Denim partners flex into spine of ‘circularity’
Project founders Lenzing, Meidea and Officina+39, plus seven associated companies (Calik Denim, Tejidos Royo, Crafil, Dr Bock Industries, Ribbontex, Spring 85 and RGT Laundry), together launched the second edition of their Circle Book concept at Bluezone recently.
The first collection in the series was released last year.
“We aim, through our actions, to trace a new path in education for future generations of mindful designers,” the ten collaborators said.
They added that the intention behind the “backstage”-style publication is to contribute towards a “new”, creative and sustainable fashion model, stemming from open, synergistic partnership (including increased supplier connectivity and cohesion) and the “virtuous”, circularity-minded, inspiration to innovate and improve.
Meidea founder, Lucia Rosin, told Inside Denim that the work has so far received much positive interest, particularly from Bluezone visitors and other media outlets. Ms Roisin emphasised how the text provides a “practical” blueprint of how denim “should” be made and ideated.
She further highlighted the book’s accessibility as a free resource and suggested that it could make a “serious and concrete” contribution to circularity.
What the partners described as sustainable technologies and recycled, “degradable” and more easily disassembled materials and components make up the spine of the presented collection, titled Culture.In, with its full and demonstrable transparency of processes - “from the fibre to the final product” - especially stressed.
Calik Denim and Tejidos Royo created the fabrics for the collection, many of which contain Lenzing's Tencel-branded Refibra lyocell, a cellulosic fibre drawn from wood pulp and cotton textile scraps. On the dyeing side, Officina+39's Recycrom dye (which creates pigments from waste fabric) was used to make colours including salmon, lavender and emerald.
Threads from Crafil, Ribbontex ribbons, plus buttons and rivets from Spring 85, complement the "low-impact" materials, the partners said.
Dr Bock Industries was responsible for constructing the final garments, which were also finished in Dr Bock's RGT laundry. Bleaching and distressing was achieved via Officina+39's treatments, which reportedly boast such credentials as low water usage and permanganate-free formulae.
Interestingly, the group also discussed a “self-sufficient” manner of living, describing their idea of humanity’s future home domains as more like ever-evolving individual ecosystems, a concept which it said was essential to the root inspiration behind Culture.In. As the collaborators put it: “[As we see things], nature integrates into spaces, influencing and merging with clothing to become an extension of the outdoors or atmosphere.”
The Circle Book can be downloaded via Lenzing’s website here.
Culture.In's presentation at the recent Bluezone in Munich.
