Sweater weather. Fall Fashion. There’s no denying that Autumn clothes are one of the best things about the season! On those cold, crisp, blue-sky days you will find us wrapped up in cosy jumpers, shiny boots, and big coats, and we love it!
So you can imagine the excitement when we were invited to explore the future of sustainable fashion at this year’s Dutch Design week in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands! I am always happy to seek out new ways to promote the green agenda, and I was delighted to head off to the Netherlands to discover what’s new in fashion and design.
Dutch Design Week
Dutch Design Week, often referred to as DDW, is like the ultimate playground for design enthusiasts. It’s an annual event, centred around Eindhoven, where designers, innovators, and creatives from all corners of the world come together to showcase their cutting-edge ideas and creations.
DDW is not your run-of-the-mill design event; it’s a full-on experience. The region comes alive with exhibitions, talks, and installations and the events are open to everyone. You can wander the streets and stumble upon a pop-up design studio, or you can plan your visit to catch some incredible workshops and presentations. This year the focus was on sustainable fashion.
Eindhoven
Eindhoven, a vibrant Dutch city already known for its innovation and design, is making significant strides with sustainable fashion houses, recycling initiatives, and environmental sustainability. With a deep commitment to creating a greener and more sustainable future, Eindhoven is a city that stands at the forefront of sustainable living.
Central to the event was the design graduate show, bringing together work by over 200 graduates, and it was absolutely incredible. The show spanned several floors in the exhibition centre, and revealed the potential for a future where fashion and everyday life could be made more sustainable and beautiful by design.
New Order of Fashion Lab, Eindhoven
The team at the New Order of Fashion Lab are working with the newest ideas, ranging from creating exquisite clothes with lavender seeds woven into every thread, to techniques using bacteria to create the most amazing dye for fabrics. This is truly the future of clothing, moving away from harsh man-made chemicals and unnatural fibres to natural dyeing methods and fabrics that can be returned to the soil.
They are mindful that more than 80% of a garment’s sustainable impact is determined during its design phase, and they are committed to empowering passionate fashion-design talents to make the right choices at this stage. One of their visions is closing the loop on linen, a bountiful natural resource in the Netherlands. It is harvested as flax and sent to China, only to be returned as linen cloth. Simply keeping the cloth-making process in the Netherlands would reduce the impact of production by thousands of tonnes of carbon every year.
As well as working with talented graduates and professionals, the New Order of Fashion encourage members of the public to grab some friends and drop in to learn new skills in mending and adjusting their own clothes. On Thursdays you can head over with your own garments and have the design team upcycle them into a unique and custom-made piece just for you.
Arnhem
Arnhem is such a lovely city with a friendly neighbourhood feel and sustainable fashion brands or artisan eateries on every corner. Again, there is so much passion here for sustainable development in all areas, they throw themselves heart and soul into DDW.
I travelled the pretty paved streets of Arnhem on a rented bicycle, the roads are totally geared towards cyclists and there are often completely separated roadways for them to use, resulting in there being more cyclists than cars in the city centre which is awesome.
Fraenk, Arnhem
There are so many ‘circular’ design houses in the city, it’s hard to mention them all. That said, I absolutely fell in love with the ethos (and the bags!) at Fraenk. All the designs are made from reclaimed and rescued fabrics and end-of-line stock, every label proudly declares the name of its maker and all the products here are vegan. I was in awe. Yes OF COURSE I bought one! It has hardly left my side since.
They’ve also joined forces with Dutch department store Zeemans to create circular fashion from their returned/recycled fabric bags.
Hul le Kes, Arnhem
Another fabulous fashion house pushing the boundaries in sustainable fashion is Hul le Kes, creating the most beautiful design pieces from rescued and donated fabrics.
Founded by Sjaak Hullekes and Sebastiaan Kramer who grew jaded and weary of the fast pace and polluting practices involved in modern fashion and wanted to change direction. Each piece comes with its very own passport detailing its provenance and specifications, it’s so cute!
They also have a social charter providing work and sanctuary for people with issues such as depression, burn-out, anxiety disorders and loneliness. Even if you just need a break from the everyday grind, their Recovery Studio is the place for you, and you might just pick up some new needlework skills too!
The New Dutch
It’s time to cast aside the idea of windmills and tulips, and embrace the ‘New Dutch’, the Netherlands is a bright, innovative destination with a lot to offer travellers who want to travel mindfully and with as little impact on the planet as possible.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Eindhoven and Arnhem for a European city break, both cities are easily accessible from the Eurostar connection at Rotterdam. I stayed at the Pullman Hotel in Eindhoven and the Hotel Haarhuis in Arnhem, both incredibly handy for transport links (and cycle hire) and perfect as a base for each city.
Visit Holland.com for more information on planning a visit.
Written by Sally Bendall @girlaboutleeds
Images supplied. Destination images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
