Talent Talks: Milk of Lime
Consciously far from trending streams, Milk of Lime seeks to give renaissance to hidden treasures and long forgotten references of its closest surroundings, which are in rural Germany and Belgium. NOoF invited Milk of Lime to visit Sterksel for a Botanical Dying Residency.
Image by Milk of Lime
Could you please introduce yourself?
We’re Milk of Lime, a Belgo-German design duo and Alumni of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. After a short working period in Antwerp and Paris we founded the brand in 2022.
Image by Milk of Lime
How would you describe your practice?
Milk of Lime is built on our human relationship to nature and collaborative craftsmanship. The brand is located in SouthWest Germany, close to its manufacturers and artisans. This tight network allows for a conscious production on small scale and individual pieces. New garments and accessories take shape as a reflection of our surrounding and the resources that are available. Incorporating neglected but precious materials and cherishing their inherent character is Milk of Lime’s core value.
Image by Milk of Lime
NOoF invited you to take part in a workshop week on botanical dying. Could you tell us about your experience during this week?
Botanical dyeing has been on our radar for long. Because we work predominantly with textiles out of natural fibres, it seemed like an organic extension of our practice. For us it was important to receive guidance from people who are passionately absorbed by the topic and practice it on deep level based on exchange and observation. In this week we found exactly that and feel charged with so much input to build upon. The creative energy that was released between all of us in this week still radiates in us.
Image by Milk of Lime
What were the most interesting results, the most important takeaways?
We were able to dye several pieces that were inspired not only by the dye and colour itself, but also by the mere aesthetic of the process: The beauty of a bundle-dye-package, the crunched and tied fabric, was translated into a shirt’s collar, which we then dip-dyed in a colour bath. For us it was important to capture more than only the colourful result, but rather the practice itself. The shirt exists in different materials and colour-ways and carries the title ‘Dyer’s shirt’.
Another interesting result was the over-dyeing of an already green and brown jacquard into an even deeper and darker colour scheme. With four people we dyed 6 meter of jacquard fabric in one piece, using 3 techniques, 2 different plants and 4 colour baths until we were satisfied. The result is a fabric so rich in texture and dye, that it seems to come out of the Venetian Fortuny workshop.
Image by Milk of Lime
Do you see a future for botanical dying within your practice?
Absolutely. Our initial interest in it was not only kindled, but we believe it can be a realistic and game-changing alternative for small independent labels like ours. Now that the colder season is approaching, we take the chance to map out what is realistic and really needed to serve us and Milk of Lime’s aesthetic in the flowering seasons to come.
Image by Milk of Lime
The Botanical Dying Residence is a part of the Manus x Machina Programme. Initiated by New Order of Fashion to connect emerging practitioners to craft experts, the programme stimulates intergenerational exchange of knowledge and contemporary approaches to craft.
We thank botanical dying experts Karin Waag and René van Eersel for their generosity and hospitality.
The Manus x Machina programma is supported by Kunstloc Brabant.
Image by Milk of Lime