T?mTex Gets Funds for More Next-gen Materials, Dora Maar’s Latest Met Gala-worthy Collab: Short Takes
T?mTex Eyes New Funding: Make way for more next-gen material funding.
T?mTex, a biomaterial maker (employing shell seafood waste and coffee grounds) announced the closing of its pre-seed round totaling $1.7 million round led by SOSV. The funding will be used to fuel research and scale its technology.
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The company’s patent-pending technology uses 100-percent bio-based inputs and produces high-performance materials that are fully biodegradable, plastic-free alternatives to leather.
“I started T?mTex based on my experience in textile pollution and leather manufacturing just a few blocks from my home in Vietnam,” said T?mTex’s chief executive officer Uyen Tran. “Look around us, materials are the starting point for everything. I believe that materials fundamentally have a great impact in our everyday lives and lifestyles. At T?mTex, we envision a world where people surround themselves with high-performing materials, sourced directly from waste, not from fossil fuels.”
Along with the cofounders of seaweed-powered biotech company Algiknit, Tran was a Forbes 30 Under 30 award recipient for 2022.
The Met-worthy Closet Collab: Dora Maar, the resale platform that boosts pre-loved goods through celebrity closet drops, is back at it again.
In a collab announced Wednesday, the reseller urged shoppers to “own a piece of fashion history,” teaming up with former external relations officer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Nancy Chilton. This latest drop pulls a number of looks from Chilton’s wardrobe, including a Zac Posen dress she wore to a meeting with the late André Leon Talley.
In February, the platform did a collaboration with Markarian’s Alexandra O’Neill, pulling in 30 pieces from the label.
Scotch & Soda’s Denim Destination: Scotch & Soda is celebrating the redesign of its Amsterdams Blauw premium denim store by launching a limited-edition Eternal Blauw capsule created from unused denim upcycled from previous collections, as well as its first denim repair service.
The store, located at 15 Berenstraat in Amsterdam’s historical center, was designed as a special destination for denim, complete with a neon blue sign on the facade, a blue rug and fitting rooms featuring denim curtains. Inside, shoppers will find the exclusive Eternal Blauw collection, which consists of a total of 99 pieces of men’s, women’s and unisex styles that have been hand-numbered. The company worked with Denim Village, one of its suppliers, to upcycle 10 styles that feature twist-off shank buttons and embroidered rivets that will make them easier to recycle later. They’ll also incorporate unused leather patches from previous collections that have been flipped and reprinted using the Eternal Blauw logo.
The Amsterdams Blauw store also introduces Blauw Repair, the brand’s first denim repair service, in collaboration with the United Repair Centre, an initiative by Makers Unite, an Amsterdam-based textile production company that provides training and employment opportunities to creative migrants. Customers can bring any pair of Amsterdams Blauw jeans in need of repair and they will be returned within seven working days at no cost.
The Eternal Blauw capsule and the Blauw Repair service are part of Scotch & Soda’s mission to reduce the environmental footprint of a denim garment by prolonging its life and keeping it from winding up in landfills or being incinerated.
As an additional activation to celebrate its upcycling efforts, Scotch & Soda has collaborated with the House of Denim Foundation, cofounder of Amsterdam-based Jean School, the only school in the world dedicated exclusively to denim development. Jean School students have created a limited number of specially designed denim laptop cases and 10 experimental creations using repurposed Scotch & Soda denim garments and trims. The laptop cases will be sold at the Amsterdams Blauw denim store, and two of the artistic creations will be on display there from April 22 to 24.
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