New highlights from the fashion and textile market include 3D printed jewels and eyewear, hand sewn faux furs and Icelandic algae clothes. TSO selected some examples showing the next frontier in sustainable apparel.
Faux fur, true love
Maison Pop Couture is a faux fur 100% sustainable Made in Italy brand that debuted in fall/winter 21. It offers no-season genderless, therefore oversize, crafted pieces made to last and available in a vast offer of shades.
Each coat is hand-sewn by expert Tuscan fur masters and produced in limited numbered edition with the aim to offer clients unique luxury products without producing waste or harming animals.
During the last edition of jewel trade show Vicenza Oro, held in Treviso on March 17-21, 2022, 3DZ, an Italian consultant specialized in selling some of the highest precision 3D printing machines, presented a new solution that can be used to produce jewels using such machines that perfectly integrate themselves in the following production steps of jewel manufacturing and require a minimum post-production phase. The company is already known in the business as it was involved in the production of Michelangelo’s David statue in a real-size version, a seven-meter-high sculpture, that represented Italian art during the Dubai Expo 2021.
Stone Island’s ghost in the machine
Stone Island is betting on a new selection of products, the Ghost pieces, a monochromatic series of items derived from the concept of camouflage. These pieces are offered in total black or white, including the brand’s own badge created in a special monochromatic version to blend with the garment.
The outerwear pieces made in lightweight Supima cotton canvas. Pima cotton, hence Supima, which stays for Superior Pima, is the popular cotton species for its extra-long staples and for the strength and fineness of the fibers. This selection of lightweight garments are offered in stretch lyocell cotton satin for optimal comfort.
Many denim manufacturers have been offering cotton-wool alternative denims since some seasons. International Woolmark Prize womenswear winner Colovos also used wool denim fabrics. The US-based fashion label partnered with mills that are part of the Greenpeace Detox Program, including Marini Industries, to create Indigo wool that is traceable from farm to firm, whilst retaining wool’s properties such as easy to wash, shrink-proof and wrinkle-free, whilst retaining its softness and color.
YKK has launched a new collection of Natulon recycled zippers made with Econyl regenerated nylon. This material, manufactured by Aquafil and supplied in collaboration with Itochu Corporation, is made entirely from nylon waste collected all around the world, such as industrial plastic, fabric scraps, old carpets and fishing nets from the aquaculture sector. The material can be continuously recycled without loss of quality.
In the European market YKK will offer Econyl regenerated nylon products in three categories to the European market: Vision Natulon recycled zippers made with Econyl, a fully Econyl plastic injected zipper; Excella Natulon recycled zipper made with Econyl, a top-of-the-range brushed metal zipper; and recycled sew-on button made with Econyl, a simple button to sew on nylon garments.
Shipsheip, a German woman’s casual-chic apparel brand produced according to sustainable criteria, has started using fabrics made with smart fibers including SeaCell and Tencel. For its s/s 2022 collection it has started using these two smart fibers characterised by their extremely silky-smooth feel and flowing drape. The styles, made entirely or partly from the two fabrics, include T-shirts and blouses, along with dresses, blazers and pants.
SeaCell is a lyocell fiber made with lyocell fibers from beech and eucalyptus, into which algae have been integrated.
SeaCell is produced without the use of aggressive chemicals and it is made from regenerated raw materials, which are environmentally friendly, resource-saving and entirely biodegradable. Shipsheip was awarded the European Environment Prize 2000 by the European Union in the "Sustainable Technologies" category for using SeaCell and Tencel, also produced according to similar standards, in its collections.
Szade Recycled is an eyewear brand designed in Melbourne and made by recycling plastic glasses that are no longer used. The company saves defected, over run, faulty, obsolete and wasted plastic sunglass frames in China that were destined for landfill.
Jamé, je t’aime
Jamé is a newborn collection launched in January 2022 founded by long-time fashion insiders Patrizia Marforio and Niccolò Zucchi Frua. The name of the brand is inspired by the old Pay-Jamé item, a fluid apparel piece worn by women or men to feel comfortable every day at every hour of the day independently of their job, time or place where they lived.
Every piece can be entirely recycled and can be produced according to a made-to-order business model that is highly contemporary and responsible. Moreover, thanks to digital printing technology, each item can be personalized and guarantees the production of long-lasting high-quality pieces.
Atypical bags
ATPCal is an Italian brand of unisex bags and accessories made by recycling old stock fabrics that otherwise would be thrown away. All the fabrics it uses are bought by companies or stockists mostly in Veneto or Tuscany regions, while they re produced in Bologna where Maat, the company that owns the brand, produces them.
The bags are mostly made with nylon, resin-coated cottons and in some cases' polyurethane, therefore always water-resistant. The parts in eco-leather are obtained from cactus-based materials.
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