Interviews

The tex.tracer team is made of fashion experts on a mission. The Amsterdam-based company has been building a blockchain-powered transparency platform, allowing users to unlock relevant supply chain information. Co-Founder Jolanda Kooi talks about changing the industry from within, one step at a time.

The Autumn edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics and Yarn Expo, one of the biggest trade events in this part of the globe, has now been merged with the spring edition next year because of the pandemic situation in China. Wilmet Shea, Deputy General Manager of fair organiser Messe Frankfurt HK, talks threadbare about how trade event organisers are operating in these trying times and, of course, Intertextile Shanghai.

The inaugural Textile Printing & Sustainability Conference (TPS), organised by ESMA, looked at all critical factors and global trends which influence the textile market condition today and in the nearest future: customer-made fashion, responsible businesses, quality concerns, customisation and personalisation. ESMA Chief Executive Peter Buttiens talks about the key takeaways from TPS 2020 and how textile printing will change in the days to come.

Polybion creates Celium, a premium, high-performance biomaterial from fruit waste. A leather alternative available as fabric, albeit a lot more expensive, the company claims that Celium’s performance is almost equal to cowhide leather. Gabriela Irastorza Dragonné, Head of Communications & Culture at Polybion, tells texfash.com why investment, scaling and deployment are imperatives to help zero-carbon biomaterial companies to offer lower costs as time goes by.

The Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week is Africa's largest trade show for fashion, sustainability and innovation. Here, Africa's fashion and manufacturing industry meets international investors and brands. In a run up to the eighth edition which gets under way on 4 November, Skander Negasi, Chief Executive Officer of organiser Trade and Fairs Consulting GmbH, speaks about prospects, problems and mitumba.

Munich Fabric Start is a big event, packed with diverse and distinct verticals within the event ecosystem. See this in the backdrop of the array of exhibitors and the diversity of visitors, and, presto, it becomes an indubitable place to gauge the pulse of the industry and palpable elements that will become trends in the near future. The best person to throw light on all this is Sebastian Klinder, Managing Director of Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH. A conversation with texfash.com.

Dutch design studio Raw Color has created a collection called 'Temperature Textiles', which is embedded with climate-change data. The collection features blankets, scarves and socks knitted with infographics about either temperate change, sea-level rise or greenhouse gas emissions. Raw Color Co-Founder Christoph Brach talks about the idea.

It was in 1997 that a young girl in war-ravaged Somalia began to train women and girls in income-generating tye-and-dye programmes. By 2012 Qaal Designs was started in Los Angeles with the sole idea of reuse, recycle and repurpose products using digitisation. This ‘global movement’ in sustainable fashion is now moving from LA to the streets of Nairobi, Mogadishu, Arusha, Kigali and expanding to the rest of Africa. texfash.com in conversation with Founder Nimco Adam.

Stephen Mayfield is a distinguished professor of Biology at UC San Diego. Tom Cooke came with decades of experience in product development. Together, they created at Bluewear Footwear the world's first biodegradable pair of shoes made from plant-based fabrics and oils that decompose fully. A riveting interview with texfash.com.

The Amphitex project of Amphibio is the first 100% recyclable chemical-free waterproof breathable textile made for the outdoor and sportswear apparel industry. In April this year, Amphitex by  Amphibio was announced as one of four Terra Carta Design Lab winners. CEO & Founder Jun Kamei talks about ideas and how he sees things shaping up in the near future.