Stunningly sustainable down

The light material provides a designerly sharpness as well as a more nuanced take on sustainability, she says.

Sustainability is not just green but also the new black in many fashion collections – on the pret-à-porter front as well. But associating sustainability with mass production constitutes a dilemma according to Ane Katrine Elander:

“All the large chain stores have created sustainable collections. It’s great that they do something – but on the other hand they justify to the consumer that mass consumption is somehow OK. That’s why I want to invent an alternative to sustainable fashion, and then I came across down.”

Down already exists
When you say down you also say quilts, and therefore the designer examined the material in close dialogue with Quilts of Denmark, where the founder, Hans Erik Schmidt, offered his knowledge. The list of sustainable advantages of down quickly became quite long on Ane Katrine Elander’s note pad:

“First of all down is a bi-product of the food industry. The product is already there so to speak, because so many geese and ducks are being slaughtered. Secondly there is a socio-economic aspect of down, because many farmers, e.g. in Eastern Europe, cannot afford to raise pigs and cows, but they can easily raise poultry. Finally the product has very low CO2 emissions compared to the many synthetic types of filling used in the fashion industry – and it is also easy to break down. Down has so many advantages,” says the fashion designer.

One little feather grew into three jackets
Ane Katrine Elander’s focus has not been on creating hippie-eco products for her collections; on the contrary. She is catering to the quality-conscious consumer who is willing to pay a little extra. In that way a little feather has grown into three down jackets that experiment with form and shape. The fact that the streetwear collection has settled on down jackets is also closely linked with the material:

“Down has some unique thermostatic qualities. It has been used for centuries to keep us warm. Down jackets also have a special aesthetic value which I would compare to jeans. They are a piece of clothing that will remain in fashion and hence also has an aesthetic durability. Finally down is super great to work with. It is an ultra-flexible material where you can create a lot of volume or make things very compact. I have been playing around with form and tried to create completely new shapes by adding down to different jackets,” says Ane Katrine Elander.

Down in panels
Filling down into jackets requires special equipment, which Quilts of Denmark made available for the project. The fashion designer briefly describes the technique as “like a large reverse vacuum cleaner that shoots the down into the jackets.” The down is distributed in the panels that are glued together rather than stitched, which offers a cleaner expression to the jackets. These are made of pilot nylon, since the tight weave in that specific fabric is the most suitable to keep in the down.

”I have received such valuable guidance from Quilts of Denmark,” says Ane Katrine Elander.

The quilt manufacturer returns the compliment:

“It has been both interesting and fun to work with Ane Katrine. Down is a natural and sustainable material whose beneficial insulating qualities have been known for centuries. It has been exciting to see how down can be used in a new creative fashion while the basic sustainable qualities of the material are also taken into consideration,” says Hans Erik Schmidt, founder of Quilts of Denmark.