Dyeing our fabrics a bright, long-lasting colour without polluting the environment? It’s now possible with microbial pigments, as demonstrated by Laure Fernandez and her “Future Artisans” project.
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/fiona-kering-award-copy-1024x775.jpg)
Patterns created by micro-organisms
A fabric’s main source of appeal, colour livens up ready-to-wear with its shades and other colour palettes. The problem: synthetic dyes continue to poison the environment with their chemical components, contributing to fashion being one of the most polluting sectors.
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Capture-d’écran-2017-10-24-à-22.37.59-1.png)
On the other hand, natural pigments generally deliver less of a shine and poor durability. Laure Fernandez, a recent Esimode graduate, has attempted to break this deadlock with her “Future Artisans” project, which won the 2017 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion. Its principle? Creating unique patterns using micro-organisms, bacteria capable of expending while generating surrealist pigments via external stimuli, such as sound vibrations.
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Cattura.jpg)
“Their true beauty, created through the cross-pollination of micro-organisms, sounds and textiles, lies in the fact that they reinvent the meaning of luxury while provoking a discourse around the origin of colours,” explained Laure, who also attended London College of Fashion, following the “Fashion Future” course, combining science, fashion and new technologies.
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_3871_670.jpg)
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Manifesto2_670.jpg)
The future of fashion
Open to all Masters students at London College of Fashion, the Kering Awards for Sustainable Fashion is a competition in which the students must put forward creative and achievable solutions in response to a problem posed by the two Kering group brands that participated in the 2017 contest: Gucci and Stella McCartney.
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Futures-Artisans.jpg)
![Laure Fernandez, Kering Award, Sustainable Fashion, Future Artisans,](https://promostyl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/775054456rm006_2017_kering__0.jpg)
Out of the ten projects chosen from one hundred or so applications, we can note many suggestions for alternative textiles (made from microbial pigments, cork, bio-resin and apple fibres) as well as digital tools for raising public and corporate awareness about sustainable development in fashion: considered consumption and care given to clothing, a circular clothing life cycle and greater transparency in the production chain. A real incubator (finally) focused on the fashion of the future!