Fibre Class: Caring for your fabulous clothes

27 November 2014 - 02:06 By Nicola Cooper
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WASH AND WEAR: Models get ready for the Future Fabrics show in Berlin
WASH AND WEAR: Models get ready for the Future Fabrics show in Berlin

The P&G Future Fabrics 14/15 symposium in Berlin, Germany, was a global design event of note, featuring 100 fashion analysts and bloggers from Africa and Asia.

Designers and scientists came together to focus on the "science of the beauty and care of clothes".

The P&G Group, formally Proctor & Gamble, makes household products, including fabric cleaners. It has been working with fashion designer Giles Deacon and fabric trend forecaster Sabine le Chatelier, associate fashion director at Première Vision, to connect the care of fabric with fashion.

Deacon, a Central Saint Martins graduate who studied with Alexander McQueen, was head designer at Bottega Veneta and Gucci from 1998 until 2002. In 2004 he launched his own label, GILES, at London Fashion Week and has since received international acclaim with his collections, winning the British Designer of the Year award in 2006.

He has a machine-washable collection for P&G that combines technical knowledge and his fashion experience.

"Fashion must become sustainable, offering products with longevity," he says.

His view echoes that of designer Vivienne Westwood, who recently pleaded to consumers to: "Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity."

For consumers this means that new, tactile textures and fabrics that are easy to care for and that last will increasingly be developed.

  • Nicola Cooper is a trend analyst. She was a guest of the P&G group in Berlin
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