ABSTRACT
Fashion designers have been increasingly reliant on the appropriate selection of materials as an approach to sustainable fashion. Garments can be made from renewable or biodegradable fibres, reclaimed materials or materials created through new technologies. While we know that often the most significant sustainability impacts related to clothing are created through laundering and drying, materials nevertheless play a significant role in moving towards more sustainable fashion practices. The potential for new textile materials to provide solutions for sustainable fashion has been little explored in the fashion industry. However, high performance materials can maximize garment durability, while a garment can be designed to exploit fabric ageing: these ideas and more show that through alternative material selections a garment can be designed with an extended lifecycle in mind. Furthermore, fashion can be created to adapt to different environments, climates and situations, through simple or complex transformable techniques.
