The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2022 - Issue 32

bitecatwalk V in and Omi are award-winning multimedia designers whose work flows across different genres, focusing on sustainability and its ap- proaches to design and textile businesses.The duo aims to challenge brands to think differently about the mate- rials they use and where they are sourced.Their work is mainly focused on social and environmental impact with ecological innovation. For their AW22 presentation ‘ART’,Vin + Omi part- nered with The Dorchester and showed their fashion show in the hotel ballroom for the second year. Its opu- lence complimented the extravagant nature of its cloth- ing, such as glam dresses and headwear, accompanied by teddy bears, lights and umbrellas. Instead of straight walking the collection, the model strutted, whooped and danced, putting on a theatrical charade. Huge on sustainability, the duo’s designs included ‘No Excess’ printed across different pieces and environmen- tal issue references embedded in the pieces’ subtlety. They announced their pioneering sustainable creation at the show and revealed the world’s first dress made out of chestnut leather.They also featured fabrics made from nettles derived from their collaboration with the then HRH Prince Charles at his Highgrove Estate. The willow rods were processed into textiles and dresses for the catwalk. Hard-to-recycle plant pots were transformed into jewellery, while paint tubes from Daler-Rowney evolved into rPET material for print dresses.The rPET fabric was also used to make a Jager- meister outfit. Interestedly, they recycle portfolios and canvases into garments, and the selvedge strips from leading Scottish wool mill Johnstons of Elgin are used to create a one-off dramatic outfit. Vin + Omi also incorporated recycled neoprene and garments into the collection, with headpieces made from recycled KMS salon bottles. It was a genuinely theatrical display with extravagant abstract prints,Amer- ican Football-type shoulder pads, cute animated teddy bear prints, loud and extraordinary headdresses, padded outerwear, inflated giant bows and spooky gothic elec- trifying prints with floral and branches background. www.vinandomi.com VIN + OMI