There's a renewed energy within knitwear that means one of our most circular and sustainable materials is having an important revival
A new age of knitting is upon us and it’s thanks, at least in part, to the fact that wool is finally being recognised for its sustainability credentials. Renewable, biodegradable and recyclable, the circularity of this natural fibre means it is fast emerging as fashion’s new favourite material – and it’s easy to see why.
According to the Woolmark Company, “wool is the original eco fibre”. A seductive statement, but what other fabric can claim to be 100 per cent natural, use less energy and water for production than its counterparts and not contribute to plastic pollution? I’ll wait. As well as having a pleasingly long life span, unlike most other textiles wool, in its truest form, is made from renewable atmospheric carbon which means it doesn’t release harmful plastic into the earth when it’s disposed of. Part of the natural carbon cycle, it acts like a fertiliser by slowly releasing valuable nutrients and carbon back into the soil.
While there remains work to be done in terms of the accurate measurement of the methane released from sheep, cutting carbon emmissions from farms and iliminating animal cruelty throughout the world, the international farming and fashion industries are uniting to ensure today’s fleece is transformed into ethically and sustainably produced wool that is 100 per cent traceable.
Music to the ears of both today’s emerging designers and the pandemic’s newly impassioned knitters, whose woollen creations are challenging traditional ideas of what knitwear can be. From outlandish, avant-garde graduate creations to Tiktok-inspired DIY knits of celebrity-endorsed designer pieces (see Harry Styles’s JW Anderson patchwork cardigan), there’s a renewed energy within knitwear that means one of our most circular and sustainable materials is having an important revival.
While more of us than ever are waking up to the creative opportunities available via a pair of knitting needles, some of London’s most exciting fashion students have been pushing the form further. Following in the footsteps of Matty Bovan, winner of the 2021 International Woolmark Prize and the Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, Central Saint Martins graduates such as Isa Boulder, Gui Rosa and Katya Zelentsova are among a cohort of new sustainably minded designers producing colour-packed 3D knits and eye-popping crochet pieces that unpick everything we thought we knew about knitwear.
Russian designer Katya Zelentsova has a zero-waste approach to creating her brightly coloured cut-out pieces. Uninspired by the dull shades of most sustainable wool on offer, like many of her peers she sought out mills and vendors offering eco-conscious yarns and deadstock cotton in colours that pack a punch. The result? Meticulously woven semi-sheer bodysuits, crocheted caplets, lace leggings and even spats in a kaleidoscope of colours. For Zelentsova, who grew up in an area of southern Russia rich with textile traditions, it’s always been important to finish her innovative pieces as “properly” as possible. She applies more traditional finishes like grosgrain ribbon and trims to her designs in unconventional ways. According to Zelentsova, playing with the context of pieces is what helps contemporary knitwear continue to evolve. “I think the thing that makes this new wave of knit enthusiasm so exciting, particularly in London, is that it doesn’t break off with traditional approaches completely, but rather takes them on and playfully subverts them,” says the designer. She believes that the pandemic has reinvigorated the craft for designers as well as novices: “There’s a renewed sense of fun, joy and resilience – all the things you need to get through these challenging times – that definitely informs both the shapes and the textiles coming out right now.”
“Knitwear has a level of intimacy to it that hopefully allows the wearer to be more attached to the clothing, not only on a physical level but emotionally. I believe that for fashion to be sustainable, we have to be more sentimental about our clothing"
Zelentsova’s classmate Gui Rosa similarly credits the ups and downs of the past year and half with keeping makers on their toes. “It’s the downs that usually create the best work – out of adversity comes the most wonderful fashion,” says Rosa. Having received the L’Wren Scott Fashion Scholarship (generously supported by Mick Jagger since 2015), for his MA Fashion graduate show Rosa presented a collection designed, in his own words, “to try to make men more sensitive by dressing them in fabric that is part of the female ethos”. The Portugese native weaved into life dip-dyed silk crocheted gloves, jacquard-knit dresses and oversized full-circle frills for the collection which also featured in Till Death Do Us Ride, a short film the designer created for Gucci’s week-long fashion film festival GucciFest.
Since graduating, Rosa has started to assemble his first formal production line, which quickly acquainted him with one of the greatest challenges facing fledgling designers, an industry geared towards mass production. “I believe there is willingness among designers to create one-off, special items, but there’s very few manufacturers wanting to get on with the programme,” explains Rosa. “Out of about 20 or so places I reached out to, none would take orders below a thousand pairs. It teaches you that fashion’s biggest issue to tackle when it comes to developing greener clothes is its supply chain.”
Cecilia Basari of the label Isa Boulder found a solution further afield. Basari returned to her hometown in Bali, where she and well-connected co-founder Yuli Suri sought out local artisans and environmentally friendly textiles to create a healthy ecosystem within the existing garment-production scene. When the artisans on hand happened to be recently out of work seamstresses with expertise in swimwear, the designers decided to capitalise on their skillset and launch with a line of bathers and bikinis. Its small-scale production values and ruched swimwear designs soon built the label cult status, with its move into knitwear offering its fanbase another taste of Isa Boulder’s take on contemporary, positively conscious fashion. For Basari, the transition was a no-brainer: “Knitwear has a level of intimacy to it that hopefully allows the wearer to be more attached to the clothing, not only on a physical level but emotionally. I believe that for fashion to be sustainable, we have to be more sentimental about our clothing.” It’s no accident then that Isa Boulder’s unconventionally sexy crochet styles, intricate open-weave bodysuits, sweater-knit bras and shoulder-hugging Argyle gloves are easy to get attached to.
Thankfully, Isa Boulder is part of a growing number of graduates who are tapping into the nostalgia of knitwear in exciting new ways to bring the craft to the forefront of creativity. With its naturally sustainable credentials, the beauty of the knit just might be that it offers the opportunity to create more consciously, while still moving fashion forward.
Hair: Soichi Inagaki at Art Partner. Make-up: Celine Martin at MA World Group. Nails: Ama Quashie at Streeters. Set design: Polly Philp at The Magnet Agency. Fashion assistant: Met Kilinc. Photography assistants: Felix TW, Max Glatzhofer, Alys Morrison. Make-up assistant: Flo Lee. Set design assistant: Camilla Byles. Casting: Piergiorgio Del Moro at DM Casting. Models: Ajok Daing at Milk Management, and Hannah Motler at Sissy Beat