Textile is an industry, but also culture, art, local wisdom, fashion, innovation, even a way of life in many parts of the country and the world. In a year-long programme, Goethe-Institut Thailand has launched a regional project titled “IKAT/eCUT: Textiles in Tradition, Technology, Art and Design”, focusing on the past, present and future of textiles in Southeast Asia.
The project will kick off tomorrow with a two-day international symposium, “Green Cycles: Creative Industries East and West Go Sustainable Business”, at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Goethe-Institut has organised the event in co-operation with HAW Hamburg, which promotes innovative ideas and solutions for the sustainable production of textiles.
The symposium looks forward to welcoming students, teachers, designers and start-up entrepreneurs, as well as the public, to exchange ideas with experts and professionals from Thailand, Southeast Asia and Germany. Divided into three sections over two days, the symposium deals with technology and management in industry materials and clothing; local-business options for community crafts; and case studies from Thailand, Germany and Vietnam in sharing solutions and business models. There will also be local weavers and community representatives, to give another dimension to this vast subject.
The two-day symposium is the first of several programmes in “IKAT/eCUT”. Each country in Southeast Asia will have a slightly different manifestation of the core idea on textiles. In Bangkok, the next project will take place in August: “Future Fashion: Enhancing Life” is calling for proposals for a seminar on the topic of smart textiles and wearable technologies — not your Apple Watch, but more the way material science and social product design are incorporated into fashion.
The selected participants will also attend a workshop with Berlin-based fashion-tech house Elektrocouture, and will receive support to develop and produce their prototype, which in turn will be presented at a fashion show at Siam Center during Bangkok Fashion Week.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.