WARDROBE REVOLUTION WEEKEND: ARIANNE ENGELBERG
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
Arianne Engelberg is the creative director and co-founder of The New Denim Project - the latest and most innovative sustainable textile laboratory and workshop within Iris Textiles. Currently third generation in the family business, today she works next to her father Jaime, and her sister Joanna. The fundamental intention of the project is to recreate textile manufacturing and redesign industrial processes through a closed-loop platform. Weaving fabrics from natural fibres, exclusively under the design principle of upcycling. Among the first circular and impact-design mills worldwide - a space where all material is transformed under a conscious, collaborative, and circular economy, like the earth itself.
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
During the Wardrobe Revolution Weekend online talk on Saturday 8 October 2022, Arianne will tell her story of how, The New Denim Project®, a third-generation family-owned textile mill established in 1956, is now pioneering sustainable fashion approaches. Focusing on natural fibres and circular manufacturing, they are recognised for their 360-degree vision and perspective of what is happening around us, combined with decades of tradition, innovation, textile design and production. Their closed-loop process is restorative by design, beginning with collecting, sorting and separating postindustrial and post-consumer textile waste. Mainly leftover cotton fibre, offcuts from denim factories, and discarded second-hand clothing. These three sources of raw material are collected and sorted to clean, shred back into fibre, open and mix, and reuse the material, to spin and develop regenerated upcycled cotton (or cotton-rich) yarns, in order to finally weave their collection of curated upcycled woven fabrics. They are proudly among the first fully closed-loop textile mills worldwide. The eco-industrial techniques are based on eliminating the concept of waste. Their own cottonseed waste from their spinning process is later passed on to coffee-growers to use as compost to grow the finest specialty coffee in the highlands of Guatemala. Together, driving change through creativity, regenerative design and a sense of connectedness: they are building a celebration of community.
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
We asked Arianne Engelberg for her advice on creating a sustainable wardrobe? Here is what she said....
"We must first commit to changing the story that we keep believing and sharing: that happiness and wealth come from having as much economic growth as possible, and that therefore we must produce more, so we ourselves can have more. We must first forget this narrative, starting with slowing down. Once we understand this - and live by this - investment in good design will come naturally."
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
Hear more about Arianne's innovative initiatives to build a more sustainable textile industry alongside other like-minded textile and clothing pioneers on Saturday 8 October 2022 at our Wardrobe Revolution Weekend. The event will be held on Zoom and will comprise a fast-moving Japanese-style seminar with 20 speakers, including a documentary filmmaker, activists, designers and artists, each of whom approaches the environmental crisis happening in our wardrobes from a different perspective. Book your ticket on our website here: www.selvedge.org
If you want to learn practical skills to making your clothes last longer, we have organise a series of online workshops exploring techniques and skills to upcycle, reuse and reinvent garments. Find out more about the workshops here: www.selvedge.org.
Arianne Engelberg is the creative director and co-founder of The New Denim Project - the latest and most innovative sustainable textile laboratory and workshop within Iris Textiles. Currently third generation in the family business, today she works next to her father Jaime, and her sister Joanna. The fundamental intention of the project is to recreate textile manufacturing and redesign industrial processes through a closed-loop platform. Weaving fabrics from natural fibres, exclusively under the design principle of upcycling. Among the first circular and impact-design mills worldwide - a space where all material is transformed under a conscious, collaborative, and circular economy, like the earth itself.
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
During the Wardrobe Revolution Weekend online talk on Saturday 8 October 2022, Arianne will tell her story of how, The New Denim Project®, a third-generation family-owned textile mill established in 1956, is now pioneering sustainable fashion approaches. Focusing on natural fibres and circular manufacturing, they are recognised for their 360-degree vision and perspective of what is happening around us, combined with decades of tradition, innovation, textile design and production. Their closed-loop process is restorative by design, beginning with collecting, sorting and separating postindustrial and post-consumer textile waste. Mainly leftover cotton fibre, offcuts from denim factories, and discarded second-hand clothing. These three sources of raw material are collected and sorted to clean, shred back into fibre, open and mix, and reuse the material, to spin and develop regenerated upcycled cotton (or cotton-rich) yarns, in order to finally weave their collection of curated upcycled woven fabrics. They are proudly among the first fully closed-loop textile mills worldwide. The eco-industrial techniques are based on eliminating the concept of waste. Their own cottonseed waste from their spinning process is later passed on to coffee-growers to use as compost to grow the finest specialty coffee in the highlands of Guatemala. Together, driving change through creativity, regenerative design and a sense of connectedness: they are building a celebration of community.
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
We asked Arianne Engelberg for her advice on creating a sustainable wardrobe? Here is what she said....
"We must first commit to changing the story that we keep believing and sharing: that happiness and wealth come from having as much economic growth as possible, and that therefore we must produce more, so we ourselves can have more. We must first forget this narrative, starting with slowing down. Once we understand this - and live by this - investment in good design will come naturally."
Image courtesy of The New Denim Project®
Hear more about Arianne's innovative initiatives to build a more sustainable textile industry alongside other like-minded textile and clothing pioneers on Saturday 8 October 2022 at our Wardrobe Revolution Weekend. The event will be held on Zoom and will comprise a fast-moving Japanese-style seminar with 20 speakers, including a documentary filmmaker, activists, designers and artists, each of whom approaches the environmental crisis happening in our wardrobes from a different perspective. Book your ticket on our website here: www.selvedge.org
If you want to learn practical skills to making your clothes last longer, we have organise a series of online workshops exploring techniques and skills to upcycle, reuse and reinvent garments. Find out more about the workshops here: www.selvedge.org.