Food and fashion may seem like unlikely bedfellows but a new generation of designers are trading in their cutting tables for stovetops. Welcome to the intersection of haute couture and haute cuisine, part of a brave new world where clothing can be made without cloth and textiles are, quite literally, good enough to eat.
QMILK (FABRIC MADE FROM SPOILED MILK)
The brainchild of German designer Anke Domaske, Qmilk is the trademarked name for a form of milk fiber, a silky textile derived from an odorless protein found in mammalian milk. Domaske extracts casein only from soured “secondary milk” that’s no longer for human consumption and headed for disposable. Unlike comparable milk-based fibers, Qmilk makes efficient use of water (2 liters for every kilogram of fabric), requires no harmful chemicals, and leaves behind zero waste.
SWEET SUSPENSION (FRUIT-FLAVORED DRESSES)
For New Zealand designer Samantha Murray, turning liquid into clothing wasn’t just an audacious experiment, it was also an exercise in rethinking garment construction. The recent graduate, who developed her “Sweet Suspension” collection during her final year at Massey University, combined the shapes of classical sculpture with the “texture of gummy lollies” to create five, fruit-scented forms. “For me, this collection was entirely about the process: pushing boundaries, creating previously impossible shapes, and exploring the potential of the idea,” she tells Ecouterre.
DE CULINAIRE WERKPLAATS (EDIBLE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TEXTILES)
Clothing as dessert? Get any tawdry ideas out of your head, dear reader; this concept is anything but. Eric Meursing and Marjolein Wintjes, owners of De Culinaire Werkplaats, a design-studio-cum-restaurant in Amsterdam, built their reputation on edible pastry wrappers made from dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Described as a “novel eating initiative and experience,” De Culinaire Werkplaats draws inspiration from seemingly unrelated sources, from architecture to emotions. “Taste the Unwearables,” a series of fabrics made from vegetables, fruits, and herbs, is part call to eat more greens, part commentary on the ephemeral nature of fashion.
Post from Ecouterre
