GEORGIE’S REVIEW: MATERIEL PRE-SS21
Wed 15 Jul
Many designers, brands and businesses have taken this time to work on their sustainability practices, looking into how they can lower their carbon footprint or create with ethical fabrications. For womenswear brand Materiel, this is old news, they have been working with faux leather and conscious pieces since they began. In their latest Resort collection for example, designers Aleksandre Akhalkatsishvili and Lado Bokuchava, have made over 70% of the collection sustainable - sourcing from recycled, vegan and eco-friendly fibers and using natural dyeing techniques.
Crafted in Tbilisi, the new collection presents a brilliantly textured python eco-leather, a first for the brand. This fabrication appears in orange and white on a striking slim-fit suit. Bright tones are interspersed with Materiel’s staple black leather trousers and dresses, the tropical jersey in blue and yellow a particular stand-out. There’s an undeniable feminity throughout the collection too, with deep V necklines, cut-outs and wrap detailing all bringing focus to the body. The use of silks continues these effeminate motifs, as too does the linen, adding a lightness to the body-conscious mini dresses in particular. Sophisticated and sustainable, with a hint of suggestion, Materiel’s latest collection sets the bar for those only just grappling with similar ideas.