SeaCell fiber makes the benefits of seaweed wearable. 

We usually obtain natural textiles from the fiber of earth-bound plants like cotton and bamboo or trees like eucalyptus and beech, but who would have thought of using the sea as source for nutrients that  can enhance our fibrous yarns and fabrics? German company smartfiber AG has taken on this challenge of scavenging the blue waters, and introduced seaweed as a material to be woven and blended with other fibers for fabrics that harness the benefits of deep-sea minerals and trace elements.

Enter SeaCell, a cellulose-based material that is mostly made up of the fiber from the eucalyptus tree and processed through the same method as Tencel. The eucalyptus fiber is combined with seaweed and turned into a fabric that contains numerous benefits for human skin. With a fiber structure that facilitates active exchange of nutrients between the skin and fabric, SeaCell releases nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamin E (which is extremely beneficial for repairing stretched or damaged skin) onto the wearer.

Long considered a healing plant in Chinese medicine, seaweed can boost immune systems, reduce blood sugar, promote circulation and digestion, and revitalize skin, hair and nails. Seaweed constitutes around 5% of the SeaCell fiber, and although the number may seem small, its qualities are omnipotent. Known as an anti-inflammatory that activates cell regeneration and re-mineralizes the skin to protect the largest organ of the human body, who wouldn’t want to wear seaweed fabric?

The specific variety of seaweed used in SeaCell fiber is known as brown algae or knotted wrack, and is harvested from the northwestern shores of Iceland. The obtained seaweed is sushi grade and certified organic by the USDA. After harvest, the fresh seaweed is dried and crushed, then ground and introduced to the cellulose fiber in a way that binds the seaweed powder to the raw fiber.

The fiber is made entirely of renewable resources, and processed in closed-loop methods through Lenzing’s Tencel method, making it one of the most sustainable natural fibers to date. SeaCell has been awarded several certifications, including the EU’s EcoTex 100 standard and the EcoLabel, and is constantly tested for its benefits and lack of toxins from raw fiber to finished fabric.

SeaCell fiber can be blended with nearly any other type of fiber, rendering it applicable as a knit, woven or non-woven fabric. The resulting material is one of the most breathable and soft fabrics on the market, attracting the likes of sportswear and yoga attire manufacturers, as well as markets for sheets, towel, blankets and baby clothing.

The material is currently being used by various active wear manufactures that openly market their use of SeaCell, with lululemon, Orca triathlete outfitters, Adea yoga clothing & sleepwear, and Falke socks & hosiery already on the growing list. Fashion designer Christine Zillich, whose dress is pictured above, has created an entire collection out of the material, showcasing a range of beautiful designs fit for the earth-bound mermaid. So let the ocean feed and rejuvenate your skin to sea and feel the difference.

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Originating in the Philippines as a lightweight option for their hot and moist island climates, pineapple fabrics and their lustrous qualities are catching the eye of luxury and couture designers. 

Although pineapple fabrics were first created in the Philippines, the pineapple plant actually originated in South America around the region of Paraguay. In the 16^th century, Spaniards invaded the Northern Philippines and planted pineapple plants they had discovered in the Americas since they deemed them to do well in the tropical climate.

The Spanish settlers also had a long list of demands to establish among the native Filipino population, one of them being that all should be fully clothed from head to toe. This was understandably ridiculous and impractical to the indigenous peoples who had for centuries maintained their local wisdom and lack of bodily shame through staying comfortable and cool by baring all.

However, since the Spaniards had the advantage of armaments, the natives decided to adhere to the pressure to wear garments and devised a way to weave cloth from the newly planted pineapple plants. Having developed methods for weaving cloth from their native banana and abaca leaves, the Filipino population discovered similarities between sheath leaves of all three plants.

Through experimentation, they realized how pineapple leaves rendered a gossamer fabric that was diaphanous, breathable and had excellent cooling properties. Ideal for the tropical climate, the material also managed to meet the European standards of being properly clothed.

Weaving of the pineapple leaves into this graceful fabric continued, and rapidly rose in popularity among European fashion circles by the 19^th century. Parisians in particular coveted the fabric, and in 1850 Filipino officials gifted a petticoat and undergarments made from pineapple fabric to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the British Empire. The material was held in favor until the cheaper and more easily obtainable option of cotton overtook the textile industry by the end of the 19^th century.

The process of obtaining pineapple fabrics is long and arduous, due to the fact that it is mostly done by hand. The leaves are first soaked to soften the plant gums, then scraped to obtain the fibers, and hung to dry in the open air. Once waxed to remove tangles, they are then knotted and spun into a lustrous, white yarn.

As pineapple yarn is extremely delicate, working and weaving with it requires precision and patience. The resultant fabric is a glossy but slightly stiff, ivory-colored material that is considered one of the finest materials by the Philippines, and also used for their ceremonial Barong Tagalog outfits.

Pineapple fabric is known as piña (the Spanish word for pineapple), and can be woven in combination with other fibers such as cotton, banana leaf, silk and polyester. The fiber takes natural dyes very well, and is usually only dyed without the use of chemicals. The glossy surface of the material also eliminates the need for toxic treating agents, since it acts as a protective layer for the fabric in itself. Softer than hemp and better in quality than raw silk, piña is like a lightweight, lustrous and smooth, linen material. As an added bonus, it is easy to wash, not requiring dry-cleaning.

Although these qualities make piña the perfect material for ethereal clothing, it is very expensive due to the time and skills involved in processing. It has therefore caught the eye of luxury fashion designers such as Oliver Tolentino (a Filipino) and Rania Salibi. Tolentino has turned the natural material into a star of the red carpet by creating gowns and cocktail dresses and suits for the likes of Emmy Rossum, Cee Lo Green, Tatyana Ali and Anna Paquin, alongside crafting beautiful bridal wear. Having also won several awards for sustainable fashion competitions with designs that incorporate pineapple fabric, Tolentino has been credited with introducing the piña to Hollywood and Western fashion circles.

Who knows, perhaps the states of Florida and Hawaii will see sustainable opportunities for re-learning and preserving handcrafts and luxurious materials with the waste from their pineapple industries.

Images: THIS Co.

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Art, fashion, and design join forces to create a transcendent solution.

The lazy days of summer have officially arrived along with fashion staged in leafy gardens and endless beaches with drifting clouds overhead. Writer and curator Alicia Lubowski-Jahn has tapped into our summer reveries with her latest endeavor, LEAF // CLOUD: Nature Tangible and Transcendent at the NYC townhouse art space, Fair Folks & a Goat, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Part indie showcase, part voyeuristic glimpse into how to really live with art, design, and fashion, this extremely thoughtful exhibition pairs eco-conscious art with designs that celebrate creative upcycling, recyclables, and renewable materials in an innovative and fashionable manner.

LEAF // CLOUD opened with a stunning turnout on June 1st, and for the next installment, the curator has joined forces with sustainable fashion expert, Kate McGregor of Kaight boutique, to host an eco fashion trunk show that will be custom-tailored to the Fair Folks & a Goat gallery space. This trunk show will take place on Tuesday, June 14, from 6pm to 9pm, and promises to highlight impressive names in handcrafting, fiber work, and heirloom fashion design.

Writer and curator Alicia Lubowski-Jahn at the opening of Leaf//Cloud in NYC

As Alicia Lubowski-Jahn so eloquently outlines in her reasons for curating an exhibition in a setting like Fair Folks & a Goat, this contemporary art venue that mimics a private home creates an intimate dialogue for ideas about craft, sustainable production, and layered expressions of environmental awareness.

Leaf//Cloud art and design mix at Fair Folks & a Goat’s apartment style gallery

The opening of Leaf//Cloud on June 1 at Fair Folks & a Goat

“One of my curatorial goals for Leaf//Cloud: Nature Tangible and Transcendent was to showcase amazing artists reflecting on the environment in an array of media. You’ll see in the exhibit artists working in a variety of materials, including recycled cork, sustainably-harvested or salvaged wood, and recycled plastics as well as repurposed computer and electronic parts. With regard to the exhibition’s title, the contrasting physical quality of a tangible “leaf” and a transcendent “cloud” very much captures my interest in exploring materiality.

The Fair Folks & a Goat townhouse offers a unique salon setting that allowed me to combine fine arts and design pieces on and off the walls. I am delighted that the fashion and accessories collection curated by Kate McGregor will add another category of design that broadens our nature-inspired and earth-friendly design spectrum. The fact that Kate has specially commissioned unique pieces from such talented designers makes this a rare treat.

The show’s title is actually a reference to a passage by the nineteenth-century English aesthetic critic John Ruskin. Several of the fine arts pieces in the exhibition, including those by Dana Matthews, John Patrick, and Patrick Winfield, are informed by pre-industrial 19th-century nature aesthetics and design techniques. I think these historical references help us to understand the present age in which our relationship to materials is drastically changing and our ideas about what is beautiful are also in flux.” – Alicia Lubowski-Jahn

Cyanotypes by Dana Matthews (above) and indigo painting by John Patrick (below)

Designer John Patrick creating an indigo painting as featured in the NYTimes T Magazine’s blog

This highlighting of the work of designers and artists who demonstrate a genuine passion for and knowledge of natural materials seems fitting in a climate that is in need of slowing down fashion cycles as well as grounding inflated art world strategies. I love that John Patrick of the sustainable fashion label John Patrick Organic is exhibiting his paintings along side botanical cyanotypes by artist Dana Matthews. Again, the curator explains this elemental pairing:

“Dana Matthews’ documentation of organic farming in Delaware County, in New York’s Catskill Mountains, suggests the pastoral idyll of French Barbizon landscape painting. Her impressions of plants in the chemical-free cyanotype process recall the work of English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins (1799–1871), who made some of the earliest and most beautiful cyanotypes of plant specimens.

John Patrick … created an indigo painting, which is part of his wider exploration of historical natural and handmade pigments including honey, cochineal, and china ink.” – Alicia Lubowski-Jahn

Trey Speegle’s ‘You Are The One’ painting at Leaf//Cloud

Felt ‘wall brooch’ by Liz Burow in situ

Other standouts from the exhibition are the paint-by-number paintings of Trey Speegle, sculpture by Susan Benarcik, and a felt wall brooch by Liz Burow.

I asked Alicia what the trunk show will add to the pieces that are already on view at the gallery space, and she had this to say about the expanded view of sustainable fashion and production in conjunction with Leaf//Cloud’s overall message:

“When I approached Kate (McGregor of Kaight) to curate the eco fashion trunk show, we also talked about the relationship of ‘sustainable design’ to ‘craft’ and ‘heirloom’ manufacturing and values. The fact that the collection explores hand-made and natural dye techniques has a heritage component that fits the historical outlook of Leaf//Cloud.”

Eco fashion trunk show exhibitors include: Abigail Doan, Ceca Georgieva, Fr. Andrew O’Connor of Goods of Conscience, Kizzy Jai Knight, Marcus Hicks, Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard of Eko-Lab, and Sono Kuwayama to name a few. Further details can be found on Kaight’s blog.

LEAF // CLOUD: Nature Tangible and Transcendent” is on view through June 27 by appointment. Participating artists include Trey Speegle and Dana Matthews together with Susan Benarcik, Liz Burow, Lilian Cooper, Clemens Kois, John Patrick, and Patrick Winfield. Participating designers include Fernando and Humberto Campana, Kevin Cunningham, Emiliano Godoy, Stewart Webb, and Brooklyn-based designers Stéphane Hubert, Daniel Michalik, and Colleen and Eric Whiteley.

Images: ‘Natural Pattern’ by Susan Benarcik, Trey Speegle, gallery photos by Abigail Doan

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