Food is having a fashion moment
this fall with natural dyes making a big comeback in collections
- from Vivienne Westwood, who dyed her label's knits in
licorice, to Sicilian designers Adriana Santocito and Enrica
Arena who used orange fibers.
The practice has a long history.
Vegetables, fruits and seeds have been used to dye fabrics
since as early as the Neolithic age.
Dyes obtained from grapes and roots were discovered in a
Neolithic village close to the Ledro lake in the northern
Italian region of Trentino Alto Adige.
Ancient Egyptians used henna, saffron and turmeric to dye
linen in a wide range of yellows and reds, with a bolder note to
fabrics given by the alunite mineral.
Since the 4th millennium BC, in Mesopotamia, wools were
dyed in vibrant colors with Chaldeans and Babylonians inventing
a technique to dye wool during yarn spinning.
Jews used kermes, an oak parasite, blueberries and bitumen
from the Dead Sea to obtain black.
The most expert dyers in the Mediterranean were the
Phoenicians, in the mid-15th century BC, who discovered that
clams from the murex species could be used to obtain red.
Fast forward to modern times.
Over the past few years, the Italian fashion industry has
rediscovered natural dyes - particularly chamomile to obtain
yellow, nettle roots for greens and madder for reds.
And fall-winter 2014 collections are a testament to the
growing appeal of natural dyes.
Westwood's Gold and Man labels featured knits dyed with
licorice roots according to an ancient process - the only
entirely natural system currently used which obtained the seal
of approval of the Woolmark certification mark.
The label's choice to go natural follows the British
designer's motto to "buy less, choose well, make it last".
Meanwhile Santocito and Arena have founded a fashion brand
completely based on natural fibers.
The Orange Fiber label produces clothes meant to be
beneficial for skin health thanks to the use of orange fibers
obtained through nano-technologies to make fabrics.
The two obtained funding from the provincial government in
the northern Italian city of Trento, as well as European
funding, to develop their company today based in Rovereto, in
the Trentino area.
The Orange Fiber clothing line in particular uses cellulose
extracted from citrus fruits so its fabrics reportedly release
vitamins through essential oils to benefit the wearer.
Another Sicilian brand, Vitussi, founded by Palermo
designer Vito Petrotta Reyers, has launched a line of purses
made out of prickly pear fibers with brass handles and precious
internal embroideries, which can be personalized by the owner.
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