Ista Boszhard and Cecilia Raspanti of TextileLab Amsterdam are the Future Fashion Pioneers. The Dutch television programme VPRO Tegenlicht asked the public to name Future Fashion Pioneers: people with progressive ideas about the future of fashion.
About Future Fashion Pioneers
The fashion and clothing industry has developed into a dizzying and horrific system of 'Fast Fashion' based on exploitation, waste and pollution. For example, the industry is responsible for ten percent of all CO2 emissions. It must change, but how?
VPRO looked for people who offer solutions. For example by experimenting with new materials, combining fashion with technology, transforming waste into an outfit or lending out clothes through their own clothing library.
Ista Boszhard and Cecilia Raspanti
Cecilia and Ista have different expertise, but share the same goal: to explore alternatives for this complex industry in a transparent way. Not only the work that they do, but also the way in which they do this. "Only by operating in a global, interdisciplinary network of critical, dedicated experts, we see an opportunity for true change and impact. There is no single solution, we need to collaborate, share knowledge and learn from each other, combine different approaches and question every new solution. If we don't, nothing will ever change in this industry. "
TextileLab Amsterdam - Waag
At TextileLab Amsterdam – Waag, set up by Cecilia and Ista, research is being done into alternatives for the complex fashion and textile industry on the cutting edge of technology, microbiology, science, craftsmanship and digital fabrication. They look at all facets of the industry: from material development to design and production methods and from the circular economy to the changing value systems and stories. All knowledge is open-source and is shared through exhibitions, events, an Open Source Material Archive, a worldwide academy and distributed workshops such as BioShades: on dyeing with bacteria as an alternative to chemical dyes and energy-consuming dyeing methods.
