Weekday shows naturally dyed hemp denim at Stockholm Fashion Week
Swedish fashion brand Weekday showed a capsule collection of naturally dyed hemp denim via video presentation on the second day of Stockholm Fashion Week, which runs from February 9-11 this year.
The brand showcased selected hemp pieces from its upcoming “plant-based”, limited-edition collection, created in its Studio Made workshop and set to release on March 4. (Hemp will also feature more prominently in upcoming collections, the brand said.)
Dyes used included those derived from food waste like pomegranate, avocado and red onion peels, mixed in dye baths with rust, alum, copperas, salt and vinegar.
Weekday denim designer, Per Axén, said: “We probably had ten or so dye baths going simultaneously, some for a week and some for longer. We experimented with food waste that you tend to have at home - peels and berries that you wouldn’t eat.
“It turned out to be easy to create great colours and patterns and it was nice to let the process lead the way, not being fully in control of what we would get. We learned that the waste reacted in all kinds of different ways. The onion peel was powerful in only a day, the avocado peel created a light pink and the pomegranate peel mixed with copperas went pitch black.”
The capsule - made with sample, stock, damaged or vintage fabrics - included denim jackets, baggy jeans and long skirts.
Commenting on her own, elderberry flower waste-dyed denim jacket during a conversation with Vogue Runway, Weekday’s head of design, Anna Norling, said: “I think the colours are even more beautiful than manmade colours, they are so vivid and alive. Going into the future, that gives me hope.”
The “unique”, naturally dyed one-off hemp pieces presented on February 10 will be made available to interested customers during Stockholm Fashion Week, with multiples to go on sale in March.
See the latest issue of Inside Denim magazine for a closer look at natural dyes.
Image: Weekday.
