Techstyler x Bottletop

The Influence of the Artisan on Sustainability in FashionPanellists:Livia FirthCameron Saul/Oliver WaymanClare PressArtisanal creation of goods was once just, well, the creation of goods. Since the industrial revolution, design and manufacturing has been shaped by machines and technology. Now, with the fourth industrial revolution they are beginning to be shaped by data, AI and automation.In the context of the current climate we discuss the role, influence and importance of the artisan and their scope and consumer pull. With rising consumer demands for transparency and sustainability, what can craft, ethical manufacturing and artisanship teach us?

Sustainability in fashion is often discussed in terms of materials, supply chain, packaging and recycling, but what is the role of the designer in brands becoming more sustainable? Designers influence the material and manufacturing choices that form the products brands create and yet they are often working independently of the materials and manufacturing processes with little understanding of the impact their design decisions make.How can designers work in a more sustainable way? What does this mean in terms of shifting aesthetics and sustainability, especially in the luxury sector? What tools and training are available for designers wanting to work in a more sustainable way in both large and small brands?The fourth talk in the Techstyler X BOTTLETOP Speaker Series poses these questions to experienced and pioneering panellists, including Kresse Wesling MBE, Co-Founder of Elvis & Kresse, which creates products from reclaimed materials that are otherwise disposed of and Dr Kate Goldsworthy, the Co-Director of the Centre for Circular Design at UAL.Panellists:Kresse Wesling, MBE, Co-Founder, Elvis & KresseKresse is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur and Young Global Leader with a background in venture capital and significant start-up experience. After first meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to charities related to the waste. Elvis & Kresse’s first line is made from decommissioned fire hose, 50% of the profits from this line are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.The company now collects 12 different waste streams, has several charitable partnerships and is involved with collaborations across industries, including most recently a five year partnership with the Burberry Foundation.Dr Kate Goldsworthy, Co-Director, Centre for Circular DesignAs Co-Director of the Centre for Circular Design (CCD), Kate is a textile designer and academic working to bridge materials science, industry and design through multidisciplinary & practice-led research. Projects currently include Mistra Future Fashion (2015-2019), the EU Horizon 2020 project Trash-2-Cash (2015-2018) and a longstanding working relationship with Worn Again, a revolutionary new recycling-tech company based in the UK.As ‘Reader in Circular Textile Design’ at University of the Arts London her focus is design for material longevity and recyclability, and to engage with science and technology at every stage. Her design work has been exhibited internationally at the Museum of Modern Art Boston, The Science Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London. She is a member of the EPSRC Forum in Manufacturing Research, and was named by the Guardian as one of their top ten Circular Economy experts in 2015.Chair: Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler; Co-Director, BRIA

Much is said about ‘sustainable materials’ in apparel and product design, but what makes a material sustainable? How can brands adopt sustainable materials without compromising on aesthetics and function? Why is adopting sustainable materials crucial to both the future of the design industries and commercial success of brands?Panellists:Oya Barlas Bingul, Business Development Manager, UK & Benelux, Lenzing GroupLenzing Group is a man-made cellulosic fibre producer. Oya will be talking about the latest innovative fibre TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ – next generation fibres and the opportunity to contribute on circular economyQiulae Wong, Head of Production and Marketing, Common ObjectiveCommon Objective are inspired by the potential for great business to drive value for all. Sustainability to CO means generating value in three dimensions (3D) - the “triple bottom line” - in which people, planet and profits are considered equally fundamental to business success. Quilae has extensive experience working with designers to support them around best practice in sustainable design and will be sharing those insights.Ronan Hayes, CoFounder, Marketing and Sales, ReflowReflow creates sustainable materials for 3D printing with a strong social purpose. They transform local waste streams into premium 3D materials that match the needs of creators everywhere. Ronan will explore how sustainable 3D printing is transforming the way we design and manufacture products with a focus on how we can accelerate the transformative power of this technology for the benefit of our planet.Chair: Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler; Co-Director, BRIABrooke is a digital knitwear designer who has over a decade of experience as a diagnostic radiographer in the NHS. She is Co-director of the Brooke Roberts Innovation Agency (BRIA) who create sustainable and technical material collaborations, products and installations with brands from both the fashion and technology sectors, directly combining her knowledge of the latest developments in the fashion-technology sector with her cross-discipline approach to developing new materials.In addition to her design and materials development work, Brooke is a fashion-technology writer for the Huffington Post and her own blog, Techstyler, lending opinion and sharing interviews from the crossroads of fashion-technology.

Advancements in biomaterials and biodesign suggest that growing materials may offer superior functionality and sustainability, compared to current textile and material manufacturing methods. Will the next generation of sustainable materials for fashion and product design be grown? Will designers need to adopt scientific approaches in order to grow these materials? How could 'biomaterials' effect sustainability efforts?What are the current challenges and barriers to growing such materials?Panellists:Jen Keane, Materials DesignerFollowing a design career at Adidas, Jen recently grew a trainer using bacteria during her MA Material Futures degree at Central Saint Martins. Jen is a designer and creative researcher working in between the disciplines of design and science, technology and craft. Inspired by notions of sustainability and fascinated with new digital and biological tools, she is exploring how these technologies could be employed to design a new generation of hybrid materials, and perhaps change our approach to making altogether.Professor Carole Collet, Professor in Design for Sustainable Futures, Director Design & Living Systems LabCarole Collet is Professor in Design for Sustainable Futures at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London where she has been appointed CSM-LVMH Director of Sustainable Innovation in 2017. In this role, Collet set up Maison/0, an incubator of sustainable intelligence designed to provoke creative practices and challenge our collective futures. Collet is also Director of the Design & Living Systems Lab, a research lab that explores the interface of biological sciences and design to propose new sustainable models of biofabrication.Carole Collet has dedicated her career to developing a new sustainable vision for design, and founded the Masters of Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins in 2000. Her research focuses on exploring the intersection of biology and design to explore innovative and disruptive sustainable design propositions. She curated the first international exhibition that explores biodesign via the lens of sustainability in 2013 (‘Alive, New Design Frontiers’).Tom Meany, CEO at Cell-Free Technology, Director at Open CellCell-Free Technology develop rapid prototyping tools for designing and validating novel proteins. Their technology allows users to test a DNA circuit in as little as 30 minutes without any laboratory infrastructure. This completely revolutionises how one can conduct experiments. Instead of testing tens of recombinant DNA samples in cell culture over the course of a few days, you can now trial thousands of variants in a few hours.OpenCell.bio offers affordable lab space to early stage companies. It is spread across 45 shipping containers in Shepherd's Bush London and has labs, workshops and offices.Chair:Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler; Co-Director, BRIABrooke is a digital knitwear designer who has over a decade of experience as a diagnostic radiographer in the NHS. She is Co-director of the Brooke Roberts Innovation Agency (BRIA) who create sustainable and technical material collaborations, products and installations with brands from both the fashion and technology sectors, directly combining her knowledge of the latest developments in the fashion-technology sector with her cross-discipline approach to developing new materials.

As the worlds of animation, CGI and design collide, new 3D digital design tools are allowing hyper-real design of both models and clothing. These tools can avoid the need for toxic and wasteful physical clothing prototyping and can allow presentation of fashion with a far reduced environmental impact, but how will these tools affect the way we design, experience and consume fashion in the near and distant future? Which tools are being used and by which brands?Panellists:Cameron-James Wilson, Photographer, Visual artist and Creator of @shudu.gramCameron-James created the “world's first digital supermodel”, Shudu. He has since launched The Diigitals, an all digital modelling agency, whose models recently starred in a ground-breaking Balmain campaign.Kerry Murphy, Founder, Digital Fashion House, The FabricantThe Fabricant is a digital fashion design and animation start-up. Combining talents from fashion and animation industries, they produce hyper-realistic fashion experiences.Amber Jae Slooten, Digital fashion designer and Co-Founder/Creative Director, The Fabricant"I dress digital entities. I found a way to express myself with endless materials, no waste and unlimited movements, but I haven’t actually “sewn” any clothes since 2014. I use 3D modelling techniques, motion capture suits to capture movement, 3D scanners to capture bodies and combine them all in the virtual realm. Our digital consciousness already exists, I just want to dress it."Chair:Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler; Co-Director, BRIABrooke is a digital knitwear designer who has over a decade of experience as a diagnostic radiographer in the NHS. She is Co-director of the Brooke Roberts Innovation Agency (BRIA) who create sustainable and technical material collaborations, products and installations with brands from both the fashion and technology sectors, directly combining her knowledge of the latest developments in the fashion-technology sector with her cross-discipline approach to developing new materials.