Deriving an understanding of textiles being more of a material not just fabric.
Its often referred as, if one wants to study human evolution then must look at material evolution. Textiles is that one form of art which has evolved humans extensively. Today we look back at museums and fabrics narrate stories of lives lived back then, battles fought, craftsmanship, cultural, devotional aspects to life at a certain era. In today’s world we get to peap into the window of history through fabrics and many other products but fabrics hold a strong position in narrating human evolution. With every “age” materials kept evolving, man moved further as his understand on materials grew. Today we drap ourselves with fabric; 1000’s of yeas back that wasnt the case. We as a specie kept adapting and evolving; that’s the key to survival. 100’s of years later when humans look back to now, we would have our textiles narrate stories on our behalves. Our print, the materials we turned into yarns, the structures we constructed to create garments as well as the impact it had on the planet. Obviously the next question one can think of is - what would textiles look like in future?
I had questions like how would future humans adore themselves- would it be fabric or garments made from plastic, thats floating on water and lying in landfill right now... or would they be made out of plant roots, engineered to naturally weave where the top part is used and the roots turned dried act as naturally woven garments( research currently being conducted by students in london) or would the garments be created out of microbes. With the pandemic hitting humans and us almost losing our balance. Eventually learning to surf waves of covid... we probably learned to surf thanks to vaccinations that acted like our surf boards. Kept us floating no matter how high the waves got. With that we humans definitely learned that if we got to survive, we need to find solutions to our problems with microbes. As microbes have been the first life form on the planet. They lived before us and shall live after as well. Collaborating make sense rather than fighting a specie which is billions of years old. If humans had to wear garments which were woven or knitted by microbes then textiles design is not just about fabric but also about materials. These material would be put to use in different forms around us probably 100’s of years later. Just as textiles is all around us from our living area to body covers. It takes different forms and stays closely associated to humans.
Probably in far future microbes and natural elements would be taking up these roles. The base to which would be material swatches. To evolve a library of materials the exploration begins with natural elements. Often textile design is looked at as a stream of just design. When one zones out its evident that there are other forms to this- textile engineering, textile design, textile science, material science, textile art and history. Textile design is at the intersection of Science, engineering, design and art. Learning about natural dyes and how environment enables pigments is an aspect of chemistry, the study of colours. Using natural dyes to dye various types of fabrics allows students to have a better grasp of the biochemical mechanisms as well as the interaction between the fabric and the natural pigments. Because each fabric yarn has its unique protein structure, these natural hues have diverse chemical structures that respond differently to different materials.The relationship between the two results in a very solid grasp of natural chemistry. To have a better knowledge of the fabric’s structure, the fibre used to weave it must be investigated. Observing the flexibility, durability, malleability, and dye-ability of these fibres is part of science as well as engineering; analyzed and comprehended to drive conclusions on what sort of outcomes should be envisaged.
This approach involves biology to understand the origin of the yarn and how it is engendered; chemistry to delve deeper into the structures and bonds that are formed during the process; and math to weave these gorgeous samples. Weaving is also one of humanity’s finest technologies and inventions. It had a significant part in the development of computers that we now use. The 0-1 code in computing and coding is derived from the Jacquard Loom construction, which is still regarded as one of the best technologies today. We have the touchscreen phone in our hands nowadays, we can claim that we are always surrounded by technology, which is how engineering is also a component of textiles. Currently, there is intensive research being undertaken on e- textiles, which entails a lot of engineering programming and designing, necessitating a diversified workforce. This textile sector is a part of future textiles. Other sorts of future textiles include employing microorganisms to generate leather, producing pigments for dyeing fabrics, and simply manufacturing sheets to assist recover oil spills on ocean surfaces. These are all distinct types of future textiles that are breaking down barriers and fostering amazing cooperation amongst varied fields including design, science, engineering, and art. Textiles is a marvelous medium that is woven with all four sectors today. As it has a cultural element, where in India textiles are also regarded to be a form of celebration during festivals and ceremonies, it is also thought to be a medium which is blessed and bestowed with magical powers, as well as having application innovation driven towards this medium. It demonstrates its multiplicity, diversity as well as the elegance of how it weaves itself into these four separate dimensions, bringing them all together.
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