The many Lives of Colour

Exploring novel ways to dye with textile waste

Hosted by Studio Sarmite and Roua Atelier

This project is now archived and was part of DDW22

This project is part of
Rethinking Plastic

Pre-Loved yellow

Marion Haignere

Can colour make textile waste attractive? When recycling not only fibres but also colour itself – what new production methods emerge? Studio Sarmite together with Roua Atelier are presenting a pioneering dyeing process for unrecyclable textile fibres otherwise sent to landfill.

Textile waste redefined

Pre-Loved, is a new material concept in which inferior textile fibres can be turned into a biotextile over and over again. This material, developed by Studio Sarmite skips the need for traditional textile recycling entirely. Instead, it focuses on keeping this resource in the cycle for as long as possible by creating a non-woven leather-like material.

How does colour live and change from one lifecycle to the next one?

In order to remove the existing stigma of recycled textiles, both designers use natural and recycled colour. Their main focus becomes not only the fibres that are recycled numerous times but also the colour itself. Further, the dyeing is integrated within the making of the bio-textile leading to a unique design language. The dyeing becomes the designing, which gives room for surprising patterns and playfulness. This project has been commissioned by Small But Perfect, Impact Hub Lisbon and Fashion Revolution.