Eco-friendly materials and biodiverse yarns: thanks to these qualities, MA in Fashion Design student Giulia Ciola won the prestigious Woolmark Performance Challenge 2022. Her trail runner's outfit pushes the boundaries of sustainable clothing, and the award jury recognised it.
Fashion and sustainability: the contest and the project
The Woolmark Performance Challenge is a contest by The Woolmark Company and Salomon. It looks at the sports and performance-wear market. In 2022, students had to design an outfit for long-distance mountain running by focusing on durable bio-fibres and merino wool. 191 universities from 25 countries participated in the programme. Guided by NABA lecturer Luisa Cevese and coordinated by Simone Domenico Liscio (Fashion Design Area Academic Assistant), Giulia Ciola won one of the three main prizes.
"Rapid Decomposing Wool" is her project. Here, regenerative yarn research and innovative production methods play a relevant role. It aims to replace all oil-based fibres with a combination of bio-materials and merino wool. This solution looks at a change of perspective. Clothing is no longer made by polluting the Earth. On the contrary, it is designed to decompose, actually nourishing the planet gradually.
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