LONDON, 20 Sept 2021: TENCEL™ Luxe made its London Fashion Week debut during Osman Yousefzada’s SS22 collection at Berkley Square restaurant Amazonico. TENCEL™ Luxe is the innovative new luxury filament from the Lenzing Group, made from sustainably sourced wood pulp that is transformed into an endless filament with properties that are comparable to silk. As a step-change in sustainable wood-based cellulosic fibre technology, TENCEL™ Luxe-branded lyocell filament is derived from wood grown in renewable, sustainably managed forests, in keeping with the stringent guidelines of the Lenzing Wood and Pulp Policy, and can be manufactured at a commercial scale. It is produced in an environmentally sound closed-loop process that recycles process water and reuses the solvent at a recovery rate of more than 99%.

This new textile advancement promises a truly sustainable alternative to silk: a cellulosic filament made from a renewable raw material that thrives with natural rainfall and sunlight, and is certified as biodegradable and registered with the Vegan Society. Grappling with the prospect of making a new collection just because it’s expected of him as a designer, and intensely aware of the environmental and social impact of the fashion and textile industry, this season London-based multidisciplinary artist Yousefzada wanted to create clothes with a purpose beyond satisfying commercial demand: biodegradability.

The opportunity to work with pioneering TENCEL™ Luxe fabrics positions Osman as a distinct role model for the industry, affirms his belief that luxury doesn’t have to cost the Earth, and is evidence of his commitment to taking greater steps towards sustainable materials and practices.

“TENCEL™ is peerless when it comes to sustainable fabric innovation, and the new TENCEL™ Luxe filament is utterly remarkable in its comparability to silk. I was amazed at the versatility of the TENCEL™ Luxe filament. Its ability to be blended with other fibres means that there is infinite scope for designers and brands that want to take steps to be more sustainable and ethical without compromising on luxury, quality or possibility.

"We need to let go of the all-or-nothing attitude to sustainability and just try to do better,” says Yousefzada. “It is essential that designers and brands are consistently looking for ways to reduce their impact on the planet by proactively seeking fabrics that have less impact on the planet is its people, and pursue more ethical practises. That’s all. Just keep taking steps in the right direction. The advent of TENCEL™ Luxe filaments brings a whole host of potentially better choices” - OSMAN YOUSEFZADA

“Osman is a wonderful example of a designer making inroads towards becoming more sustainable in the fabrics he uses. Not only can the TENCEL™ Luxe filament be blended with other fibres to create an infinite variety of possible textiles, but the filament itself is made to the highest sustainability standards in a closed-loop production process and is completely biodegradable. It comes from the Earth and goes back to the Earth. "We are receiving ever-increasing interest from brands and global luxury labels wanting to improve the sustainability of their collections. With his SS22 collection, Osman has shown that by making small changes, brands do not have to compromise on quality or aesthetics to be more sustainable in their offering” - LEONIE VON LIERES, head of global marketing & account management, TENCEL™ Luxe.



For the scene of his spring/summer 2022 collection, Osman chose Berkeley Square restaurant Amazónico, which, like TENCEL™, has an ongoing partnership with global reforestation charity One Tree Planted. For every guest that attended the presentation, one tree will be planted in the Brazilian Amazon forest. Attendees included Jourdan Dunn, Kehlani, Nicola Adams and Isabella Charlotta Poppius, ambassador for One Tree Planted, an environmental non-profit, supported by both TENCEL™ and Amazónico, dedicated to making it easier for individuals and businesses to give back to the environment through its global reforestation projects.

THE COLLECTION

For the SS22 collection, titled “What happened to last season’s collection?”, Yousefzada worked closely with three separate mills known for their ethical credentials: Shinjintex Co. Ltd, Sidónios Knitwear and Cocccon Crafts & Loom. He selected a variety of distinct fabrics using TENCEL™ Luxe and created 15 looks that demonstrate the versatility of the filament, including delicate silk-like jerseys and paper-light, hand-woven organzas, to a fluid crepe georgette and a crisp gabardine twill. Yousefzada’s SS22 collection is a story of opposing elements and emotions: couture silhouettes and details designed to attract attention vie with workwear shapes; diaphanous textures are the counterpoint to hand-loomed black or white denim; a joyfully frothy excess of ruffles confronts the cool poise of precise architectural tailoring; the feminine romance of fluid, floor-grazing sleeves is balanced by the relaxed masculinity of tunics and trousers.

Highlights from the collection made using TENCEL™ Luxe include:

Sheer jumpsuits made from gossamer lace jersey made with TENCEL™ Luxe. One is paired with a balloon-sleeved cobalt opera coat with knotted square panels; another has cascading ruffles at the side seams, sleeve and across the back yoke.

A striped taffeta made with TENCEL™ Luxe comes in a black party dress with flouncy puffed sleeves.

The fullness of bishop sleeves amplify the romance of a belted gown made with TENCEL™ Luxe in soft baby blue, while godets at the hem of a lemon yellow jersey catsuit bring a disco beat to the line-up.

A crisp, black gabardine twill made with TENCEL™ Luxe appears in a sharp blazer with exaggerated shoulders, teamed with bike shorts, and a coat of military bearing that’s worn with a shimmery organza skirt made with TENCEL™ Luxe.

Other elements of the collection are made from artisanal fabrics woven on hand-looms in India and Pakistan, using techniques that have not changed for centuries and have been handed down from generation to generation, family to family.

And Osman has included his LAST YARDS™ concept within the collection, making use of rare and exquisite pre-existing fabrics originally discovered by Osman on his voyages of inspiration. These pieces will become numbered limited-edition items.