How to become hands on with what we already know about…
Design
MLR is a practitioner, with 40 years of experience with creating and exploiting new, innovative textile solutions. For more than 15 years, focusing on sustainability and circularity has helped a number of textile manufactures preparing for the future. This takes hands-on experience, actually working with textile as a material, with different fibres, yarns, fabrics and manufacturing techniques; theoretical models do not suffice when real-world change is needed. The work takes place in multi-disciplinary environments with experts from different corners of an extensive textile industry network. Solutions developed in diverse teams vouch for both technical and commercial robustness.
Whether the project aims at developing a textile product in its own right or a textile component to be integrated in a more complex context, with a formal design background MLR’s role will often focus on what is actually possible, through
Facilitating the engagement of a wide range of stakeholders and knowledge :: Identifying the most appropriate and feasible process and method :: Curating the choice of optimal components from the most appropriate sources :: Manage progress, milestones and budgets :: Ensuring the defined level of aesthetics and meaningfulness in final solution
Being a designer, it’s all about making the future tangible, relevant and accessible.
“Due to her long experience in textile industry, MLR understands the industrial technics and workflow; she creates and converts ideas into industrial measures and products. These competences have been of strong value to Lenzing, as we have also benefitted from her profound knowledge of the fashion industry. By involving and understanding all value chain partners, it has successfully linked design with the technical challenges and successfully created new innovative textiles and made it possible to market them as well.
This holistic and cross-functional thinking we consider as an important cornerstone to develop solutions for the current challenges the textile industry is facing.”
Dr. Peter Bartsch, Lenzing AG, Austria
Trend research
Based on decades of working with textile innovation and solutions the ability to monitor, read and interpret trends with a bearing on textile design and manufacturing follows in its wake. To benefit from these insights, however, a deep understanding of the market, of preferences, longevity and end-of-life issues, is also needed. Trend research is all about understanding the future that awaits us, and of meaningful propositions for how we prepare ourselves to act on its premises.
The future is right here – right now
The most imminent trend in relation to textile manufacturing, use and disposal is to reduce the footprint accumulated through the textile value-chain. That requires focus on raw materials and on emissions from different manufacturing processes. In short: design for longevity, include regenerative choices and bear the end-of-life and recycling in mind. Cross-pollinating ideas and functions, can kick-off holistic and cross-functional thinking and designing.
Data. Sustainability is only effective when based on facts. Without facts we will fight blindly to find the solutions we desperately need – for better products and businesses and a better world.
As a step in pursuit of a textile company’s aspirations or of a company using textiles as an integrated component – MLR can help develop a roadmap of practical and appropriate actions to take in order to reach the goals defined by you and in compliance with the different current EU measures.
This requires hands-on experience and skills, not only theoretical knowledge. Knowledge about possible routes of action, their individual risks and barriers, and not least, opportunities. Not based on assumptions, but on tested approaches to processes and manufacturing; a 360 degree exploration of available options.
Working with product development and innovation, process optimization and sustainability also requires direction and stringency, not merely a catalogue of fluffy ideas. MLR’s wide range of previous experiences is the best possible point of departure for realistic, strategically anchored, technologically viable and financially sound scenarios.