Whenever you choose to order custom fabric through Digital Fabrics instead of a retail store, you reduce fabric waste in the world. The reality is that every year, Australians discard an average of 23kgs of textiles per person. In total, approximately 800,000 tonnes of textiles are sent to Australian landfills each year (and more has been historically sent overseas). This makes Aussies the second highest consumers of textiles behind the United States.
As we are emerging into the new world of social media and the ease of shopping accessibility, micro trends (which typically last 3-5 years) are now playing out in a matter of months.
The rise of fast fashion
Fashion is now the second most polluting industry on the planet – usurped only by oil production. The business of churning out fashion options to hungry consumers who crave the head-spinning speed of trends has a lot to answer for.
When large clothing conglomerates begin a design cycle, they order immense amounts of fabric. If all this fabric is not used, or if the clothing isn’t in demand; it becomes something known as deadstock fabric. Deadstock fabrics remain in the system, generally becoming waste, destined for landfill or incineration; generating greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions.
In 2018, we saw many eyes turn to fashion houses as whistleblowers exposed the burning of perfectly good stock, in order to preserve exclusivity. Fast-fashion giant H&M reportedly destroyed 60 tons of new and unsold merchandise between 2013-2017, a strategy also undertaken by Louis Vuitton, Nike and Burberry.
On top of this issue, according to UN figures, the production of one cotton shirt requires 2700 Litres – the amount a person drinks in 2.5 years! The 2.5 trillion dollar fashion industry is the 2nd highest user of water in the world. These numbers are shocking.
In May 2021 participants from across retail, fashion, charity, production, environment, research and waste management came together for Australia’s first ever National Clothing Textile Waste roundtable, hosted at Parliament House in Canberra.
This roundtable signals the start of a collaborative effort, drawing on a diversity of expertise across Australia to create action to reduce waste from clothing textiles going to landfill. There was a particular focus on increasing the ability to recycle textiles and driving action to improve product stewardship of textile waste. However, this doesn’t address the amount of textiles still being produced at large.
Why Digital Fabrics are doing things better
At Digital Fabrics, we don’t have piles of unsold or unused fabric sitting in the studio destined for landfill once a trend has trickled down to nonexistence. We only ever print-to-order and with low minimum order quantities of as little as 1 metre of fabric or 1 cushion cover this significantly reduces deadstock and wastage.
Sending us your own fabric designs gives you control over what your label, store or DIY project looks like, aligning directly with your style and project requirements. You can also shop directly from our range of designer textile prints which can be custom printed on any of our stocked fabrics.
Order what you need
Everything is printed for you on-site in Marrickville, Sydney and is strictly print ‘on demand’! This means we only use the materials that are completely necessary for each order placed, with minimal waste. We put a lot of effort and time sourcing our fabrics from reliable suppliers who either manufacture their fabrics preferably locally or have long-standing, established relationships with their manufacturers, ensuring the production and supply of high-quality fabrics. Most of our fabrics are from overseas manufacturers and are OEKO certified, which means that the manufacturer meets certain health, safety, environmental, and quality targets.
Whilst we take measures to keep waste to an absolute minimum there is still some waste during any production process. Any left-over unprinted fabric is either re-used by us for samples and strike-off printing, recycled or donated to local makers or craft groups who always have creative ways of repurposing the fabric.
We believe in slow fashion, and believe that we can all do our part to reject fast-fashion practices in favour of more sustainable methods, ethical workplaces, and supporting local makers.
Like the sounds of sustainability? Shop our fabrics now.
To gain some knowledge, research, and write this blog post we’ve used information that we’ve found in the reference links below. We know that you are curious just like us so please feel free to browse these links and learn more about textile waste in the world and its impact.
https://www.planetark.org/newsroom/news/tackling-australias-textile-waste
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgpkKDyPEez/?hl=en
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/17/17852294/fashion-brands-burning-merchandise-burberry-nike-h-and-m
https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/RCM_Website/RFSD_2018_Side_event_sustainable_fashion.pdf
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/product-stewardship/textile-waste-roundtable
At Digital Fabrics, we love showcasing our diverse range of stock fabrics through our blog. This time, we’re diving into an application-focused post, spotlighting the best fabric choices for custom scarves—a versatile and enduring product that we frequently assist our customers with!
Scarves come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles, making them a perfect canvas for your creative ideas. Whether you’re looking for the light, airy feel of Chiffon and Dilly from our polyester fabric range or the elegant drape of Romance and Cotton Voile from our natural fabrics, we’ve got you covered for fabric printing.
Our recommendations will help you choose the ideal fabric for your custom scarf project. And remember, our ‘Print & Make’ services are here to assist you in creating unique scarves that perfectly match your vision. Contact us to get started on your custom scarf journey!
Chiffon 100% polyester & 75gsm
Chiffon is an airy, sheer fabric with a matte surface and crepe finish. Despite being sheer the fabric provides great colour reproduction when printed and works well for designs with bold colours.
Chiffon is an excellent choice for both every day and evening wear scarves whilst its lightness makes it popular for warmer months. The texture of the Chiffon also makes it a good choice for head scarves as it isn’t too slippery.
Image via Pinterest
Dilly 97% polyester / 3% spandex & 95gsm
Dilly is light-weight, silky, has a beautiful drape and a lustrous surface. This fabric is our most popular choice when looking for a polyester silk-alternative. Dilly has excellent colour reproduction when printed and is ideal for designs with bright and deep colours. The sheen to the fabric’s finish gives printed colours an added vibrancy.
Dilly is a fabulous choice for a classic silk scarf dupe and for scarves designed for special events.
Image via Pinterest
Romance 100% Rayon 100 gsm
Romance fabric is a lightweight material with a warm white base, and a gorgeously subtle sheen. Its fine weave, beautiful drape, and elegant finish make it perfect for scarf projects, bandanas, and body wraps. For matte finish scarves, Romance is an ideal choice—super soft to the touch and comfortable to wear. You can learn more about the Romance fabric in our detailed article here.
Image via Pinterest
Cotton Voile 100% cotton & 70gsm
Cotton Voile is similar to muslin, is ultra-soft and will only get softer after washing! Cotton Voile has an off-white base colour, is semi-sheer and has a matte finish. Despite the fabric’s transparency it provides strong colour reproduction when printed and has good colour show-through on the underside.
Unlike the vibrant printing results typical for polyester fabrics, printing results on our natural fabrics are softer. Some fading through washing is also normal and gives the fabric a soft ‘worn’ appearance.
The Cotton Voile is a perfect choice for breathable scarves for warm weather and scarves intended to have an understated yet elegant finish.
Image via Pinterest
Samples of each of these suggested fabrics are available in either our ‘Fashion Fabrics’ or ‘All Stock Super Pack’ sample packs which are available from our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch with us to find out which of these fabrics we would recommend for your upcoming scarf design!
One of the joys of Winter is the wardrobe that comes with it! The layering of textures and garments and accessories – oh my! For those who think prints are best saved for Spring & Summer, think again! The layering and clashing of prints is perfectly suited to an outift where more is more.
We thought we’d put the spotlight on a few of our Fabric Shop classics which are perfect textile designs to wear during the cooler months. What ties these designs together is their cool colour palette, a heavy focus on texture and their creation which relied on purely digital techniques and methods of manipulation. Introducing ‘Blue Fall’, ‘Brilliant Cactus’ and ‘The New Check’.
Blue Fall
This dizzying haze of aqua, violet and jade features digital paint brush textures which create a print that feels like an abstract checkered design. We love this contemporary reinterpretation of a winter wardrobe staple.
Brilliant Cactus
This graphic print pairs bright and neutral colours to create a design that is both bold and versatile. ‘Brilliant Cactus’ is bursting with energy and is a great example of a deconstructed floral print.
The New Check
This geometric print puts a kaleidoscopic spin on a classic red tartan print. This design works well worn on its own, or if you’re feeling adventurous, take some style tips from Fran Fine and pair this with an animal print!
We’ve popped some inspiration below of similar design styles and print combinations!
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
We’d love to know what you think these designs, or any of the others in our Fabric Shop, would be perfect for – so get in touch!
The City of Sydney once again played host to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Australia for 2019 with a string shows, events and parties set against the gorgeous backdrop of our harbour city. This week long celebration of Australian design brings out the most stylish of industry insiders, whose fashion ends up being as much of an attraction as those being paraded down the catwalk!
We’re always on the lookout for textile design inspiration and what’s really caught our eye this year are all the playful prints being seen in Men’s fashion. We’ve collated a few of the key street style prints we spotted during MBFWA that have a perfect partner design in our Fabric Shop!
#1 – MINIMAL FLORALS
Photographer: Christopher Queyn
This print teams a restricted colour palette with graphic motifs and an uncomplicated layout to prove that sometimes simple works best. Soft canary yellow is always a winner in our eyes!
Get the look! Our ‘Turmeric Flower’ approaches colour and form in a very similar way. The print celebrates traditional block print designs and keeps to a minimal colour palette of marigold yellows, denim blues and white.
#3 – SPLATTERED FRENZY
Photographer: Christopher Queyn
This print is absolutely bursting with energy and we love that it feels like it was snapped up from an artist’s work desk!
Get the look! Our ‘Hand Dyed’ print features similar splattered elements throughout the design, focusing on inky watercolour textures rather than the painterly style shown above.
#3 – NAÏVE CHIC
Photographer: Jack Steel
We love the use of childish illustrations as textile motifs and think this print’s use for a beautifully tailored garment is a match made in heaven.
Get the look! Our ‘Vanity Fair’ print is inspired by playfulness and decadence. It’s warm tan background is the perfect bed for sweeter than sweet watercolour motifs.
We’d love to know what you think these designs, or any of the others in our Fabric Shop, would be perfect for – so get in touch!
We have another very exciting addition to our fabric range which we are dying to introduce. Please meet our newest polyester fabric, the Chevy! We think this will be a particularly exciting launch for those with budding summer fashion projects!
Chevy is a polyester / spandex blend (92% polyester / 8% spandex) which provides the fabric with a little stretch. The small amount of stretch provides the fabric with some give, making it a really comfortable fabric to wear.
The fabric has an off-white base, with a chevron weave and a matte finish. The fabric’s composition and finish, results in strong colour reproduction when printed, making it an excellent choice for projects with bright and deep colours.
Chevy is a mid-weight 170 GSM fabric that is both durable and smooth to touch. Chevy is ideal for fashion garments designed to have structure to their form, whilst still being super comfortable to wear. We think the Chevy will be perfect for light suit jackets and blazers, bomber jackets, pants, culottes, shorts, skirts and dresses.
Tata Naka
Vogue Spain
Markus Lupfer
Whilst we think this fabric is most suitable for fashion applications, it’s durability, printed colour results and resistance to creasing would also make it a great choice for some interiors and events projects, such as tablecloths and banners.
Sample swatches of Chevy are available now through our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch with any projects you think our Chevy would be great for!
Snippets’. Chats with Creatives. We are back with series two! Here at Digital Fabrics we love everything print, pattern and colour and we love to know what makes designers tick. This second series is all about asking some fun and different questions and learning about the inspirations and ideas behind the artist and their work. We hope to inspire others by sharing snippets of these creative stories. We gave the artists and designers featured a varied and different set from series one list of questions to choose from so we will learn something new from everyone involved, should be fun!
Today on snippets we are talking to Bianca from Bianca Smith Designs who creates artworks that are about empowering women and combine her love for theatre, ballet and beauty in a majestic and magical way. Her style is very unique and she creates a variety of artworks that translate across mediums.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your brand/label name what your creative practice is, how and when you began:
My name is Bianca, known affectionately by friends as ‘Bi’, which I also use to sign all of my work.
I’m a Graphic Designer and Visual Artist by trade and I am based in Adelaide. I’ve been a Graphic Designer for close to 20 years where I am able to use my flair for design, but my true passion is art, so over the past 10 years I have invested every moment I can into refining and developing my visual art skills. I love to draw, paint and create. My utopia is producing art all day every day!
My art work always addresses the empowerment of women – almost a goddess status. Bringing together my love of theatre/ballet and beauty, I try to capture the strength and beauty of my characters in an almost theatrical way. I take inspiration from the novels that I read featuring female heroines as well as the inspiring women that I meet. My use of dramatic light and beautiful models assists in portraying the strength and resilience of women.
Drawing from my other love, fashion, I did a series of illustrative for Australian Fashion Labels. My works focused on capturing the strength and confidence of the girls that wear their clothing, whilst portraying the playful essence of the brand. By mixing monotone drawings with a splash of colour, I aimed to change the tone and strength, creating images of women who are powerful yet delicate. This is universally at the core of what I produce.
Where do you call home?
Adelaide
What 3 words best describe your creative style.
Illustrative, Modern, Contemporary.
Which part of the creative process is your favourite and why?
I love the conception of a piece of artwork. The tumbling of images in my mind, which eventually form and crystallise from an idea, a concept, into a clear vision. That vision then becomes an obsession, a desperate struggle to be formed with exact replication. I obsess over sharing my image with precision and that drive continues throughout the process, that desire to replicate perfectly is a bitter, sweet scuffle.
How would you describe your work, and what influences your style?
Although my artistic style can, and does vary, depending on my life and surroundings, I’m also heavily influenced by fashion illustration and my own passion for clothing. The textures, the colours, the cut, and the design all inspire me. I predominantly work in pastel and watercolour and although I create every piece of artwork by hand, I then use the finished original image, together with various digital techniques to create a series of pieces, combining my art with my design skills.
Fashion and women heavily influence my style. I love, love, love fashion, perhaps another personal obsession!
What does a typical creative day look like for you? How do you stay on plan and organised?
After getting up at the crack of dawn to exercise and then get my kids ready and off to school, I usually start my working day with a much-needed coffee and the checking of emails. Unfortunately, the reality of life means some days I don’t leave my computer, but whenever time permits, I surrender to my obsessive desire to escape to my studio and create.
Depending on which stage in the process a piece of artwork is, you will either find me upstairs in my studio drawing life into an image or enhancing that original piece of art in Photoshop as I design something for my unique collection of diary covers, pillows, cards, and homewares.
I’m a deadline kind of a girl, it’s the only way I can stay on task. That’s why I love projects where there is an objective and a deadline. I thrive under pressure and produce my best work with adrenaline, conflicting priorities and a little chaos.
What would your dream creative project look like? Who or what is your dream project, client or job? Tell us about why you would love to collaborate with them and what you find inspiring about their work.
My absolute dream creative project would be working collaboratively with a ‘fashion house’ to illustrate their models and garments for window display and the associated promotional campaign. Having unrestricted access to their design method, the inner workings of a label and seeing their creative process unfold would be nothing less than inspirational. To then have the honour of representing that in art form, bringing that vision to life is my ultimate goal.
If you could spend a day in another artist’s studio shoes who would that artist be?
Kelly Smith of ‘Birdyandme’ fame, works with all the top fashion labels around the world and I’m a massive fan of her work. If I could be in her shoes for a day I would honestly be living my dream. Or Gabriel Moreno – who is an AMAZING artist overseas. He has a remarkable ability to capture the delicacy, strength, and sensuality of women in his drawings. They are just astonishing! I would love to even have a day in his studio to watch him work.
What would you say is the biggest challenge when working for yourself ?
Staying positive about your work!
Social media can be a double edge sword as it both inspires and intimidates. It is full of people posting about their successes and digital platforms have a knack of focusing on the positives whilst minimising or eliminating the negatives, the sacrifices, struggles and setbacks. It is easy to assume “their” life is perfect, easy, and unattainable when there a no posts about failure.
The truth is, for every success there has usually been many challenges, rejections, and disappointments. It’s important to learn from them all and allow it to fuel your growth, stretch you, and inspire you. I often question my skills and direction, but sometimes you just need to believe in yourself and your vision. And then of course practice, practice and practice some more until your craft is refined to its full potential.
If you could go back and tell yourself one hot tip or piece of advice when you started out what would it be?
Believe in yourself and follow your heart
What has been your proudest creative business achievement to date?
Doing an artist residency with Australian Fashion Labels. I worked from their creative hub in Adelaide City for 3 months, putting together a dedicate exhibition, which was then displayed in their store windows throughout SALA (South Australian Living Artist).
What projects or collaborations from last year stuck out, good or bad and what is coming up this year that you would like to plug!
The project that stood out for me last year was doing all the illustrations for the wine labels of an established winery in Mclaren Vale. They will be launching very soon, I cant wait to share them.
You can follow what Bianca is up to: Website, Instagram, Facebook.
We’ve been really committed of late to sourcing gorgeous new fabrics to offer all of our customers, and are very pleased to introduce the second NEW addition to Digital Fabric’s polyester range – the Whisper. If you’ve been dreaming of a fantastic alternative to silk, with a hint of stretch and zero sheen, then this dreamy fabric’s for you!
Whisper is a light-weight fabric with a matte finish and a bright white base, which provides excellent colour reproduction when printed. The fabric’s smooth textured surface makes visible the fine details of designs making it perfect for prints with lots of elements and / or texture.
The fabric is a polyester / spandex blend with a good amount of stretch, and has an ultra-fine surface. Whisper’s feel and flexibility makes it a perfect choice for fashion garments and accessories as it is really comfortable to wear, and soft to touch. Whisper’s slinky, liquid-like drape makes it a great matte substitute for silk, and is most similar to our Dilly fabric. We think this fabric will be just perfect for scarves, skirts, dresses, blouses, lounge-wear, undergarments and soft accessories.
Sample swatches of Whisper are available now through our Sample Pack Order Form. Get in touch with any projects you feel the Whisper would be fabulous for!
Lately we’ve been committed to finding gorgeous new fabrics that we can offer to all of our customers! After plenty of research, sourcing and testing we are very excited to announce that we have a NEW fabric! Introducing Digital Fabrics’ newest polyester fabric – the Oliver. For those looking for a new fashion fabric the Oliver is definitely something you’ll be interested in.
The Oliver is a lightweight, 127 GSM Polyester Spandex blend (95% Polyester / 5% Spandex), which provides the fabric with a little stretch, making it a really comfortable option for fashion garments. Oliver has a bright white base with a matte surface, which results in strong colour reproduction when printing! The fabric is breathable, super-soft to touch and has an excellent drape.
This fabric is ideal for fashion applications, especially for those designing easy to wear, relaxed garments. Oliver is perfect for dresses, skirts, tops, soft accessories and loose-fitting Activewear.
Sample swatches of the Oliver are available now through our Sample Pack Order Form. If you’ve got an idea you think the Oliver might be perfect for, we’d love to hear from you!
Thank you to everyone who entered our ‘Palm Springs’ design competition, we had so many great entries and loved all the different design styles and mediums used to create them. It was a difficult decision choosing the winners but we are happy to announce them today!
The top Ten were chosen by you the public :
The team at DF have chosen the following designs as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners:
1st Prize goes to Tyago BK – This design was inspired by photographs taken of Palm Springs landscape and architecture.
2nd Prize goes to Sandra K Stewart – This design was inspired by it’s shopping district, vintage boutiques and fashionista vibe including the Coachella festival.
3rd Prize goes to Lang Matkovic – This design was inspired by a pastel coloured palette and the palms of palm springs.
The prizes are as follows:
Tyago BK
1st Prize $250 worth of custom printing and a 45cm x 45cm cushion with the winning design artwork on it.
Sandra K Stewart
2nd Prize $100 of custom printing and a 45cm x 45cm cushion with the winning design artwork on it.
Lang Matkovic
3rd Prize $50 worth of custom printing and a 45cm x45cm cushion with the winning design artwork on it.
Thank you to everyone who entered, we are always blown away by the talent in the designs. We shall of course do another one next year so keep your eyes peeled.
Stay creative!
DF team.
Digital Fabrics is the proud sponsor of 8Create: The Wearable Art Challenge.
If you are fashion designer and love to test your skills, apply today. Eight lucky entrants will bring their original designs to life in a three-day fashion workshop at Westfield Warringah Mall. Each will create a custom piece of wearable art in response to a design brief developed by our competition mentor: `
Henry Roth – Host of Project Runway Australia.
The winner will receive:
• A two-hour exclusive mentorship session with Maticevski at Westfield Bondi Junction
• $2000 in Westfield Gift Cards
• $500 gift voucher from Digital Fabrics for custom fabric printing
Check the Westfield website for more details