You may recall that this time last year Selfridge's flagship London store gave over its iconic window display to sustainable fashion. The Bright New Things promotion sought to highlight emerging designers and the work they were doing to support sustainability.
For 2017, they're at it again, with a whole new range of designers–and a clever hook to show just how broad a church the field has become. Material World takes eight different fibres and fabrics, and presents designers that are doing fascinating and innovative work with them.
For example, leather is represented by Swedish brand Deadwood. They specialise in recycling, taking inspiration from vintage styles to come up with a new take on an old classic: the leather jacket. Showing respect for the material while exploring the possibilities of its durability are good, strong ticks against a sustainability checklist.
On the subject of thinking laterally, Tengri, representing luxury fibres, have come up with a new twist on the usual suspects. Cashmere and angora have come under fire over the past few years with accusations of animal cruelty and over-farming of pastureland. Instead, founder Nancy Johnston has discovered the incredibly soft fibres of the Mongolian yak pelt have a decidedly luxurious feel. She calls the resultant fabric yakshmere, and it needs to be felt to be believed.
Material World is all about taking on the challenges we face in using the world's most popular fabrics and fibres, treating them with respect and finding innovative new ways that are less cruel, greedy or polluting. There are some really interesting ideas on display in the windows of Selfridges right now until the end of March. If you're in the area, go and check them out.
Or just have a look at the collection via the Selfridges Material World site here.
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