Water Hyacinth in Fashion Design: Brilliant Idea from RMUTT Students

Water hyacinth makes beautiful and durable furniture. However, in its natural habitat, overgrown water hyacinth can be hazardous to the environment as it creates blockage in the water sources and drainage system. Seeing this problem, a team of first- and second-year students majoring in fashion design and textile art,

Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, decided to use water hyacinth in their fashion design project. Their brilliant idea went on to win the second prize in the Central Y Club Fashion Design Contest, a fashion design competition under the concept “Love the Earth”, organized by Central Group.

“The water hyacinth apparel that we designed was inspired by the woven hyacinth craft of a local community called Bang Ta Paen. We designed a mosaic-like weaving pattern and applied the same technique to weave natural fibers, such as cotton and water hyacinth, and created a ready-to-wear collection out of it,” explained the team.

The collection features an earth tone palette and three styles for three different occasions. Dressed for Success is a collection of smart casual wear which doubles as business and party attire. The target for this style are men and women between 20 and 28 years old.

The second style, Stylish Casual, targets men and women between 20 and 25 years old, and is suitable for many occasions, such as traveling or social gatherings. The third style, Y Club New Wave, targets teenagers between 17 and 22 years old and is more a mix-and-match style. “Today’s teenagers have become increasingly concerned about fashion, so this style combines sportswear, casual wear, and aerobics wear in one, in order to capture the active lifestyle of this age group without compromising a sense of style,” said the team.

An all-around applaud to the team of threesome, for their smart idea and brilliant techniques of applying what they learned in the classrooms to create stylish apparel out of natural materials.

https://www.eng.rmutt.ac.th/images/stories/Water-Hyacinth/04.jpg