Our latest newsletter and press articles

July 2020

TDL management team

We are delighted to welcome Fashion Design Lecturer, Leica Johnson, to the Textile and Design Lab’s management team following Sharon Evans-Mikellis’ decision to move to a part-time role within AUT’s Fashion Design Department. Leica is a practicing designer who started her career with her own British based clothing label selling to British and European Independent retailers. Returning from the USA to New Zealand in 2011 having focused on working with clothing companies with a sustainable ethos for a decade, Leica resumed her love of tutoring fashion students at AUT. As a design practitioner, Leica’s interests lie in the socio-political aspect of clothing and its direct relationship to sustainable contemporary fashion practices.

Virtu-Wool conference 2020

The deadline for the submission of abstracts for the Virtu-Wool conference being hosted by AgResearch has been extended until 31 July. This online event will be held on Wednesday and Thursday 26 – 27 August and is a precursor to the International Wool Conference scheduled for March 2021.

For an abstract template, please email IWRC20@agresearch.co.nz

Full details of the event

Making metamorphic materials

AUT Lecturer and Researcher in the School of Future Environments and member of the lab’s management team, Donna Cleveland, was selected as a finalist in the ‘We the Makers’ design competition enabling her work to be showcased at the National Wool Museum in Geelong, Australia. Donna’s entry, entitled ‘Making metamorphic materials’, was made from recycled designer textile waste destined for landfill. All the garments are designed with the intention of recycling them again in a circular process. ‘Developments and technological advancements in the methods of identifying and sorting fibres from textile waste will generate more opportunities for recycling as producers and consumers understand new value propositions other than just economic ones’, says Donna.

Vote for Donna’s work in the ‘People’s choice’ category

^{Donna’s ‘Making metamorphic materials’ garments made from recycled textile waste}

Short courses and workshops to resume in September

As a result of the recent lockdown and associated restrictions, the lab’s short course and workshop programme has been deferred until later in the year. Details and dates are as follows:

• Introduction to Textiles: Thu 10 – Fri 11 September
• International Textile Development and Sourcing: Thu 17 – Fri 18 September
• Digital Textile Design – Repeating Patterns: Thu 17 – Fri 18 September
• E-Textiles: Thu 24 – Fri 25 September
• Knitwear Design: Sat 26 – Sun 27 September
• 3D Simulation and Concept Development: Sat 10 – Sun 11 October
• Photoshop Basics for Textile Design: Thu 12 – Fri 13 November
• Introduction to Woven Textiles: TBC

Full details and registration