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For Berlin based artist Lukas Wegwerth, crystals serve as a glue that gives a glamourous second life to broken ceramic objects. In some ways, Wegwerth is like a modern day alchemist. When looking for a solution to fix a favorite broken teapot, he became intrigued by the Japanese method of applying gold dust in the glue to purposely reveal the fissures in a broken vessel, and as such, elevating the object to a new status. After lengthy research and experimentation, he developed a process of applying a special salt-based solution along the unglazed edge of the ceramic. Overtime the crystals flourish and expand in unimaginable ways, as if transforming, Terminator style, right before our eyes.

Reusing found objects, or upcycling, is a common practice in art and design; Old t-shirts made into a blanket or plywood planks from shipping crates turned into an elegant dining table for example, but broken ceramics seem a harder lot to revive. Yet there is a real value in repurposing an object in a beautiful way and Wegwerth is attracted to the idea of the history of an objects worth and its potential for rebirth.

Each piece is uniquely its own with exquisite details, unimaginable formations, colors and textures. Beautiful and corrosive at the same time, crystals possess a mysterious and transformative quality that people are attracted to for many reasons, from inherent healing properties, magical associations, or just for their sheer beauty. Crystals can add a sense of warmth to an environment, and render it more welcoming. They are an ideal synthesis of science and the natural world, and Wegwerth's objects have the same appeal. You want to touch it, possess it. The objects are tactile, inviting, explosive and inherently dysfunctional, and all of these contradictory qualities create a work that reveals as much as it disguises. The hybrid qualities feel relevant in our times as well. Transformation is in the news a lot these days, from gender related issues to altered realities, or even the possibilities with 3-D printing. Wegwerth's vessels evoke their own sort of hybrid-identity, a formerly functional, everyday object masked by exotic crystalline flora. They are organic and manipulated, humble and baroque, art as well as craft.

The crystallization process can take on different colors, from translucent white, pinks, lavender or deep burgundy. This is the result of using two different salts, one of which will be colorful and the other which creates volume. Though Wegwerth controls the growth of crystals as much as possible, there is an element of the unknown in this creative process. The salt can react with the glaze to make unexpected colors or formations for example, and because of this, he has been known to keep the vessels in his studio for lengthy periods of time, even up to two-years, to observe how they mature and settle, and often re-working a piece again and again to get the right results. Recently he has found more interest in the transparent white crystals, preferring their reaction and appearance on the individual ceramic vessels. As his understanding of the crystalline process is evolving and he discovers new ways to control and direct the growth, he is becoming more fascinated with the possibilities of this unique material. It will be interesting to see how this project develops.

Blaire Dessent

All photos courtesy of Gallery FUMI

lukaswegwerth.com

Blaire Dessent is an American in Paris working as a cultural writer, copywriter and translator with a specialization in the cultural and lifestyle industries including contemporary art, design, fashion and beauty. She is also special projects manager for American design at Triode, a leading design showroom located in the 6th arrondissement in Paris.

www.blairedessent.com

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For Berlin based artist Lukas Wegwerth, crystals serve as a glue that gives a glamourous second life to broken ceramic objects. In some ways, Wegwerth is like a modern day alchemist.

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Jonathan Anderson described this collection as "a fusion of the organic and the fabricated," a dichotomy of nature and technology. Within this Loewe collection, there were pants, coats, sweatshirts, and shoes flourishing with living plants. This implementation of greenery grew from a collaboration with the Spanish sustainable designer Paula Ulargui Escalona, a designer who has been recently experimenting with cultivating plants onto fabric.

In combination with these live plants, there were many looks within Loewe's collection that played with the implementation of technology, which is where Jonathon Anderson mainly entered the picture. There were an array of wraparound masks, coats, and

T-shirts embedded with screens that played videos that ranged from people kissing to flocks of flying birds or schools of tropical fish, and much more. Anderson also wanted to make the physical show appear like a computer-generated simulation when viewed during his livestream video. Anderson left the set completely white, therefore creating a rather surreal setting for this spectacular show.

Loewe's collection brings to light how nature and technology, how living plants and video-playing screens, can go hand-in-hand to create beauty and progress. Nature and technology don't need to be separate, and this also raises the question of how do we progress as a society by entwining nature and technology rather than constantly juxtaposing them?

The constant juxtaposition does not seem to be the right plan of action nor constructive and efficient as stated by Anderson, "maybe out of this...we can find progression somehow." It seems that this collection was created to inspire this discussion of technology and nature. How do we meld the two together for the hope of progress, progress for humanity and the world? These are pivotal questions that will change the course of humanity and our planet.

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When nature and technology converge: Loewe's spring/summer 2023 menswe

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Jonathan Anderson, the creative director for Loewe, designed a collection that fuses technology and nature into one and leaves us questioning the progress of our reality. Garments that feature living plants and video-playing screens entwine to create a surreal show that will not be forgotten.

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Inspired by natural forms, Stephanie Kilgast's artwork is an ode to nature and its current biodiversity. Plants, mushrooms, insects and other animals encounter in a vibrant swirl of colors under her brush or sculpting tools.

Since 2017, in her series "Discarded Objects", she grows colorful organic sculptures on human-made objects, celebrating the beauty of nature in a dialogue with humanity, questioning the lost balance between human activities and nature.
Her work has a cheerful post apocalyptic feel to it, a reassuring reminder that nature has the capacity to grow back, if we only let it.

She built her reputation and her sculpting skills around hyperrealistic miniature food sculptures. Her work has been exhibited in North America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

French, Born in 1985, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, currently resides in Vannes, France.

Original Art

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Inspired by natural forms, Stephanie Kilgast's artwork is an ode to nature and its current biodiversity. Plants, mushrooms, insects and other animals encounter in a vibrant swirl of colors under her brush or sculpting tools. Since 2017, in her series "Discarded Objects", she grows colorful organic sculptures on human-m

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“I subscribe to the ontology of a CE as systemic approach to towards more environmentally desirable production and consumption, for which a wide range of strategies have been identified (regenerative design for re-use, repair, recycle etc.)"

Deutz, P. (2023) 'Exploring the Limitations of a Circular Economy Under Capitalism and Raising Expectations for a Sustainable Future', Journal of Circular Economy, Volume 1, Issue 3. (Accessed: 09/02/24),URL: https://circulareconomyjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Exploring-the-Limitations-of-a-Circular-Economy-Under-Capitalism-and-Raising-Expectations-for-a-Sustainable-Future-2.pdf

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Textile waste can be classiﬁed into three categories (Vadicherla et al., 2017; Radhakrishnan, 2017):

-        Pre-consumer textile wastes: They are the remains of every production process. In the textile and fashion sector, these consist of pieces of fabric, leather, and other raw materials discarded during the textile processes.

-        Postconsumer textile wastes: They are clothes no longer desirable for the user due to aesthetic, functional purpose, or fashion reasons, or because they are torn. Generally, in the best case scenario, these garments are mended and sold as second hand clothes in developing countries.

Post-industrial textile wastes: They are generated during the manufacturing processes. These may be gases, liquids, or solids. Among them, we can mention dyes and chemicals dumped into water streams, the carbon footprint of every process and transport, etc.

Muthu, S. (2018) Circular Economy in Textiles and Apparel: Processing, Manufacturing and Design. Duxford: Woodhead Publishing. (Accessed: 09/02/24),URL:
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=5589268

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https://www.nudiejeans.com/blog/nudie-jeans-sustainability-report-2022 (May 2023) (Accessed: 09/02/24).

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"In much the same manner that evolution drives adaptations throughout the natural world, increases in human knowledge have encouraged mankind to develop various tools and products for use in daily life. One example of this is the sweater. Developed approximately 1,000 years ago by people living in hunter-gatherer societies near frigid coastal and mountainous areas, the sweater was originally a hand-knitted item that utilized animal fibers to protect its wearer from the cold.

One of the reasons for the sweater’s enduring popularity across countless generations and varied cultures is due to the nature of its construction, which maximizes the incredible potential for diversity and versatility found in animal fibers. This latest collaboration between Goldwin and Spiber, “The Sweater”, was developed while asking ourselves “What was the origin of this iconic product?” and “What will it look like in the future?”

https://spiber.inc/en/thesweater/ (Accessed 09/02/24)

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Bananatex® is the world’s first durable, technical fabric made purely from the naturally grown Abacá banana plants. Cultivated in the Philippine highlands within a natural ecosystem of sustainable mixed agriculture and forestry, the plant is self-sufficient, requires no pesticides, fertilizer or extra water. These qualities have allowed it to contribute to reforestation in areas once eroded due to monocultural palm plantations, whilst enhancing biodiversity and the economic prosperity of its farmers.

https://www.bananatex.info/index.html (Accessed 09/02/24)

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PELINOVA® is a new generation material, created through a unique and transparent process. It involves collecting pre-consumer recycled leather fibers and hydro-projecting them onto a fabric made of TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers, a high-quality material within the TENCEL™ brand portfolio

This process results in a material that is not only supple, flexible, and durable, but also has a significantly lower environmental impact. It uses 70% less water than conventional leather production methods and reduces CO₂ emissions by at least 18 times.

'Transforming leather waste into a new high-end material: PELINOVA® reinvents recycled leather' (2024), Premiere Vision 2024, 5th Feb, (Accessed 12/02/24) URL:

https://www.premierevision.com/en/magazine/leather-waste-high-end-new-material-pelinova/?_gl=1*krjenf*_ga*NDQ2MzU4ODY0LjE3MDc3MzUxNzQ.*_ga_N6S5NEZ3PQ*MTcwNzczNTE3NC4xLjEuMTcwNzczNTE4MS4wLjAuMA..&pk_vid=e2ec066a6c00c8b317077351892b4d81 (Accessed 12/02/24)

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Launched in 2021 by LVMH, Nona Source is the first online platform for the resale of exceptional materials from the group’s Fashion & Leather Goods houses.

The offer is presented on a digital marketplace as well as in a physical showroom. The mission is twofold: enabling the Group’s houses to enter the circular economy and give a second life to deadstock materials – vectors of exceptional know-how and quality – while making high-end fabrics and leathers accessible at competitive prices to young designers and brands in Europe to encourage creative reuse.

'Three start-ups specialising in the revaluation of deadstock fabrics' (2024), Premiere Vision 2024, 26th Jan, (Accessed 12/02/24)

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Composition

36%SE 34%AC 30%PM

Materials and fibres

Silk, Polyamide, Acetate

Certifications

REACH, GOTS

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Turn old materials into luxury goods

Reinventing sustainable fashion design, transforming old materials into luxury, deconstructing the "upcycling" of the year

The works are mainly made of old materials, such as old watches and leather belts.

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There's no clear path to sustainability in fashion, but one popular approach is offering so called "timeless" designs in the form of trend-resistant investment pieces to encourage a buy less, buy better mentality. The making of her fall line-up left Ellen Hodakova Larsson, a young Swede who works with existing garments and deadstock fashion, with more questions that answers.

"If I want to run a brand, then I think the only way to do it is to make it timeless. But what is timeless today?" she said on a call. "This season is mainly me playing with the that question in a way, because I don't really know what a sustainable fashion brand is today, if it's not using the history that was before us-in design, but also materials, context and storytelling. But then you also want to try new things."

Larsson's preoccupation with seconds, minutes, and hours is most directly communicated in a series of pieces made of watch faces and straps, cousins of the button looks of last season. But the theme is considered from many nuanced angles. Deconstruction is key to this designer's work. It's a technique that allows her not only to take existing things apart, but also out of their original context in order to place them in another, contemporary one. In Larsson's hands, jackets become dresses and pants become jackets and skirts and obis. Things are not what they seem to be, though surrealism is not what Larsson is after; the strength of her work is in its materiality.

"I've tried to keep quite a lot of my directness," said the designer. An example of that is the LBD (look 2) she made by simply putting a jacket on the floor and cutting away the unwanted parts. This straightforwardness allowed for experimentation elsewhere. For fall Larsson's focus was split between structure and textiles-in a sense it always is-but throughout you can see instances where she essentially made her own textiles by cutting material and stitching it together to make fabric and then designing the garment. An example of this is the long white shirt dress worn with a sort of belt crinoline or overskirt (look 31). A skirt suit (look 29) has a filigree-like embellishment created using self-created ribbons that were then arranged and sewn to the base.

Texture is a big theme of the fall 2022 season, and Larsson addressed this using upcycled shearlings. The result was pieces that felt bulky and somehow mired in a sepia-colored past, which the brand is generally able to steer clear of. The contrast between those faded wooly looks and the sport tech ones, made using donations from the Swedish sustainable outdoor company Houdini, was vast. The rawness the shearling might have been intended to convey was better communicated through Larsson's decision to show her hand in the clothes, using leather strings to whipstitch seams on a jacket and ingenious gaiters made of woven leather belts, a Hodakova signature.

Another recurring theme in Larsson's work is the grand gesture, often one that has a couture-like flair. It's seen in the draped fall of a top made from a pair of pants, the fan-like layering of white trousers for evening separates, and the decadent ruffs and crinolines of the season. In Hodakova's world time is not linear: rather there's a constant dialogue between past and present that is as relevant as that happening between fashion and tech and is worth listening in on.

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Hodakova Fall 2022 Ready-to-Wear Collection

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Hodakova Fall 2022 Ready-to-Wear collection, runway looks, beauty, models, and reviews.

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This season's works express concern and reflection on global warming and its consequences. The use of many environmentally friendly materials (paper, wicker, bark) as raw materials for the work expresses the sustainability of fashion. At the same time, multiple cross-cultural elements are used to enrich the artistic value of the season through Renaissance painting, traditional weaving techniques and astronomical elements of accessories.

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SPRING SUMMER 2023

"After all, Renaissance is the French word for rebirth."

Olivier Rousteing describes his spring designs as "a love letter to the planet." As we all search for climate solutions, Rousteing looked to history's finest example of radically beautiful progress, with Balmain's Renaissance-inspired patterns referencing possibilities of fresh new beginnings. "After all," as the designer explained to the fashion press during Paris Fashion Week: "Renaissance is the French word for rebirth."

A New World Symphony

"I guess it was the Renaissance theme that pushed me to keep referring to this presentation as our symphony. And, if it wasn't for the fact that Dvořák had already grabbed the name, I definitely would have called it our "New World Symphony." Because this is a composition blending my European heritage and outlook with the beauty and traditions of Africa-reflecting today's diverse and powerful new world, where rebirth and fresh possibilities are possible."

Olivier Rousteing

A Sylvan Couture

"In addition to relying on our own talented Balmain artisans, we've reached out to new creators from outside of the Paris couture world to partner with us. They helped open our eyes to how we can work closely with nature for this special couture moment-while helping us avoid leaving any footprints on the forest floors, as sourcing teams were sent into forests to gather the perfect bark, branches and twigs."

Olivier Rousteing

Photo and Video Credits

photos and slideshow details

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Balmain Renaissance Collection - Spring Summer 2023

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After all, Renaissance is the French word for rebirth.

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Upcycling

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Read more: Meet Marine Serre, The French Designer Energising Fashion

What makes upcycling so much more labour intensive than other modes of design?

Obviously a lot of time goes into the sourcing of the materials, then we clean them, take them apart and design within the constraints of the material available. It's an artisanal process, not as straightforward as going to find a roll of fabric or working with a print you've designed yourself. You're almost working backwards, deciding what you don't want in a collection rather than what you do; you have to be flexible. By comparison, the final stage, stitching together the pieces, is the quickest part.

Where do you source your materials?

I have a full-time member of staff who works solely on sourcing materials. So I'll give her a theme and she'll go out and find a supplier or we'll go together. It requires a lot of searching, a lot of time and a lot of people, and we rely a lot on word of mouth. For example, the driftwood for the jewellery came from a friend of my mum who goes beachcombing. Sometimes we'll find things online or at markets, but the important thing is every element has to be traceable. I'll travel to meet suppliers, but not usually further than France, Belgium, Germany or Spain because we require such large quantities. All jersey is made using recycled thread, but we don't need to talk about that - it just makes sense.

Take us through one of your fully upcycled looks?

One design that we keep returning to since the second collection is the djellaba made from six upcycled scarves. You really have to use your imagination when you're sourcing the scarves - these were all brownish in colour when we found them; pretty ugly and not something that you'd want to wear. The original prints are unique, so we combine designs that complement one another and in this instance we dyed them red using natural dyes. We make sure that the edges of the scarves meet perfectly when we sew them together and work around any defects in the material. The back of the dress is closed with an upcycled chain, so everything down to the trim is considered.

This season we layered a pullover made from deadstock towels over the djellaba; I like to keep features that hint to the material's previous life, so we kept the fringing and border of the towel. I've styled it with a pair of leather trousers - also made from deadstock - which I covered with a repeat print of the Marine Serre crescent moon logo using a UV technique to give an embossed effect. Every look is tailored to the model wearing it in the show.

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"Sustainable Designs Still Have To Be Beautiful": Marine Serre On Her Upcycled SS20 Collection

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"The driftwood for the jewellery came from a friend of my mum who goes beachcombing," the 27-year-old French designer tells Vogue