Leading Designer Calls For Sustainability To Be The Driver In Functional Fabric Innovation

Leading Designer Calls For Sustainability To Be The Driver In Functional Fabric Innovation

Independent design professional Anne Prahl specializes in sustainable design innovation and her Expert Talk – ‘Designing Beauty: Considered Innovation for Performance Products’ - will address ‘what role sustainability plays within the context of beautiful functional fabrics and clothing’. She will be exploring the meaning of beauty and how it can be created through a combination of color, texture, fabric handle and garment construction before outlining some of the sustainability challenges this brings.

"The industry’s long-term future looks more disruptive, as we will see a new generation of bio-based materials that are lab-grown and engineered, as well as 100 % recyclable and biodegradable textiles fit for the circular economy. This move will also affect how fabrics are coloured and finished and clothes are manufactured so they can be fully recyclable or biodegradable at end-of-life. This will no doubt lead to highly unique and surprising aesthetics, silhouettes and styling."



Regarding the role of sustainability in apparel design, Prahl was clear about its future: 

"I have been working with many different companies, large and small, to find creative ways to make sustainability part of the design process. The first step is to have a clear vision on what sustainability means for the brand we are designing for. This vision needs to be inspiring and achievable and requires a good support system so that designers and developers can make the vision reality through educated choices.

In my opinion, we need to embed sustainability right into our design concepts. This can be done through training and inspiring designers on sustainable and circular design strategies and making sure that sustainability becomes part of the design. As designers, we also need to constantly push fabric suppliers and clothing manufacturers, in order to push the innovation agenda and having a wider selection of sustainable options to choose from in the future."