Vegan leather. Sounds chic, no?
“Vegan Leather” bag at Urban Outfitters (now sold out)
It’s also an oxymoron. Vegan. Leather. One negates the other. Yet the phrase has become so commonplace that, until recently, it didn’t even occur to me to ask – what is “vegan leather” anyway? Continue reading
We love cotton – to the tune of nearly 120 million bales per year. That’s how much cotton was produced globally during the 2014/2015 harvest year. Cotton accounts for about 1/3 of the global fiber market, making “the fabric of our lives” a very accurate statement. What is it that makes cotton our favorite?
To start, it has all the characteristics you could want in a fiber. Cotton is what’s called hydrophilic (think water-loving). This property alone means cotton has a natural wicking ability, resists static, and is easy to clean. It’s shape and diameter make it comfortable against your skin, and its breathability keeps you at a pleasant temperature. All told, cotton is not a hard sell. Without any additional help, cotton lends so many beneficial features to our clothing. Continue reading
The fashion industry is constantly churning out something new…obviously. But every once in awhile, something comes along that absolutely disrupts the industry. I’m talking invention of the sewing machine kind of disruption – like I said, it doesn’t happen every day. You’ve probably already guessed what this post is about: 3D printing. It’s been transforming processes in other industries, but it also has the potential to flip the fashion industry on its head. I started looking into this the other day and my thoughts took off running as I tried to capture a sense of all the possibilities and ramifications of 3D printed fashion.
Let’s start with what it is: additive manufacturing. 3D printers extrude layers of raw materials (think plastics and metals) to create 3D objects – all guided by digital designs (CADs). It has both industrial and manufacturing applications: from medical devices to construction tools and, you guessed it, fashion items. Many brands have already put 3D printing to the test – and I’m not talking about some obscure brand that you’ve never heard of… Continue reading
The Insatiable Margin 