While trends like mustard yellow and plastic trench coats were big hits at Paris Fashion Week, one designer decided to put the focus on the future of textiles. According to Engadget, Stella McCartney teamed up with an incubator called Fashion Tech Labs (FTL) to introduce new tech that breaks the textile pollution cycle.
So what does the future of textiles look like, according to these designers? It looks like fabrications like stem-cell leather, recycled fabrics and ultra-strong spider-silk-based fibers seem to be making their mark.
McCartney felt compelled to join the cause after learning the environmental implications that the fashion industry causes, in terms of water usage and ocean pollution.
“You have to understand the impact the fashion industry has on our environment,” McCartney told Engadget. “It’s the second-most-harmful industry on the planet. We need to take responsibility.”
McCartney is no stranger to sustainable fashion, and she has long used recycled fabrics and skin-free leather in her product offerings. Meanwhile, FTL is working to create with new sustainable fashion offerings in the hopes that the fashion industry sees these sustainable offerings as not just good for the environment, but a financially smart decision, as well.
McCartney and FTL worked together at Paris Fashion Week to showcase some of the new sustainable options that have been seeing success in the incubator, including VitroLabs’ ethical leather.
“We use advanced stem-cell technology and tissue engineering to create full-thickness skin that we then tan and turn into leather,” VitroLabs co-founder Ingvar Helgason told Engadget. “This completely removes the need for animals; it reduces the environmental impact and allows us to enjoy the beautiful materials that we’ve become accustomed to, but without the environmental or ethical implications.”
Sustainable fashion has been making waves in the apparel world, so it will be interesting to see if these futuristic fabrications catch on, but we definitely support a more environmentally-friendly industry.
