Textile innovations of the century

As a textile designer, and full time self proclaimed innovation enthusiast, I have been amazed this past year, as I learnt about a wide variety of innovations that would not even have been thought possible some years ago.

Imagine a fabric being made from orange peels or the tea we drink daily. Or how about some agar- agar for a bio-packaging alternative. Orange Fibre, a Sicily based company has been making leaps and bounds in innovation, in collaboration with Polytechnic University of Milan. Cellulose is extracted from the orange peels and spun into fibre, and then into yarn. It is soft, cuddly, strong and anti- wrinkle. Added to this is the fact that it is made of a natural fibre that emits essential oils, so it is quintessentially like a wearable body cream. It was patented in 2013 and won the Global Change Award two years later.

Cut to the pandemic, Namya Parikh, a graduate student in Delhi, built upon this idea to come up with a bio-packaging alternative that could be made within the confines of her home. Her solution? Agar- Agar powder. In a wet state, it can be moulded, and in a dry state, it assumes a leathery texture. The closing mechanism is unique too. You just brush some water on the edges and the ends stick together.

Certain partial successes in bio-couture have also been pursued, such as this one from designer Suzanne Lee, who created a leathery fabric from tea. In it's raw state it looks similar to human skin stretched over bone, but in reality, it is made by culturing bacteria in buckets of sweet green tea. Building onto her work is Designer Sammy Jobbin Wells- who has crown cultured mushroom fabric which she uses to create wearable garments. It is cultured using glucose, tea and water. Japanese Sencha tea works wonders for her project.

"When wet, the cellulose is incredibly flexible and tensile and it is incredibly difficult to pull material with a thickness of more than two millimetres apart," said Jobbins Wells. It creates an almost modern digital look. Textile innovations of the century focuses on designers who build on other designer's innovations, to possibly create a circularity of innovation in fashion. Here's to hoping the future with be fully sustainable.

Pic credits: https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/08/Skin-by-Sammy-Jobbins-Wells_dezeen_468_3.jpg