University of Oviedo, LaPonte Eco-Muséu,
Espacio Tormaleo, UriaXait
Sobrescobio, Asturias, Spain
43°11’22” N, 5°28’2” W
Pillarmo, Asturias, Spain
43°25’52” N, 6°02’09” W
Faltriquera
Laboratorio Biomimético-ARBIO (Marlén López and Manuel Persa) and made by kÖs (Constantino Menéndez and Yolanda González)
2022
Bagasse (beer residue), woollen cloth
Chopped or traced stitching on biotextile fabrics 23 cm length x 32 cm width
Marlén, biodigital architect and Manuel, biodigital designer and craftsman, make up the Laboratorio Biomimético, a project based on biomimesis, that is, on the attentive observation of nature, directly through field trips, or indirectly, with readings and documentaries. Through this observation and profound understanding, they seek to implement the solutions of nature, a designer with thousands of years of experience, to human challenges. One of the areas of the laboratory is ARBIO, dedicated to the production of biodegradable fabrics that the made by kÖs firm of Constantino and Yolanda uses to make some of its pieces. This collaboration is part of the key points of the lab, which seeks synergies with designers, experts, researchers, and the community in general. Constantino learned to sew with his mother and later trained in Fashion and Clothing. Inspired by his research and interest in textile history and historical recreation, he established the made by kÖs brand in 2013, combining traditional inspiration with contemporary designs, after a work of reproducing old pieces based on paintings and photographs with traditional scenes, especially from the 19th century. After a few years, Yolanda joined, who also began sewing with her mother, as well as with her grandmother and her aunts. She is in charge of reproducing the pieces based on Constantino’s model, as well as the more business work, related to suppliers and orders. Her line of garments, with very selected projects, are produced on a small scale and locally, proposing pieces inspired by rural areas, village life and traditional clothing, incorporating current elements to give rise to handmade designer pieces.
A gallery of images of the exhibit item.
Among the numerous biological adaptation solutions that we find in nature, ARBIO focuses on the wide variety of materials it uses to respond to design challenges. These biomaterials can be light, resistant, and biodegradable, and their study can open innovative possibilities in the form of manufacturing sustainable products and materials with a wide variety of structures and textures. Merging biology, technology, and design ARBIO uses agri-food waste along with natural binders (agar-agar, alginate, gelatin, starch) to develop, through research and experimentation, innovative, regenerative and 100% biodegradable solutions. In the case of the Faltriquera (pouch), we take the bagasse or beer residue (hops, malt, and barley) as the starter, which has been dried to control its weight, and glycerin and water are added to mix it by heating it and then letting it rest in a mould for about ten or fifteen days. Starting from this material, made by kÖs crafts a pocket bag (called Faltriquera) that combines innovation and tradition. The shape of the piece contributes to working with the material more comfortably, giving it shape to later decorate it with the chopping or remounting technique, in which characteristic triangles are used in many traditional garments that were used to curve a piece by cutting it. straight, giving rise to a motif called “ringo-rango”. This decoration is made with merino wool cloth from León, where the artisan Miguel Cordero buys wool from Extremadura and León to fully process it, carding, spinning, and weaving on looms, and then dyeing it in Portugal.
The Faltriquera is a piece that is part of traditional Asturian garments, generally placed under the apron or skirt that had different openings (sometimes on the sides, sometimes in the front), to be able to access it, cinching at the waist with a couple of tapes. It came in different shapes, materials, and prints, depending on taste, age, marital status, purchasing power, the occasion, or the area of the region. The wool cloth, linen and the floral, geometric prints or embroidered initials always stood out. With this material, a contemporary vision is added to a piece with a long history. In the bio-textile sense of the design it was decided to leave the seeds in such a way that the origin of the piece was more noticeable. On this neutral base, made by kÖs adds ornamental details in very vivid tones of indigo blue and red, colours that were difficult to achieve and required a high cost, thus contrasting the richness and power of the colour symbolism with the waste of bagasse as the base material. This piece was also part of the Princess of Asturias Award 2023 exhibition.
Our era is mired in a system of linear production and consumption, in which we extract, produce, use and discard without considering the consequences. Based on a holistic vision of ecosystems with interconnected elements in which our actions have an impact on multiple levels, ARBIO and made by kÖs advocate a circular economy. They seek to reduce, reuse, recycle and regenerate resources to minimise waste while making a high-quality artisan product, prolonging its utility span. The material from which it is made, bagasse, is a food waste, so it contributes to disposing of waste as a resource. In addition, this is obtained from the local and craft beer factory Ordum, located in the ruralAsturian environment. This piece therefore arises in line with the numerous scientific and international reports and warnings, and goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) regarding our production and consumption dynamics. Along these lines, craftsmanship is presented as a means to achieve this, at the same time as recovering and updating a cultural heritage, that of textiles linked to traditional costume. But in addition to the historical tradition of the pouch, the decorative motifs used, which can also be seen on other pieces such as vests or “denges”, go beyond textiles. It can be seen in granaries (“horreos”), churches, or baptismal fonts in different parts of the region.
The Laboratorio Biomimético lies in a natural space in Redes, located in the central-eastern area of Asturias, declared a Natural Park in 1996 and a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2001. It has magnificent natural and cultural values, making this perfect laboratory space for biomimicry. Its mountainous landscapes, in addition to having an important ecological value, have also sparked recent interest in rural tourism activities, diversifying the historically used cattle and livestock farming practices and subsistence agriculture. On the other hand, the made by kÖs workshop is in Pillarmo, belonging to Castrillón, a council located on the central coast of Asturias. A rural environment that was once closely related to livestock farming and maritime activity in the most coastal towns and to a lesser extent agriculture, but which with the establishment of the National Steel Company (ENSIDESA) gradually abandoned this practice. The establishment of artisan workshops like this thus contributes to diversifying the economy and returning to the local.
Author: Llara Fuente Corripio
References:
Cerdá, Emilio and Aygun Khalilova. “Economía circular”. Economía industrial, 401(3), (2016): 11-20.
García Martínez, Adolfo. “La cultura tradicional, patrimonio de futuro”. In Antropología de Asturias, T. I. Oviedo, 2008. Laboratorio Biomimético. Arbio. Accessed March 14th, 2024. https://laboratoriobiomimetico.com/arbio/
Made by kÖs. Accessed March 14th, 2024. https://madebykos.com/
Pérez Castro, José Luis. “La faltriquera y su significado en el folklore astur”. Revista de Dialectología y Tradiciones Populares, 11(4), 516, 1955.
Santoveña Zapatero, María Felisa. Traje tradicional, indumentaria popular y representación social del cuerpo. Asturias
(1860-1920). 2015.
Santoveña Zapatero, Maria Felisa. “En la encrucijada: traje tradicional asturiano, identidad y transformaciones sociales en los inicios del siglo XXI”. Perifèria: revista de recerca i formació en antropologia, 25(1), (2020): 144-169.
To learn more about this initiative or artisan:
https://laboratoriobiomimetico.com/arbio/ https://www.instagram.com/laboratorio_biomimetico/ https://www.facebook.com/laboratorioBiomimetico/ https://madebykos.com/ https://www.instagram.com/madebykos/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe6z8IOOLCU-QFL3RwFm4Qg/videos