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Associated Press

At her kitchen stove, fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist looks like an alchemist at work as she stirs a pot full of corn starch and a thickener made from seaweed. The peppermint-scented mixture glitters as she carefully pours it into silicone moulds of hearts and leaves.
When the material hardens, Zimbalist will stitch it into unique, made-to-order dresses that she sells on her website.
She hopes her designs, which have been worn by celebrities including Chappell Roan, will put a spotlight on materials that are not sourced from planet-polluting fossil fuels such as oil.
“It’s almost like a vessel to show the world,” she says.

Other small-scale designers are testing out tapioca, gelatin and other kitchen-shelf ingredients. Meanwhile, big names such as Adidas and Hermès have experimented with mushroom leather, while the Lycra brand is incorporating a new, largely corn-based material into stretch fabric.
Some experts are sceptical that these textiles – commonly referred to as biomaterials – will go mainstream, but designers such as Zimbalist hope their experiments will set an example for larger brands to follow.
More than 60 per cent of clothing comes from petroleum-based synthetics like polyester, according to Textile Exchange, a US-based non-profit that promotes sustainable fashion.
Manufacturing those materials creates emissions. Synthetic garments can also shed microplastics during washing. And as fast-fashion brands pump out new clothes for customers who expect new designs every few weeks, many garments end up in landfills.
Zimbalist’s designs gained attention in 2024 when Roan wore one on The Tonight Show. The New York-based designer has since dressed stars such as comedian Atsuko Okatsuka and actors Anna Lore and Reneé Rapp.

She takes commissions for custom clothing pieces, which cost between US$150 and US$1,200, via her website, which notes her “unique recipe of biodegradable and natural materials”.
Could her approach be reproduced at a larger scale? Zimbalist says her materials could most practically be used to replace plastic hardware such as buttons and zips. She acknowledges they can be sticky if not dried correctly, stinky if not treated and melty if exposed to extreme heat.
“Even incorporating it in small ways to start would be really strong,” she says.
Fossil-fuel-derived fabrics are ubiquitous because they are cheap and made from plentiful raw materials, said Dale Rogers, a professor at Arizona State University in the US who studies supply chains.
Many clothes are also made of materials that come from plants or animals such as cotton, silk, wool and cashmere. But some have environmental impacts. Cotton uses a lot of water. Sheep and goats burp out methane.

Some biomaterials have got closer to widespread use. Mycelium leather, made from mushrooms, has been used to create luxury shoes, accessories and handbags by brands such as Stella McCartney, Lululemon, Adidas and Hermès.
Still, Rogers says he is not convinced that there is enough demand for alternative materials to overcome companies’ aversion to the higher costs of producing them at a large scale.
“Honestly, in the end, cost drives almost all decisions,” he says.
Getting larger companies to use alternative materials depends on whether they will pay more for a fabric that matches their values, says Jon Veldhouse, chief executive of Qore.
His company makes a product called Qira that replaces about 70 per cent of the fossil-derived components of elastic synthetic fabrics with a corn-based material.
The Lycra Company, which sells its stretchy material to major brands, initially expects to incorporate Qira in around 25 per cent of its spandex business, says Lycra chief brand and innovation officer Steve Stewart. But that option will be more expensive, and it has not yet announced any takers.
It can also be hard to measure the sustainability of farming practices that go into producing raw materials for new fabrics. Cargill is Qore’s partner and corn supplier, and it gets its grain from farmers in the vicinity of its processing plant. Veldhouse says many already plant cover crops or reduce tilling to lower environmental impact, but he could not provide data on how many use those approaches.

Sarah Needham, a senior director at Textile Exchange, says it is great to see a large organisation such as Lycra making its production systems more sustainable. But she also stresses that the industry needs to reduce its over-reliance on virgin materials, perhaps considering agricultural waste as a source of fabric.
Needham says experimental designers are often the ones coming up with those alternatives to virgin materials and building appetite for new approaches.
But small designers might not have the resources to test the biodegradability of their materials, which often do involve processing, even if it is by hand, says Ramani Narayan, an engineering professor at Michigan State University in the US.
“If I take something – like seaweed or whatever it is – and I apply a process to it, then I can no longer call it natural,” he says.
Zimbalist acknowledges that her materials are not ready to replace conventional fabrics and that her work is more of “a piece that leads to larger conversations”.
Rogers thinks the fashion industry is a long way from meaningful change, but that “it’s incredibly valuable” for artists and speciality manufacturers to try new materials.
“What they’re doing is likely to have long-term benefit, maybe even after their lifetimes,” he says.


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Fashion

This designer dressed Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp with biomaterials

Chappell Roan (centre) wears a bio hand-painted garden dress with appliqués by Caroline Zimbalist on The Tonight Show in 2024. Photo: Instagram/carolinezimbalist

Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist poses in her studio in New York. Photo: AP

Anna Lore wears a Caroline Zimbalist vest for the premiere of Final Destination Bloodlines. Photo: Instagram/carolinezimbalist

Margaret Cho wears Caroline Zimbalist earrings. Photo: Instagram/carolinezimbalist

A piece by Zimbalist at her New York studio. Photo: AP

Best places to shop second-hand clothes in Hong Kong from an avid buyer of preloved wear

Dianne Gupta is pictured at second-hand store Mee & Gee in Kowloon’s Mong Kok district. The Hongkonger, who shares sustainable styling tips on Instagram, reveals where she shops for clothes. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Gupta shops at Mee & Gee in Mong Kok. Photo: Jonathan Wong

In 2023, about 402 tonnes of textiles were sent to Hong Kong landfills each day. Photo: Instagram/getredressed

Christina Dean is the founder of the environmental NGO Redress. Photo: Talia Goodwin

Hong Kong has seen a rise in clothes-swap events, such as the ones hosted by Top Swop Club. Photo: Instagram/topswop.club 

The Redress Closet is a great spot for novice thrifters. Photo: Instagram/theredresscloset 

The Salvation Army Family Store in Wan Chai is a top spot for buying second-hand clothes. Photo: Kylie Knott

Chinese students spice up graduation dresses, gowns and caps with more fashionable looks

Chinese-American freestyle skiing world champion Eileen Gu wears a white fitted dress beneath her graduation gown for her high school graduation in 2020. Photo: Instagram/eileengu

Hong Kong Baptist University student Jessica Luo wore a classic white fitted knee-length dress under her graduation robes. Photo: Jessica Luo

A graduate from Renmin University in Beijing wears a red cheongsam underneath her gown, while a red flower and pearl necklace adorn her collar. Photo: RedNote/2003gao2003

A RedNote user with 10,000 followers wears a rented traditional hanfu dress inside her graduation gown and a graduation cap decorated with flowers. Photo: RedNote/baolimiao

Qin made this graduation cap for one of her friends. Photo: RedNote/897982682

Harvard student Yurong “Luanna” Jiang delivers a graduation speech while wearing a red modernised version of a yunjian graduation gown in May. Photo: AP

How ‘Made in Hong Kong’ is a badge of pride at artisanal craft shop Oelili

Oelili owner and self-taught leather crafter Hebe Law is pictured in her shop in Sai Kung, where she sells handcrafted items such as bags, lamps, ceramics and cards made by Hong Kong-based artists. Photo: Kylie Knott

A handmade leather bag by Hebe Law. Photo: Oelili

Lace-patterned rings handmade by Hong Kong brand Venus Life Workshop at Oelili. Photo: Oelili

Thermos touch lamps by Hong Kong brand Light with Shade at Oelili. Photo: Oelili

Law sells a range of watercolour postcards and prints by Hong Kong artists. Photo: Kylie Knott 

What is Harris tweed? How the classic Scottish fabric is seeing a resurgence

Harris tweed stoles are displayed at the Harris Tweed Isle of Harris shop, in Tarbert, Isle of Harris, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed weaver Alexander MacLeod works at his weaving loom in his atelier at his home, on the Isle of Scalpay. Photo: AFP

MacLeod works at his weaving loom at his home. Photo: AFP

Genuine Harris tweed receives the precious “Harris Tweed” stamp. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed is only woven from wool from Scottish blackface sheep (pictured) and Cheviot sheep. Photo: AFP

Coloured wool used for Harris tweed is seen at the Carloway Mill workshop, in Carloway, Isle of Lewis. Photo: AFP

A member of staff at the Carloway Mill processes and prepares wool for weaving into Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Kelly MacDonald is director of operations at the Harris Tweed Authority. Photo: AFP

Harris tweed stoles are displayed at the Harris Tweed Isle of Harris shop. Photo: AFP

A member of staff at the Carloway Mill processes and prepares rolls of Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Close-up of cloth on a weaving loom being woven into Harris tweed. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty

Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist hopes her experiments with sustainable materials set an example for larger brands to follow


Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist hopes her experiments with sustainable materials set an example for larger brands to follow.


This designer dressed Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp with biomaterials

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist hopes her experiments with sustainable materials set an example for larger brands to follow

Fashion designer Caroline Zimbalist hopes her experiments with sustainable materials set an example for larger brands to follow