Hemp: a truly versatile plant, once one of the main sources of man-made textiles. Today, most of us know it under the names “cannabis” or “marijuana”, which tend to evoke predominantly negative connotations. Design Academy Eindhoven alumna Natasha Amisha sought to investigate the source of this disconnect with her graduate project “Honestly Hemp”. Her vision: to create an entire outfit made wholly from hemp fibre and end the stigma surrounding the plant.

Natasha soon discovered that our tainted view of the hemp plant is mainly based on misconceptions, and that it could be a key ingredient in helping the textile industry become more sustainable. Not only is hemp a robust plant that thrives in diverse conditions, it also requires minimal water, is among nature’s strongest fibers, thus ensuring long-lasting life cycles, boosts sustainable agriculture as it enhances soil quality and is antibacterial, UV resistant and hypoallergenic. With “Honestly Hemp”, she has set out to place this fascinating natural material at the forefront of sustainable solutions for the future of the textile industry.

Elizabeth Balado is an artist, designer, and researcher from London, presenting a unique, experientially-driven workshop with her project “Blooming Minds: Social Printing”. Developed over the past year, the workshop combines the psychological and physical benefits of nature with community-based creation, by guiding participants to create their own prints. The workshop encourages participants to follow their own intuition to select and forage flowers and plants and then arrange a composition, before using a technique to transfer the natural dye onto cotton using a mallet.

She will be presenting a variation of the workshop at the KEYHOUSE during Munich Fabric Start, which will consist of participants applying the print technique onto tote bags, allowing them to create and keep their own work. Elizabeth’s research focuses on combining nature – especially the use of natural and recycled materials – and community, a social practice which weaves themes such as mental health while encouraging accessible creativity. Her current work can be found on her Instagram and website. Elizabeth is open to collaboration with foragers, biologists, mental health services and others interested about participating in further printing workshops.

Suzanne Corcessin’s “Being Plucked” (“Être à Fleur de Peau”) utilizes unconventional textiles to argue against the notion that bird plucking and hair removal are neutral actions. Suzanne Corcessin views these acts as political, maintaining colonial and gendered hierarchies. Through bird plucking and the aesthetics of hair removal, bodies historically have been controlled and objectified.

The installation employs latex, textiles, silicone, and feathers to create textures that confront viewers with conflicting emotions, provoking new perspectives on the debate over hair removal. In this everyday decision and product debate, the question arises: Who decides what is right or wrong, beautiful or unattractive?

“Being Plucked” questions underlying assumptions and illuminates the political dimensions of decisions about one’s body. By creating textiles that evoke discomfort, Suzanne Corcessin urges a shift in the perception of the act of hair removal, breaking through the colonial and gendered structures often associated with this topic.