Pure Intentions

Can fabric have a ‘terroir’ that speaks of the exact location of its growing and making, just as wine does? French fabric house Elitis thinks it can. It has teamed up with design research lab Luma Atelier to develop Racines, which draws on a small region of southern France for its raw materials and manufacturing capabilities, resulting in fabrics that can claim to be truly local. With traceability, provenance and cutting down on product miles some of the key principles of sustainable design, this ‘bioregional’ collection marks a pioneering approach.

Based in Arles, the not-for-profit Luma Atelier uses design to explore the potential of natural resources, with the aim of finding new sustainable ways of working. This research-based approach met Elitis’ artistic direction for Racines, which was inspired by the wider Arles region, between the Camargue, Crau and Alpilles.

The fabrics are all made from wool from Arles Merino sheep, considered the finest in Europe for its lightness and durability. ‘Les Bergers Endormis’ is a felted wool with a graduated stripe, while ‘Les Grands Marais’ delivers a subtle three-dimensional impression of a subtle patchwork of rectangles, and ‘Les Bruit des Feuilles’ features a pattern of silhouetted plants and leaves.

Elitis and Luma Atelier worked with natural dyes from the region, and the collection’s nuanced, neutral palette is almost literally rooted to its origins.

Racines is a blueprint for a new manufacturing model: one that responds to natural cycles, is attentive to resources and deeply connected to local cultures.