Parsons MFA Textiles presents Claudy Jongstra for NYTM, Renewing the Value of Wool and Plant-Based Colour

With more than 20 years of award-winning work dedicated to the restorative ecology and timeless beauty of wool, artist-activist Claudy Jongstra is returning to the fashion world with a radical, net-positive approach to garment creation—LOADS Collection.

Claudy will talk about her work and her insight and artistry, a fresh perspective on the industry with her new systems of working.

In this moment, Jongstra’s insight and artistry bring a fresh perspective to the industry. More than a collection of garments, LOADS Collection is a collaboration among outstanding makers, any one of whose work on its own could be considered transformative. Bringing this work together, LOADS Collection forms a new, truly revolutionary system that values craftsmanship and supports the cultivation of high-quality, ecological materials with revitalizing impacts on the very landscape that produces them.

Each LOADS Collection garment is composed of the highest quality biodynamic, natural fibers — Drenthe Heath wool from Claudy Jongstra’s own herd of indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep, Spanish Merino heritage wool raised by Maria Pia Sanchez on her family’s ranch Dehesa de la Rinconada, and Demeter-certified Egyptian cotton grown by Egyptian sustainable development initiative SEKEM.

Claudy Jongstra, internationally renowned for her captivating, large-scale textile artworks, began her career in fashion. Concerned about the impacts of an industry she had come to see as harmful to the planet, she began to channel her creative energies into developing a practice of working with textiles that honored the whole life cycle of the material—in particular, wool. Jongstra’s early wool works inspired successful collaborations with John Galliano, Hermès, and Christian Lacroix, and appeared in the iconic Star Wars franchise as the iconic long-coats of the Jedi warriors.