Anne-Ro Klevant Groen

Fruit skin fabric, mushroom ‘leather’, spider-silk, dye made by bacteria and algae; GROW, the new exhibition from the Fashion for Good Museum in Amsterdam explores the biomaterials and cutting-edge innovations that are shaping the sustainable future of fashion. What exactly are biomaterials? How sustainable are they and what makes them different from traditional fibres like cotton and hemp? And does bio always mean better and sustainable? Navigating the many different kinds of sustainable materials can be challenging. For their year-long exhibition, curated and developed in-house for the first time, the Fashion for Good Museum dives into all things biomaterials.

WHAT ARE BIOMATERIALS?
Biomaterial is a very generic word used to describe materials that are biological, and originate from living organisms. When you think of biomaterials, probably the first things that come to mind are cotton, hemp and linen. Because the word is not specific, it can easily be confusing. The world of biomaterials is way bigger and ever evolving. Think as big as silk, fruitskins (waste), mycelium (mushroom roots) or even algae, spider and caterpillar silk, cellulosics (coming from plants) and bioplastics, all of which are part of the biomaterials world.

LOVE FASHION FROM THE GROUND UP
Fashion has always celebrated the ingenuity of nature, from its organic shapes and patterns, materials and fibres, to the wide array of colours and textures. With the rise of fast fashion, the natural world is plundered for its resources, putting the relationship between fashion and nature under strain.

The GROW expo shows how trailblazing innovations can instead take inspiration from nature and how scientists are using this cycle of creation and recreation to make the sustainable materials of the future.

Showcasing conventional biomaterials such as organic cotton and biodegradable materials such as flax or hemp, the expo also presents more innovative brands and products from pioneers such as Pangaia (available for the first time in a retail store in the Netherlands), FREITAG F-ABRIC, the Nude Label, Phool, Bananatex and Bioglitz - with a special glitter station, featuring in the museum’s GOOD SHOP.

GROW 1.0 opens its door to the public from April 6th.
Virtual tours of the exhibition can be booked on the website.
Physical visits to the museum can be reserved when possible.

In our upcoming edition of 'Meet the Innovators', we bring together innovative players ushering in a brave new world in fashion.

About this Event

The pandemic has changed the fashion landscape, limiting manual processes and physical meetups — but it has also created new opportunities in other areas.

In this Meet the Innovators online event, we speak with several leaders in the space of fashion innovation, working to digitise the industry, provide anti-viral coatings and improve worker transparency in the value chain, all of which are necessary solutions in this time.

Sign up to find out more and learn how they’re helping to shape a brave new world for fashion during and after COVID.

We will cover:

• We kick off with a conversation with Lee Spiteri, Innovation & Performance Designer at the sustainable footwear brand Vivobarefoot, to hear his views on the future of fashion, larger trends of innovation within this space and how new uncertainties are shaping innovation priorities for manufacturers in the region.
• We’re joined by innovators to tell us about their solutions within the new context of fashion:
• Kristoffer Ekman, CEO at Nordshield, speaks about how they’re revolutionising antimicrobial and antiviral coatings, offering natural alternatives that outperform the hazardous substances currently in use. The Nordshield technology is free from heavy metals, safe for the environment and eliminates bacteria, viruses and fungi and is used for example for sportswear and healthcare uniforms.
• Lea Esterhuizen, founder of &Wider, discusses their cloud platform which enables brands, manufacturers and suppliers to hear directly from the workers themselves about their everyday lives and working conditions, using mobile phones to track and encourage improvement in labour practices along the supply chain.
• Yazan Malkosh, founder of & CEO at Swatchbook, dives into how they’re building a digital library that enables brands and suppliers to explore, visualise and share materials used in the creation of garments, allowing teams to collaborate and create collections from anywhere in the world. In this way, less material goes to waste and the polluting transportation of sample material is being reduced.

Q&A - We close the session with a moderated Q&A with the audience, where you’ll have the chance to ask the speakers to find your answers.

AGENDA

18:00 (IST) / 13:30 (CET) / 20:30 (HKT):

• Welcome

18:05 (IST) / 13:35 (CET) / 20:35 (HKT):

• Fireside Chat with Lee Spiteri, Innovation & Performance Designer at Vivobarefoot

18:25 (IST) / 13:55 (CET) / 20:55 (HKT):

• Innovator Pitch - Nordshield, &Wider, Swatchbook

18:40 (IST) / 14:10 (CET) / 21:10 (HKT):

• Q&A

19:00 (IST) / 14:30 (CET) / 21:30 (HKT):

• End of event

Please note: you will receive the recordings of the session afterwards. If you cannot join the event live, you can rewatch it at a later point in time.

About Fashion for Good

Fashion for Good was founded to address the problems faced in the fashion industry. In order to change things, we need to innovate. But to date, key innovations are not being scaled; we bridge this gap by bringing the most promising innovators together with industry heavyweights to tackle the industry’s most deeply rooted environmental and social challenges.

We are both an innovation platform and a convenor for change - we house the world's first interactive tech museum for sustainable fashion in Amsterdam and run regular events and workshops to help you on your good fashion journey.

Do designers have the power to change the fashion industry? We'll be showcasing how fashion designers can be key decision makers and can truly drive positive impact by thinking (and doing) differently.

As a part of our current museum theme A CUT ABOVE, join us for the launch of our 2020 Redress Design Award exhibition at the Fashion for Good museum! The Redress Design Award is the world's largest sustainable fashion competition - with the next generation of designers applying from all over the world each year. We'll be speaking to the founder of Redress, Christina Dean on the drivers behind this competition and the opportunity for designers to provide replicable solutions to apply to fashion's waste across the world. We'll also meet Dutch Redress Design Award 2020 cycle finalist, Gönül Yigit to learn about her collection development, and the innovative Dutch fashion designer slash upcycling virtuoso Duran Lantink to hear his insights on designing fashion differently.

We're honoured to have this event moderated by former Redress Design Award judge and fashion pro Susie Lau.

In this action packed Meet the Innovators, we introduce two exciting technologies from our South Asia programme, we are also bringing in an expert in the field of Biosynthetics to demystify the innovation area as well and talk through the potential impact on the Fashion Industry.
We’re excited to have Sophie Mather from Microfibre Consortium as part of this event!

Agenda
13:30 - 13:35 (CET): Introduction
13:35 - 13:55 (CET): FireSide Chat with Sophie Mather
13:55-14:15 (CET): Innovator Introductions: Phabio & Biomize
14:15-14:30 (CET): Q&A with Expert and Innovators

Is a fast fashion T-shirt, made of organic cotton, sustainable? What is fast fashion actually? Should I buy vegan pleather or real leather? What is circularity? Recycled polyester must be sustainable, right?

The world of sustainable fashion is a complex one. We're happy to notice more and more people want to make the shift towards a more sustainable wardrobe. However, where to start? We're teaming up with ELLE magazine to give you a kickstart.During this digital event we dive into the basics of sustainability, explore some easy first steps and answer your questions, with an incredible line-up of speakers including Chiara Spruit, Esther Coppoolse, Sophie van Duren and Anne-Ro Klevant-Groen.

Agenda

20.00h: Welcome

20.05h: What is sustainable fashion?

20.30h: What's in your closet?

20.50h: What's next?

21.00h: Q & A

21.15h: End of the event

Please join us for a very special inside look at our latest exhibition ‘Patchwork 2020’ – the first ever digital collection from Dutch designer Tess van Zalinge! Tess will share insights into working with trailblazing digital technology alongside the traditional craftsmanship of demi-couture, to explore and push the boundaries of what sustainable fashion looks like in the future.

About the Collection

Earlier this year Tess van Zalinge was invited to establish a new demi-couture collection at Helsinki Fashion Week 2020. Due to the global situation, a physical show was not possible and Helsinki Fashion Week became the first-ever virtual fashion week around the world. This served as the main source of inspiration for Tess’ new collection ‘Patchwork 2020’ - her first digital collection.The collection makes use of cutting edge technologies to translate the craftsmanship of Tess’s pieces into digital: the handcraft details and tactility all requiring many layers of development. The exhibition aims to show how working with what you have available can lead to inspiration, innovation and sustainability.

About Tess van Zalinge

Tess’ love for heritage, detailed craftsmanship and historical costume design are common themes throughout her work. Tess translates her conscious mindset both into her designs and values as a label. Each piece from her collections is handcrafted in her beautiful Amsterdam atelier, where she constantly explores the potential for responsibility in fashion through fresh collaborations, inspiring partnerships and new demi-couture collections. Fine quality and longevity have been the prime focus for the label since its founding. Since then, Van Zalinge has launched a demi-couture collection every year and has worked on multiple collaborations including Fashion for Good, Artis, WNF, Royal Delft, Circl, the Centraal Museum Utrecht and more.

Your ticket price is a donation that goes towards the Fashion for Good Experience, helping to bring these kinds of events to life!