The Dutch designer Martjin van Strien aims to change the way we distribute, consume and produce fashion by taking it to a new dimension; increasingly local and using the latest technologies. This revolution is explained by the ability to download, personalise, produce and put together our own clothes!
Today’s fashion industry raises serious questions; an industry of excess, manipulation and overproduction mean that products do not last long, or can be thrown away. Consumption tends to rule over ethics, and the environment can suffer the consequences.
Could customers create a style that suits them, while reducing production and distribution costs and preventing waste?
It is from this idea that The Post Couture Collective was born: an open-source project launched in 2015 which has the potential to revolutionise the fashion industry.
The designer states that: “Over the past few years, clothing has been treated more and more like a disposable product. The production of clothing is aimed for increasing numbers and production to decrease prices. Low prices seem attractive, but what does this way of producing mean for the future of the environment and the people that work in this industry?”
How does downloadable fashion work exactly?
The idea is simple: you don’t need to be a designer, or even own a sewing machine, all you need to do is choose an item on The Post-Couture Collective website, provide measurements, then order the necessary fabric for production.
You then download the template on to your computer and the brand will direct you to the nearest Fablab, where the necessary appliances will automatically cut out your clothes. All that is left is to put them together by following the video tutorials on their website! You can even personalise them before production as you wish! Not a bad idea, eh!
The possibilities are limitless but the materials made from recycled plastic are really worth a look.
“The fact that it is recycled is very important for me, and that it can also be recycled again after use”, the designer confirms.
Innovation is his motto: “Most of my work comes from the desire to change the way our garment industry works in a positive way, and by using innovations I believe we can get a fairer industry and better garments in a sustainable way.”
By directly involving the customer in the design process and production, the Dutch start-up can make a real difference. As a result, it offers a unique experience and total personalisation that the industry cannot offer at present.
“For consumers to understand that one product might be more sustainable than another is one thing, but if the ‘bad’ product is more attractive it’s highly unlikely they’ll pick the sustainable option over it. So we have to be smart and find ways to make sustainable products better, and to use benefits that mass-production doesn’t have. Only then can we have the positive impact we want”, states the visionary.
T
he futuristic and minimalist tailoring of the eponymous “mphys” collection reflects his fascination for architecture, science and style.
The Post-Couture Collective is therefore offering us a real revolutionary alternative.
The collective is the first brand combining “Do It Yourself” and the 3rd Industrial Revolution.
We are excited to discover the new collections which will arrive in September 2016!
Martijn van Strien (1988) graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2012 with majors in textile design and trend forecasting.
After working for Bruno Pieter’s Honest by. label in Antwerp he moved to Rotterdam, where he started his own studio in 2014. Van Strien’s studio uses modern technologies to bring innovative ideas to the fashion world. By testing radically different approaches to garment design, production and consumption he changes our perception and opens possibilities for a more sustainable industry.
The eponymous label ‘mphvs’ shows the merging of his fascinations for science, architecture and style. In 2015 his studio launched The Post-Couture Collective, an open-source project that spawned the first maker community for garments. It gives consumers the possibility to produce their own clothing by introducing a line of wearable clothing designed specifically for production on lasercutters and 3d printers.
© Olya Oleinic