Is fashion’s future orange?: On Lenzing’s collab with Italian textile major Orange Fibres

Citrus peels are the latest addition to Lenzing’s list of cellulosic fibers, courtesy a collab with Italian textile major Orange Fibres

An earthy colour palette (think mint, peach, sage green and indigo) and breezy silhouettes aren’t the only highlights of designer Anita Dongre’s Spring-Summer 21 lineup. ‘Sounds of the Forest’, which dropped recently, is literally derived from the forest — using wood-based cellulosic fibres courtesy a collaboration with Tencel. Since its launch in the 1990s, the Austrian textile speciality brand (under The Lenzing Group) has come a long way. This year, it partnered with Red Carpet Green Dress, an organisation that pushes designers to focus on sustainable textile innovations and custom-made gowns for the Oscars. It found its way into pret with designers like Australia’s Kit Willow and Rajesh Pratap Singh closer home. And courtesy its light-weight nature, it also featured in swimwear collections by design houses such as Mara Hoffman and The Summer House in India.