Alice Timmis is a London-based woven and embroidery textile studio offering design, fabric development and manufacturing to fashion brands and interior companies. Founded in 2016, the studio works work closely with clients to understand and listen to their individual and unique requirements. Clients can buy existing designs and fabrics or collaborate on new bespoke and custom textiles. The studio offers a production minimum of just 5 meters, minimising textile waste and investment for high quality sustainable collections.

Alice Timmis design, deadstock fabric brushed ready to re-feed back into market stream

Some of the fabrics in the collections incorporate sustainable yarns that Alice has carefully researched. Alice is keen to promote the use of sustainable materials in design and her client’s collections.

Alice Timmis jacquard with IINOUIIO yarns

Research and Development of Pre-Consumer waste materials

Alice Timmis founded the studio simultaneous to working in Italy’s largest jacquard mill. Whilst working in Como, Italy Alice witnessed the various types of pre-consumer waste materials being produced by the woven mills and printed factories, including thousands of meters of deadstock fabric and selvedge waste.

Alice Timmis fabric for Anciela made using recycled post-consumer cotton

Alice Timmis jacquard for Anciela AW21 made with New Life recycled polyester yarns

Alice has worked closely with manufacturers and suppliers throughout the textile supply chain for 10 years to create unique yarns and fabrics. More recently, she has been applying her knowledge to develop unproven pre-consumer waste materials into new commercial products. Her portfolio of re-developed yarns and fabrics made from waste include low grade silk, animal waste fibres, pre-consumer waste including factory leftovers, selvedge waste and hard waste such as
deadstock fabric.

This experience has led her onto a fixed position with the Business of Fashion Textiles and Technology working in sustainable R&D.

Alice leads sustainable R&D for the BFTT and wool recyclers, IINOUIIO Ltd. She previously worked to develop Yak biowaste fibres into new yarns and fabrics with Tengri Ltd:

• www.bftt.org.uk/funded_project/iinouiio/
• www.bftt.org.uk/funded_project/tengri/
• www.tengri.squarespace.com/blog/alice-timmis-q-and-a

Sustainable yarns in Alice Timmis collections

Alice Timmis non-woven design made using pre-consumer denim waste

Each season, Alice Timmis Studio researches recycled and ethically made yarns to use in collections. Some examples of yarns that feature in Alice Timmis fabric collections include British recycled IINOUIIO yarns, Poly New Life recycled polyester yarns, Filati Buratti yarns made from silk noils and VIMAR 1991 ‘Fur Look’ fancy yarns made from wool.

Other fabrics in the collections are designed with pre-consumer waste materials. These woven and embroidered designs provide companies concepts for how they can re-apply their pre-consumer waste. For example, Alice will develop ways in which waste yarns can be re-woven or embroidered. Alternatively, Alice will come up with brushing and other surface techniques so that deadstock fabric can be revived and re-fed into the market stream.

Find out more at www.alicetimmis.com

The UK: Creators of responsible fashion and textiles