The kitchen compost bin was a source of inspiration for Weekday’s latest experiential collection.
The H&M Group-owned brand previewed its first-ever plant-based denim collection at Stockholm Fashion Week last week.
The garments, dyed with food waste, are among Weekday’s first made with hemp—a fiber that the brand, which has pivoted to 100 percent organic cotton in recent years, intends to use in main collections in the near future.
The unisex collection is a product of Weekday’s Studio Made workshop, a creative space for artists and designers to work on their craft. The studio, headed by Weekday designers Annika Berger and Per Axén, emphasizes Weekday’s brand purpose of celebrating creativity. The natural dye process, however, builds on Weekday’s previous sustainable denim collections, including the recent launch of jeans made with Infinna, a regenerated textile fiber.
In the workshop, the designers experimented with peels from pomegranate, avocado and red onion, which were mixed in dye baths with rust, alum, copperas, salt and vinegar. Several dye baths were going simultaneously, some for a week and some for longer.
Axén said the unconventional dyes resulted in “great colors and patterns.” Though it wasn’t a controlled process, the designers learned about the ways different wastes reacts. “The onion peel was powerful in only a day, the avocado peel created light pink and the pomegranate peel mixed with copperas went pitch black,” he said.
Previous Studio Made collections have focused on blending creativity with sustainable practices like upcycling. “With Studio Made, we do bi-weekly workshops in our stores—or, during the pandemic, at safe distance in our office studio—and make one-off pieces,” Berger said. “We often use fabric from sample, stock, damaged or vintage garments–the idea is to inspire our customers to be resourceful with what they already have.
The out-of-the-box concept seems to resonate. Berger noted that Studio Made collections usually “sell out in minutes” and garner a lot of questions and attention from consumers about the processes.
The Weekday Plant Based Limited Edition collection will launch on March 4.
Source: sourcingjournal.com
