Meet Natalie Tzur, Redress Design Award 2019 finalist

For her Redress Design Award collection ‘Unireform’, Natalie Tzur taps into a plentiful but under-utilised textile source: uniform waste. Inspiration came from the iconic Ata Textile Company which clothed Israel’s workers and soldiers. “The company was active between 1934 and 1985 and was the largest of its kind in Israel,” says Natalie, who is studying Fashion Sustainability at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. “I wanted to find out more about the factory’s activity and its production processes.” What she discovered was waste on an industrial scale. “All over the world, masses of work clothes are thrown out. I wanted to give uniforms longer life cycles by turning them into new garments.” A flowing coat, kilt and high-collared tailored shirt are inspired by silhouettes from the past and each retains unique features from the original uniforms they are cut from. “I used lining to make the nylon coat and reflective fabric to highlight. Details are what distinguish us from the rest and make us unique.” There will be no shortage of fabrics for her collections. “Because of the sheer amount of work clothes thrown away every day, there is an endless supply of raw materials,” says the designer. “My strategy would be to gather the excess from around the world and turn them into innovative, fashionable clothes. Fast fashion has serious implications for this world and one of the reasons for this is that we no longer value the clothes we own. I try to re-create value so that we will keep our clothes longer. Being a sustainable designer means changing the way people think about the world and about making the world a better place to live in.”

Featured