Teatum Jones partners with Liberty fabrics to launch ‘Zero Waste’ initiative

London-based Teatum Jones debuted her Re-Love | Global Womanhood 2022 collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week as part of the Zalando Sustainability Awardsshowcase, which included historical stock, “imperfect and forgotten” Liberty textiles, and damaged tailoring fabrics from British woolen mills.

Teatum Jones said that every care and attention goes into a new textile creation, as per their Pillar #6 ‘A Slower Approach to Fashion.’ Nothing happens until it’s judged necessary. Being resourceful with research and development from earlier collections is part of their Zero Waste objective; they don’t want anything to go to waste.

Teatum Jones worked closely with Liberty on picking textiles from the company’s stock library, which was locked away in their Italian warehouses due to the epidemic. They picked 12 deadstock fabrics, including the Standen, Sussex, and Ceremony Liberty designs.

To save waste in dye development, sampling, and manufacturing, these Liberty prints in fuschia, cobalt blue, and metallic lames were collaged with Teatum Jones’ distinctive fil coupé fabric, which was carried over from previous seasons. They also reworked the Liberty textiles into a patchwork mash-up of different scales using historical autumn/winter 2018 ‘Global Womanhood’ deadstock silks.

Teatum Jones explained that patchwork has become one of the most passionate innovations in their Zero Waste approach to producing collections. Each patchwork tapestry is produced by hand, with an arrangement of archival and waste fabric and a careful color balance. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, handcrafted as if it were a new canvas, giving it the feel of wearing textile art. This is a truly sustainable crafts-person-ship.

Mary-Ann Dunkley, design director for Liberty Fabrics, said that preventing waste from entering trash is a primary emphasis for Liberty Fabrics — all fabric that is not sold throughout the course of the season is kept and repurposed for upcycling projects. The Liberty design concept is ageless, and Teatum Jones has demonstrated how old-season patterns can be reused in a gorgeous collection that closes the loop while staying mindful of the planet’s scarce resources.

In addition, the London-based business, which guarantees that all garment manufacture takes place within a 9-mile radius of its studio, picked tailoring materials from British woolen mills to avoid landfilling end-of-line or damaged stock.

The Teatum Jones Re-Love | Global Womanhood 2022 collection is inspired by a group of 25 women who embody the Teatum Jones spirit of “bold, confident, creative, and smart,” including disability model and activist Kelly Knox, trans model Munroe Bergdorf, professor of Diverse Selfhood and former I-D editor Caryn Franklin, Triumph underwear creative director Sian Thomas, and Lybian textile designer Nawal Gebreel.