DUTCH DESIGN WEEK

Kukka is proud to showcase at Dutch Design Week! We take part in two exhibitions with our biodesign project Living Colour.

EXHIBITION 1: WORK IN PROGRESS

Work in Progress shows the current state of practice-based design research: from exploratory research to prototypes and upcoming market introductions. The theme this year is "Applied Design Research as a Catalyst of Change". Design professorships from Dutch universities of applied sciences show their most innovative research projects here.

Be amazed by the latest bio-based products: from textile dyed with bacteria to façade cladding that imitates a polar bear. Experience the look and feel of a jute cafe table and a recycled denim wall. Step on the innovative Robo stairs, which combine the benefits of a lift and a staircase. And see what comes out of the 3D printer: a drone, flexible fashion textiles – to a ‘tiny house’ of concrete.

THE FUTURE OF LIVING MATERIALS

In several subprojects of The Future of Living Materials, designers examine the possibilities of living materials that contribute to a sustainable and circular fashion industry in collaboration with ArtEZ Future Makers and Wageningen University & Research.

We will show our biodesign research project Living Colour here. In this project we investigate a new and natural way to dye textiles with bacteria that produce pigment. We want to offer a sustainable alternative to toxic synthetic textile dyes made from petrochemicals. Pollution from fashion production and in particular the textile dyeing process is a big problem. The colouring, bleaching and treatment of textiles causes 20 percent of all freshwater pollution in the world.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF LIVING COLOUR

After the material research we displayed at State of Fashion, we've worked with other designers and companies that have developed their own sustainable innovative material to test whether our dyeing process is suitable for dyeing these materials. We dyed mycelium MycoTex by NEFFA, Pyratex Health fabric by Pyrates Smart Fabrics, plant root textile by Diana Scherer and felt from non-industrial wool by Beatrice Waanders. We show these new developments during Dutch Design Week. Come and see these exciting new developments!

Materials by NEFFA, Pyratex, Diana Scherer and Beatrice Waanders

EXHIBITION

Sat 20 October - Sunday 28 October in Klokgebouw | Hall 2 by Network Applied Design Research (NADR)

Kukka's biodesign project Living Colour at Klokgebouw during Dutch Design Week 2018

EXHIBITION 2: FASHION? FUTURE DESIGN FOR THE PRESENT

Fashion pretends to be a field of innovation and the new, but the materials and production methods have hardly developed since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Fashion and clothing could be so much more; it is the piece of technology we keep closest to our skin, and with which we have the most intimate relationship.

Fashion? Future Design for the Present - curated by Marina Toeters - explores and opens a vista of possibilities through a range of innovative projects from different designers and researchers from the Netherlands and abroad, some very experimental, some ready for sale and home use. From new sustainable ways of thinking and designing, innovative production solutions and integrated technology that can improve the way garments behave, feel and treat your body.

At this exhibition we show our expanded colour palette created by bacteria.