Textile Tales exhibition underway in Thimphu as part of FAB23 Bhutan

Thimphu [Bhutan], July 23 (ANI): The alumni of the Fabric Academy on Sunday began hosting the Textile Tales exhibition in Thimphu as a part of the biggest global fabrication event, FAB23 Bhutan, Bhutan Live reported. A six-month transdisciplinary intense programme called Fabricacademy is offered in seventeen different fab labs throughout the world. The exhibition would provide visitors a glimpse of ground-breaking advancements in the worldwide textile and apparel industries.

The Royal Textile Academy is now hosting the seven-day exhibition. Three themes are explored via the exhibition’s display of various textile designs. They are the integration of electronics and wearables, the application of technology in local manufacturing, and sustainability in the textile and apparel industries.
Visitors can see different projects from the graduates of Fabricacademy, as well as research that is done in labs and FabLabs all over the world, Bhutan Live reported.

“These electronics here are embedded within the garment, and at night when the light gets dark, the project lights up and makes it so that when you’re walking, this was meant to be a raincoat. So in the rain, in the dark, as you’re walking around, the project lights up and makes visibility a little bit better, so it has a safety feature as well,” said Rico Kanthatham, Founder of Skylab Workshop.

The textile industry is rather damaging to the planet, and to go through this program and consider how to create garments that can be respectful both to culture and the planet, I think, is an interesting opportunity for many,” he added.

“Sustainability is extremely important in a Fabricacademy programme at the textile academy because the world of today’s textiles is very polluting. So a lot of the program focuses on either growing bio-materials, growing colour, exploring what are the alternative paths for more sustainable research, for more sustainable outcomes, for garments, for textiles, for weaving, so that we don’t pollute, but we find ways to live in sync with nature,” said Cecilia Raspanti, Co-founder, Farbicacademy.

Some of the raw materials of the textiles are grown by bacteria while others are recycled being able to dissolve with algae or other sustainable materials. Meanwhile, colours are extracted from plants, Bhutan Live reported.

“You can navigate to the different projects from sustainable garments made from biodegradable leathers that are grown in the lab, to 3D printed garments and illuminating clothing that you can wear at night,” said Anastasia Pistofidou, Co-founder, of Farbicacademy.

The exhibition is being hosted by Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck SuperFab Lab this year in collaboration with the Fabric Academy and the Royal Textile Academy.

“What Fabricacademy and we are trying to do right now is like help bring technology into this textiles and help them preserve the culture. We are not trying to change what was already there because it’s already very beautiful and perfect. We’re just trying to help them preserve by trying to weave the technology into the tradition,” said Tshering Wangzom, Analyst, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck Super FabLab.

Each design has a QR code attached to them which explains the details of the displays to the visitors when scanned. The exhibition is open to the public for free.