Hacking the Waste and the Anthropocene through Fashion Materials

The contribution explores the concept of textile hacking as an approach that redefines the material surface of fashion, through transdisciplinary actions ranging from the reuse of textile waste to the development of new materials. Through the analysis of several case studies, the research identifies two different interpretations of the concept of textile hacking: (i) hacking the waste, in which independent emerging designers appropriate the textile scraps of global fashion brands for redesign actions, as analysed in Avavav and Dapper Dan; (ii) hacking the Anthropocene, in which fabrics are colonised by other living beings and becomes vibrant matter in a posthuman perspective, as demonstrated in the work of Paula Ulargui Escalona with Loewe and in Biogarmentry.