Historical futures

natural dye research

ao textiles is committed, through practice-led research, to exploring future avenues for plant-based colour. By studying dye recipes of the past, we have gained insights into the traditional knowledge and techniques that have been used for centuries.  The process of dyeing using natural plant sources is complex and without the study of often long forgotten historic dye recipes and their nuances it would be impossible for us to continue to innovate. This knowledge has led us to improve the current process of natural dyeing and to develop new techniques that are more efficient and sustainable.  We can now consider future ways of incorporating natural dyeing into working towards circular textile industry.

This research is ongoing and constantly feeds into all of our projects.