.


Derived from raw natural mineral limestone, graphenstone paints are carbon neutral as the paints cure over their lifetime, each square metre absorbs 120 grams of carbon dioxide from the local environment.


The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage of the paints by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paints.  These qualities result in significant savings in materials consumption, maintenance, manpower, time-to-completion and overall costs.


The Graphenstone by Lorna Syson palettes feature exclusive colours mixed to Lorna's specifications at Graphenstone's new factory in Norfolk, UK.  They are consistent with the ecological themes of Lorna's designs and offer the perfect setting for her fabrics and housewares.

Paint in Coral on wall from Graphenstone by Lorna Syson forms a

formidable setting for Lorna Syson's Hummingbird fabrics and

homewares created in collaboration with the 

Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) charity.

The Birds palette includes the colours Cockatoo, Heron and Kingfisher.  The Blooms palette feature Cotton, Iris, Meadow and Silver Brunia; while the Bedrock palette is composed of Chalk, Coral, Jade and Zinc.  


"Lorna's direction has enabled us to produce unique colours that represent the simplified beauty of the British outdoors.  She pulled through a couple of neutrals as base colours for Graphenstone by Lorna Syson, but she has also highlighted the pinks and greens in the palettes, drawing out the coral, teal and mint which are trending for 2019/2020," said Graphenstone's UK Managing Director, Patrick Folkes.

Hello Birdie - Lorna Syson's new autumn range teaming up with RSPB

British textile designer Lorna Syson is known for her contemporary bird motifs as an integral part of her signature design style.  Her inspirational take on the British countryside and her ability to bring out the beauty of nature has made her prints for wallpaper and designs for home soft furnishing ever popular, and her new autumn range brings focus on two typical birds popular both in the UK and other parts of the world..


At the Top Drawer and Decorex International trade fairs held at London’s Olympia in Kensington in September and October respectively, Lorna Syson announced she is celebrating 10 years in business this autumn with a collaboration with the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) to create a new collection inspired by her favourite birds and their habitats.  

The two new fabric patterns feature two favourite British birds, the long tailed tits and hummingbirds, well chosen to celebrate the important work the RSPB do protecting birds here and abroad.  
The Blossom & Bird design shown above, in classic tones of navy, grey and soft pink, features pretty long-tailed Tits perching on English cherry blossoms.  
For the Hummingbird design below, Lorna has chosen vivid tones of teal and mint as a backdrop for her majestic hummingbirds hovering amongst honeysuckle.

The range includes curtains, furnishing fabrics, cushions and lampshades.  Made in cotton, all fabric is made and digitally printed in the UK.  The items will be available from RSPB stores and website, and from Lorna Syson's website, and 10% of sales will go to the charity.

Long-tailed Tits and Hummingbirds are popular species both here and abroad and Lorna's work with the RSPB help to raise awareness of the RSPB's work in the UK and around the world, where they run conservation projects across Africa and Asia.  

Floral Portaits by Joanna Ham project emotions and personalities.

It is fascinating to see how flowers continue to sow the seeds of inspiration for designers and artists and how they can reinvent the well-loved patterns we see in gardens and the wild and represent them in fresh approaches, giving them personalities.

Joanna Ham's Floral Portraits exhibited at Decorex in London, October 6 - 9 2019.  Her chosen subjects are placed on a pedestal and often bathed in light, separating them from reality and creating a sense of fantasy.

Above left, Coy and right, Surprise. 

Photos taken at Decorex by Lucia Carpio.

One British artist who uses photogram and mixed media to create her series of Floral Portraits is Joanna Ham, who exhibited her unique artwork at the Decorex International  trade fair for interior design professionals in London's Olympia this October.
  
Admirers are captivated by the way she captures and expresses the power of human sentiment through flowers in these portraits which are intricate botanical studies that Joanna manipulates and redraw to depict more than just their form.

Each floral portrait created by Joanna Ham projects emotions and personalities.   

Joanna explains that she draws inspiration from various sources, and has long been fascinated by the psychology behind the giving of flowers, and the act itself has become symbolic and a culturally-accepted expression of shared, frequently unspoken feeling, and this became a starting point for many of the prints in the floral collection which is a visual nod to the Dutch still-life movement.  

Her process in creating these portraits is unique, mixing traditional and contemporary techniques, always through a monochrome lens.  She photographs hundreds of flowers to find one that unlocks an idea, and then sets to work redrawing, editing and digitally manipulating to create an entirely new form.  Once complete, the image is transferred to silk screen and the final print is pulled by hand.

Each chosen subject is placed on a pedestal and often bathed in light, separating them from reality and creating a sense of fantasy.  Each floral portrait indeed projects emotions and personalities even.  

Joanna gained a BA in Fine Art with a specialism in anatomy at The Ruskin School of Drawing, Oxford University.  She has exhibited with Liberty London, The Other Art Fair, London Design Festival, Billy Name, The Serena Morton Gallery and Modern Art Oxford.

In 2016, her work was selected for the National Original Print Exhibition by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.  And in 2018 she was shortlisted for the Global Rise Art Print Prize and awarded the Aviva Women of Future Arts and Culture Prize.

Joanna has created bespoke artwork for Nike, Hilton, The Berkeley, We Work, Print Club London and Eurostar's 20th Anniversary,  She is also the founder and illustrator of design brand HAM.  

Mary Katrantzou's Fantastical Florals for The Rug Company

A new collection of seven rug designs from The Rug Company show off fantastical magnified florals as well as elegant motifs of sunray shades, organic shapes and contemporary graphics. The rugs are by London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou and have all the hallmarks of the bold and imaginative patterns of her eponymous brand.

Mary Katrantzou's rugs for The Rug Company were launched at Decorex in London, held at Kensington Olympia in October 2019.  Left design above is Bluebell Daydream featuring amplified florals in a spectrum of blues and purples; and right is Botanical Paradise featuring a hyper-real floral scene of blown-up flowers combined with a palette of deep and powder pinks and amaranth.  

The rugs shown above and below have been finely knotted 

by expert craftsmen in Tibetan wool and silk.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

The rugs, inspired by Katrantzou's past collections and reimagined for this collaborative collection with The Rug Company, represent the designer's first foray into the world of interiors.  It is a natural progression for Katrantzou as she is the daughter of an interior designer mother and a textile engineer father so she was exposed to the world of interiors from a very early age.

Design left is Sunray Pink depicting a dramatic sun motif with metallic rays radiating from the centre; 

and right is Garden of Eden with dramatic soft blue and white flowers.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

Commenting on the new rug collection, Katrantzou says:  "We are an image-led brand and print is so transferable across different disciplines.  I chose to collaborate with The Rug Company as there was an authentic synergy between the two brands - a genuine appreciation for craftsmanship and a passion for bold patterns and unique beauty, values which we share at Mary Katrantzou."

A graduate in textile design at Central Saint Martins specialising in interiors, she followed her bachelor's degree with a Masters in fashion.  Having attained wide acclaim in the world of fashion and acquired an established following for her artistic digital prints and feminine silhouettes over the past 10 years, Katrantzou's work has been featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Copper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum, The Barbican and many others.

The rugs were showcased at Decorex trade fair held 6 - 9 October 2019 at Olympia in Kensington, London and also available for viewing in The Rug Company showrooms.

The Rug Company has a long tradition of collaborating with world renowned designers.