OMNIA 

VIN + OMI revealed a world’s first in collaboration with HRH King Charles III at their OMNIA show at One Hundred Shoreditch 

VIN + OMI have collaborated with King Charles III since 2019. This collaboration has seen the development of new sustainable textiles and processes. For this show, the design studio have taken a selection of waste organic and non-organic materials from Sandringham, the King’s private residence.  This is part of ongoing relationship to explore what can be made from the waste materials from the  King’s estates. 

The designers have developed a new textile made from the waste Sandringham Giant Butterbur leaves and stalks. This is the first time this plant has been used for textile and fashion. The Giant Butterbur grows next to one of the Sandringham Lakes in view of the royal residence. 

The Giant Butterbur ( Petasites Japonicus ) is native to China, Japan and Korea and was introduced into European country estates. It is a prolific grower, and often seen as an invasive species. It grows mainly next to lakes and rivers. 

The  plants have  been processed by hand using VIN + OMI’s unique methods. The fibres produced form the plant have been carefully woven into a new textile. 

The dress made from the textile will be alongside other outfits made from waste materials from the Sandringham Estate. The Head Gardener, worked with the designers to identify materials that are naturally available from the twenty thousand acre estate. Other materials gathered included cellulose waste, plastic and nettles. 

Also on the catwalk will be a new project exploring ways in which hotel waste can be made into garments. This pilot project has taken waste linen from the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel, the host venue of the fashion show, and looked at ways in which the waste linen can be repurposed into garments.  UK hotels produce 289,700 tonnes of waste every year, a significant amount of this is textiles. The USA hotel industry produces a staggering 10 million tons of textile waste a year. 

Towels, duvets and sheets will be redesigned into outfits for the catwalk  as part of an education programme. 

This pilot project with One Hundred Shoreditch will be developed into a wider social impact project with the Spitalfields Crypt Trust, the charity supports people with drug and alcohol addictions . 

Also on show will be latex garments produced from VIN + OMI’s pioneering eco latex plantation in Malaysia. The plantation, now in its 20 year, has developed education and health programmes for the families working producing the latex. The eco planation is now used as a gold standard example of eco plantation management in Asia 

The show’s latin title, OMNIA, means everything. OMNIA as a concept is used throughout VIN + OMI’s work when taking on new work. The studio examines every angle of a new project, the sustainability, the social impact, the ethics, the environmental impact. This show will continue to showcase …’everything’ 

Every outfit in the OMINA collection has a long thought out story and is interwoven in the show. The printed outfits are made from plastic recycled from leading art brand Daler-Rowney’s UK HQ. This has been made into a microfibre bonded textile. 

The show is crowned by hair brand KMS’s sustainable approach to styling hair and is supported by Jagermeister UK who have supported VIN + OMI’s sustainable showcase work for 8 years.