Reinterpretation of brand fashion archives. Recombining materials and techniques for new applications
Authors: Antonietta SBORDONE Maria , Amato Ilenia , Orlacchio Martina , Rega Angelo , De Toro Sara 
Published: June 2024

The Textile Industry is one of the sectors with the highest environmental impact in the European Union, both in terms of raw material use and gas emissions. Currently, only 1% of textiles are recycled due to the presence of hazardous substances that hinder high-quality recycling, resulting in the contamination of ecosystems. However, efforts are underway to improve the situation through the implementation of collection infrastructure for pre-consumer and post-consumer textile fractions and investments in plant modernization, Textile Hubs (Waste Framework Directive Revision, 2023). European Fashion recommendations (EU Strategy for Circular Textiles, 2022), call for the adoption of circular and sustainable processes to reduce impacts of overproduction and change consumption patterns (UN SDG's Agenda 2030). The Beta generation faces challenges as resource scarcity and Artificial Intelligence impact that affect every aspect of daily life. In a context of multiple realities, there is a growing interest in combining material experiences with virtual ones. The phenomenon of decluttering in fashion promotes a new vision of the wardrobe (Sharpe, 2022), encouraging upcycling and regeneration practices in the domestic context. The vintage fashion trend and revival of styles and techniques of the past can extend to fashion archives. These plays a key role in preserving historical memory and understanding fashion as an artistic and cultural expression. This is reflected in Cluster 2 - Horizon Europe program (2023-2024), which funds research and promotes better access to European cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries. The laboratorial experience of the Fashion Eco Design 2 and Textile Design courses, proposes new models of upcycling in line with European goals and recommendations. They focus on textile materials through hybrid prototyping systems and experiment with theoretical, practical, and speculative approaches by investigating processes of design for circularity and reassembly (Potting, 2017). The aim of the courses is to design tailored and multifunctional solutions from the archives investigated. The paper illustrates the approach from research to analysis of stylistic elements, materials, fabric patterns, and pattern making, so transferred to the contemporary through design-driven recombination system. The approach sets up a system of relationships by innovating links between past and present, manufacturing traditions, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence, by renewing the cultural and productive heritage of a brand that meets new trends. The revival of the Gutteridge 1878 brand archive enables co-creation processes by merging research, experimentation, and the use of innovative methodologies and technologies to create new, more current values. It promotes the integration of university education, communities of practice, united in the design, communication and dissemination of research results according to the Quadruple Helix model. The critical and evolutionary thinking that guides student projects outline new models of value creation, promoting an adaptive regeneration approach, establishing cooperation between artificial systems, machines and materials (Sbordone, 2023).