Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort has announced plans for a month-long celebration of textiles in New York, saying that "not enough attention" is being paid to fabric innovation.
The inaugural New York Textile Month will take place across the city this September and will aim to raise interest in fabrics among both professionals and the public.
"There is not enough attention from the general public about textiles," Edelkoort told Dezeen. "The press notably has forgotten to talk about textiles for the past 30 years, and it seems to me that now it is making a comeback."
Edelkoort is working with The New School: Parsons School of Design and Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum on the festival, which will become an annual event if it is successful. "There's a revival in the materialisation of cloth," she added. "Textile is really on the rise, which is helpful because it was almost extinct."
In line with this revival, Nike opened a textile design studio in east London to develop new fabrics for its shoes and apparel. Recent developments in the area include a new technique that brings "unprecedented precision" to the felting of woven textiles and MIT's 3D-printed fur.
Taking place throughout September, New York Textile Month ? which doesn't have a website yet ? will incorporate existing events such as New York Fashion Week and pre-planned museum exhibitions.
Edelkoort is collaborating with the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian...