Today we’ve hosted our #3 TALK from the series BACK TO MATERIALS for ISOLA GOES DIGITAL. In this last talk, we’ve interviewed material designer Romy Kaiser. She is a designer with hands – scientist in mind – activist by heart. The focus of her work lies on material innovation, sustainability, and future textile thinking.
Kera-Plast, Romy’s latest project, focuses on creating a new material out of human hair. To make this possible, Romy has developed a fabrication method that turns human hair into a stiff material, reminding on plastic due to shine and translucid features. Aesthetics outcomes are controlled and designed by traditional textile techniques like knitting, weaving, and non-woven processes.
Every year approximately 700 mio kg tons of human hair are simply thrown away worldwide even though it is a natural, renewable, biodegradable, and rich keratin-based material. Rommy challenges us by posing the question: Why we do not appreciate the excellent material properties of hair? Hair, like other renewable fibres, has unique properties waiting to be used.