French-Israeli designer Benjamin Benmoyal embraces the past to envision the future. Using a handwoven fabric made of VHS and audio cassette tapes from his childhood and recycling charities, Benmoyal has capitalized on the fact that the digital age has rendered these materials useless. Woven in with recycled yarn, wood pulp-derived Tencel, and deadstock material from couture houses, Benmoyal’s original fabric has become a signature component to all of his collections.
In his 2019 collection titled “It Was Better Tomorrow”, Benmoyal debuted his eco-responsible fabric with designs that express the optimistic mindset of the 60s and 70s with futuristic silhouettes inspired by the architecture and films of the era. With bold colour schemes inspired by the work of James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson, Benmoyal’s designs channel a utopian state of mind that doesn’t aim to idealize the past, but rather capture the naivety of it. The collection features loose fit silhouettes with sharp edges, conveying the forward-thinking aesthetic of the Brutalist architecture that emerged after the Second World War. Benmoyal’s geometric designs take on a more softened form in his 2020 and 2021 collections. These ready-to-wear looks are influenced by Benmoyal’s Moroccan origins. The draped fabrics, warmer tones, and solid stripes are reminiscent of Berber culture.
Unlike many sustainable innovations in the fashion industry, Benmoyal’s repurposed fabric is sustainable on an industrial scale. With everything woven in France, Benmoyal and his team have spent years developing their warping, threading, and weaving techniques, allowing them to make the designs available on a commercial level. For once, cutting-edge sustainability can be seen on the runway and in your homes.
