Sustainable Fashion. From Material to Immaterial through Biodesign

The current consciousness about the environmental impact of fashion request an urgent need for intervention on both the technological production and the processing plants in the textile sector; but these are not the only aspects to be considered. Focusing on an approach based only on the sustainability of materials and processes, and not considering the gears that move the fashion system, would lead to a symptom based solution that does not involve the roots of the problem. The intangible, social and symbolic aspects that invest the fashion sector have significant repercussions on material production and stimulate the phenomenon of fast-fashion. The purpose of this contribution is to individuate a further approach which looks at recent technological advances in the field of sustainability, not only as alternatives to production and processing in the textile sector, but aims to investigate its potential in aesthetic and semantic terms, to establish new correlations between material and immaterial aspects. Specifically, reference will be made to the field of biodesign, which considers the collaboration with living organisms as a design tool that, if applied to the textile sector, will allow energy efficiency savings and to reduce environmental impact, but also generate new ways of interaction, use and customization of clothing.