Navigating the Future of Sustainable Innovation
An interview with Simon Angel
Simon, this season’s Sustainable Innovations (SI) exhibit at Munich Fabric Start seems to have taken a more introspective turn. Could you share how you’ve approached the curation for this year?
Simon Angel: Absolutely. If you look at our past themes, they almost read like serialized literature. We began by exploring the challenges designers faced and the industry’s reluctance to move beyond traditional practices. Over time, our sustainable theme has woven itself into the very fabric of our industry—integrating into processes, policies, and people’s mindsets. This season, we’re continuing this saga by posing critical questions and embracing a more holistic narrative. It’s less about solutions and more about interventions and transformative thinking.
Interesting. Could you elaborate on how this philosophy manifests in the exhibited projects?
Simon Angel: Certainly. Take Suzanne Oude Hengel’s “Knit in Motion” as an example. Suzanne’s work challenges conventional knitting practices and pushes boundaries. Her exploration into combining knitting with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and 3D printing isn’t just about creating new forms; it’s about questioning and redefining traditional manufacturing processes. This fusion of techniques not only rejuvenates product design but also opens up new vistas for the industry.
Knit in Motion by Suzanne Oude Hengel
Joris de Groot’s work is also featured prominently. How does his approach fit into this narrative?
Simon Angel: Joris’s approach is quintessential to our theme of questioning and innovation. His “2000N Pressed Shoe” and “Recycled Raincoat” projects exemplify how traditional techniques can be reimagined for modern applications. By integrating industrial processes with sustainable practices, Joris turns waste into valuable products, thus challenging the very concept of material utility in fashion. His collaboration on the “Welded Loop” project further demonstrates how combining different techniques can lead to novel, sustainable solutions.
Tjeerd Veenhoven’s projects with mycelium are intriguing. How do they contribute to the broader narrative?
Simon Angel: Tjeerd‘s work with mycelium embodies a leap towards sustainable material innovation. His “Mycelium 2D Printing” explores the use of fungal materials to replace conventional plastics and dyes. This aligns perfectly with our theme of questioning and rethinking systems. Tjeerd’s projects aren’t just about creating sustainable alternatives; they represent a paradigm shift in how we perceive and utilize biological materials in fashion.
Iris Veentjer’s “RietGoed” project also stands out. What role does it play in this season’s exhibit?
Simon Angel: Iris’s “RietGoed” is a prime example of how material innovation can address environmental challenges. By developing high-quality textiles from reed fibers, she tackles issues like soil subsidence and CO2 emissions. Iris’s approach is a testament to how sustainable practices can be seamlessly integrated into textile production, promoting both ecological balance and economic viability.
Fabolous Fungi by Ilse Kremer
RietGoed by Iris Veentjer
LightLining by Biotexfuture
Studio Tjeerd Veenhoven
Ilse Kremer’s “Fabulous Fungi” introduces a novel way to approach textile dyeing. How does it fit into the exhibit’s overarching theme?
Simon Angel: Ilse’s “Fabulous Fungi” project is a brilliant illustration of how we can rethink traditional processes. By utilizing fungi to produce dyes, Ilse addresses both environmental and health concerns associated with synthetic dyes. This project embodies our theme of exploring and implementing alternative solutions that are both innovative and sustainable.
Lastly, can you shed some light on the BIOTEXFUTURE initiatives and its relevance to this year’s theme?
Simon Angel: BIOTEXFUTURE is at the forefront of transitioning the textile industry to biobased materials. This initiative, which includes projects like TransitionLab and LightLining, aligns with our broader narrative of fostering systemic change. By focusing on biobased polymers and sustainable textiles, BIOTEXFUTURE is paving the way for a future where the textile industry can achieve true circularity and sustainability.
Studio Joris de Groot
How do you see these innovations influencing the future of the textile industry?
Simon Angel: These innovations represent a profound shift in how we approach textile design and production. They challenge existing paradigms and offer new perspectives on sustainability. By fostering a culture of questioning and experimentation, we’re not just enhancing the industry’s practices but also inspiring a broader societal shift towards more sustainable and thoughtful consumption.
Simon, thank you for sharing these insights. It’s clear that this season’s SI exhibit is not just about showcasing new materials but about sparking a deeper conversation about the future of our industry.
Simon Angel: My pleasure. I invite everyone to engage with these projects and be a part of this evolving dialogue. It’s through such collective exploration that we’ll truly drive forward sustainable innovation.
We look forward to experiencing this season’s exhibit and seeing how these pioneering ideas will shape the future.
Simon Angel: Thank you. See you at the SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS – and don’t forget: you’ll find us at the Keyhouse in Hall 7 this season!
Discover more industry-changing innovations at our upcoming trade shows:
MUNICH FABRIC START – January 26 closing report
A solid trade show. An optimistic mindset. That sums up the outcome of MUNICH FABRIC START. After three days, the Munich textile fair came to an end yesterday, Thursday, with the integrated show-in-shows BLUEZONE, KEYHOUSE and THE SOURCE. MUNICH FABRIC START concluded with a stable visitor frequency compared to the previous event.
MUNICH FABRIC START – Between Attitude and Sensuality
The future begins where we reimagine it. The overarching theme of PLEASURE stands for fashion as an emotional space, as an expression of attitude and cultural reflection.
KnitForm+ by Jeanne Mora – SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
What matters is how the textile responds: how it regulates volume, distributes pressure, and transitions from flat to three-dimensional states. Process transparency is embedded in the methodology itself.
Cartoon – WEAR YOUR OPTIMISM
Embark on this fashionable journey and discover the new Cartoon collection at our store. Be inspired, mix and match to your heart's content, and wear optimism—every day, for every occasion.
RETRAKT – SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
Performance, in this context, is measured by organisational resilience. RETRAKT applies resilience engineering to help employees anticipate, monitor, respond to, and learn from complex and changing requirements.
MATERIA FUTURA – SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
Materia Futura is not proposing a new bio-material category, nor a finished commercial textile. What distinguishes the project is its design-led investigation into the emotional and aesthetic dimensions of bio-based materials, an area often sidelined in sustainability discourse.
THREADED PROTOCOLS – SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
Threaded Protocols is not a textile innovation in the commercial sense, nor a digital tool disguised as craft. What makes the work distinct is its material investigation into how computational logic originates in textile practice and what is lost when those logics are abstracted into opaque technological systems.
MARIE VILAY – SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
Marie Vilay does not present a new fabric or production technique. What distinguishes her work is a method of reading and translating textile knowledge across cultures, systems, and moments of transition.
Interview with Simon Angel, Curator of SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS
Each season, the Sustainable Innovations forum brings together projects that provoke, inspire, and challenge assumptions. This year is no exception, with work ranging from bio-luxury couture to energy-generating textiles and regenerative materials grown from wetlands.
MUNICH FABRIC START – September 25 closing report
At its 56th edition, MUNICH FABRIC START reinforced its clear positioning. Over two days, the Munich textile trade show brought the fashion industry together with its four show-in-show formats.