Dutch Design Week 2024

While regenerative fashion presents a compelling vision for the industry's future, it also raises pressing questions about the fashion world's readiness to embrace such profound change. Can an industry so entrenched in the pursuit of endless growth genuinely redefine its goals to focus on healing and renewing the planet? If "regenerative" remains merely a marketing label, any supposed transformation in how the industry interacts with nature and society will be superficial at best. This concept challenges us to scrutinize the entire life cycle of a garment—from the fertile soil nurturing its fibers, through the intricate stages of production and consumption, to its eventual return to the earth. Embracing this perspective demands a broader discussion: Are we truly willing to create, live, and consume in ways that respect the planet's ecological boundaries? This approach calls for a slower, more interconnected way of life, prioritizing cultural heritage, environmental stewardship, and social equity—values that the current fast-fashion model often neglects.

In fashion, regeneration is not just about rethinking production methods but about transforming the very systems that dictate consumption and value. This vision aims to do more than minimize harm; it strives to create environments where ecosystems and communities can thrive together. Promoting thoughtful material choices and practices that support soil health, nurture biodiversity, and encourage carbon sequestration—particularly through natural fibers—requires confronting the industry's deep-rooted issues, including ecosystem degradation and labor inequalities.

During Dutch Design Week 2024, an exhibit titled Regeneration: From the Source invites visitors to reimagine fashion as a living, breathing cycle of life and renewal. Designers, researchers, and artists curated by New Order of Fashion (NOOF) showcase pieces far more than wearables; they are stories crafted from the earth's materials, symbols of restoration. But beyond that, they represent a fresh approach to what fashion can become—a tool for healing the planet. In a space filled with garments woven from seaweed fibres, colours drawn from roots, and fabrics cultivated rather than manufactured, these origins—the wellspring of raw materials, cultural knowledge, and biological systems—hold the essence of all life. Here, they become a muse for change, offering patience, renewal, and restraint lessons.

Designers who champion regenerative principles are not just creating fashion; they are actively shaping potential futures for the industry. While there is still a long way to go, their ethical approaches and commitment to sustainability are sparking new discussions and paving the way for a more regenerative and responsible fashion landscape.

Jessie Von Curry a multidisciplinary designer, also explores regeneration through an intricate connection with the plant world. PLANTSPEAK's project draws on her research into Saccharina Japonica kelp and abaca fibre to create costumes that embody interspecies dialogue. Through this project, Curry envisions a fashion future honouring the ancient wisdom of seaweed, the "ancestor of all plants." For her, the kelp's resilient qualities—its ability to absorb carbon and support marine life—make it a regenerative material that challenges conventional fashion's fast-paced, high-impact cycle. Her work with kelp and abaca reminds us that regeneration involves coexisting with, rather than extracting from, the natural world.

Azul Espirito Santo, a designer with Peruvian and Portuguese roots, crafts textiles that embody the transient cycles of nature. Drawing from the Indigenous philosophies of Peru, her early attempts to connect with her urban environment in The Hague, where she studied at the Royal Academy of Art, felt remote. However, her practice evolved as she embraced her local surroundings, discovering inspiration in the often-overlooked subtleties of everyday life. Working with silk, wool, and hemp, she employs needle felting and sublimation techniques to create textiles that respond to natural rhythms, allowing each piece to transform over time.

Her work is shaped by a sense of introspection and dialogue between materials and their environment, a conversation that has unfolded across The Hague and Portugal. This interplay is rooted in an organic connection, informed by Indigenous perspectives that view materials as part of a larger ecological system.

Filippa Geslin, a French-Danish designer, gives new purpose to humble cotton calico scraps, traditionally used as “mock-up” materials in fashion. She reshapes these pieces into delicate, abstract forms through handiwork that celebrates femininity and resilience. Rooted in her French-Danish heritage, Geslin’s work pays homage to craftsmanship and a slower, more mindful approach to fashion. With each piece, she honours the value of materials and minimises waste, transforming often-overlooked fabric into something precious and enduring.

In a different vein, Belinda Gredig from Germany brings attention to the often-overlooked fibre of nettle. Traditionally used for healing, this resilient plant becomes a vehicle for regeneration in her work, weaving together elements of glass and textile. Gredig's designs honour nettle's dual nature as a medicinal and "pest" plant while pushing the boundaries of how fashion and craft intersect. For her, regeneration means challenging established systems and returning to the overlooked materials and traditions that fashion has left behind. Her nettle-based creations highlight the beauty of imperfections and invite us to reconsider the potential of what we once discarded.

By embracing regenerative principles, New Order of Fashion pushes the fashion industry to confront its limitations and question whether it’s truly prepared for meaningful transformation. Regeneration requires more than superficial commitments; it demands a deep, structural shift that balances creativity, ecology, and community, recognizing that real change is complex and requires alignment across the industry, society, culture, and broader economic systems. New Order of Fashion champions these diverse values, featuring designers like Jessie Von Curry, Azul Espirito Santo, Filippa Geslin, and Belinda Gredig, who tap into heritage, natural resources, and innovative techniques to show how fashion might transition from sustainability to true restoration. Yet, for regenerative fashion to fulfill its potential, the industry must give back as much as it extracts, uphold cultural integrity, protect biodiversity, and dismantle exploitative practices. The question remains: Is the industry genuinely ready to step up to this challenge?

Note: This article provides an in-depth look at an exhibition featured at Dutch Design Week 2024. For more event coverage and additional in-depth articles, visit Plural Magazine's Instagram, where the content will be saved in the Instagram Stories.

New Order of Fashion

https://www.neworderoffashion.com/

@new_order_of_fashion

Researchers & Fashion Designers

Jessie Von Curry

@voncurry.design

Azul Espirito Santo

@azulesanto

Filippa Geslin

@filippageslin

Belinda Gredig

@belgre_

Photography

Anwyn Howarth

@bracket__studio

Jessie Von Curry

@voncurry.design

Antonia Penia

Aaryan Sinha

@aaryansinha

Basil Perot

@basilperot

Belinda Gredig

@belgre_

Words

Nina Zulian