It is not only fabrics and leather which are required for fashion, unusual materials such as stone and pineapple leaves are the new craze. During the upcoming Berlin Fashion Week, the exhibiting labels at Greenshowroom and Ethical Fashion Show Berlin will display stone shoes, blouses made of colourless plastic bottles and pineapple bags, among other things.
The event will be held during January 16-18 at Kraftwerk Berlin.
When it comes to stone shoes, most people think of the notorious and infamous concrete shoes from film classics such as “The Godfather”. The stone trainers from the innovative Munich shoe label nat-2 by designer Sebastian Thies are far more light-footed and stylish. Influenced by the style of the graffiti, street and board sport culture of the early 90s and the technically inspired 80s, nat-2 are keen to experiment with innovative materials.
Nat-2 has teamed up with Roxxlyn from Berlin to produce exclusive natural stone accessories for their sneaker collection made from stone. This involves shale being made soft, light and flexible in an elaborate procedure and processed into genuine unique pieces by a family-run factory in Italy according to the principles of fair production. In addition to stone, the label also processes wood, corn, cork and glass into shoes.
Jan`N June from Hamburg proves that colourless plastic bottles can be turned into silky shimmering blouses. For their minimalist collections, the two founders use a number of materials including recycled polyester, which is made from plastic waste such as PET bottles. The bottles are first shredded and melted down. The mass is then pressed through ultra-thin nozzles to create new fibres. Jan `N June’s fashion is cool and feminine – and wonderfully soft on the skin. All products are certified according to the Global Recycling Standard (GRS).
The South Korean upcycling label Re:Code frees used clothing and textiles from their original purpose and redefines them as part of limited collections. For its Industrial Collection, the label transforms the soft covers of headrests in cars or discarded airbags into puristic tops, sweaters, trousers and accessories.
Discontinued military tents, harnesses and camouflage clothing are incorporated into vintage items in the Military Collection. Even small elements such as buttons, zips and care labels find a new purpose in the form of cool details. Re:Code regards itself as a company with a sense of social responsibility and works specifically with young designers and socially disadvantaged people.
Delicious, healthy and fashionable too – the pineapple is a true all-rounder. Instead of the sweet fruit, however, it is the leaves of the pineapple plant, a by-product of harvesting, that end up being used in the bags of the Mallorcan label Maravillas Bags. Before the leaves are turned into chic bags, they are first broken down into fibres from which a form of non-woven fabric is created. Just like leather, this is water-repellent, supple and tear-resistant. This vegan and environmentally friendly alternative to leather is called piñatex. Maravillas Bags also offer bags and accessories that have been tanned with vegetable products made from roots, bark or oak or olive tree leaves instead of the traditional and somewhat harmful substances.
When it comes to sustainable fashion, manufacturing processes play an important role alongside materials. Instead of placing them under a heavy printing press, the Portuguese label Light Factory produces its T-shirts using sunshine. The combination of light-sensitive ecological colour and sunlight are a natural way to create cool prints. This involves the slow fashion label doing nothing more than developing photos directly on textiles. The photographer Maria da Conceicao Pires is behind the label. The T-shirts, dresses and home accessories pay homage to their homeland of Portugal and incorporate typical motifs and patterns.
