Books by Carolina Obregon
This book brings a unique experience for students and professors from the Master’s in Design at U... more This book brings a unique experience for students and professors from the Master’s in Design at Universidad de los Andes. The team visited San Andrés island connecting through a systemic analysis observing the reality of its inhabitants. Based on active research on sustainability within the island, a visions seedbed was generated, placing design at the service of the community, while suggesting new collaborations, restoring lost connections, and strengthening current ones. Design Visions for a Sustainable San Andrés is a space for reflection and critical action by identifying grassroots problems. This work is aimed towards the community, designers in training, the academic team, professionals driven by their vocation, and readers in general.
A designers guide to exploring Bio-Composites
The comprehensive Compobast Fibres guide is here fo... more A designers guide to exploring Bio-Composites
The comprehensive Compobast Fibres guide is here for all sustainable designers who are in search of information and guidance through the world of old-new materials. We would like to bring you a resource you can glide through with ease and comfort, finding all the information needed for your environmental and sustainable practices and design criteria. This guide aims to introduce the product and fashion designers to the idea of “the composite” as a structural, shapable material, useful for producing both flat and organic forms, and to suggest possibilities for replacing conventional fibers with natural fibers and biopolymers. Our experiments are by no means comprehensive, as material science in this area is relatively new and samples of the polymers expensive and challenging to use in our conventional workshop setting. Having said that, we feel it is important for designers to jump on board and start experimenting in this area, and join in the conversation about bio-composites and bio-plastics. Designers’ form-giving knowledge, plus a willingness to conduct creative hands-on trials, is a valuable contribution to the field. It can support and even direct material scientists toward developing the most useful materials.
News, Magazines by Carolina Obregon
Linneo is a nutritional bio-cosmetic eye shadow of biological origin, which nourishes and beautif... more Linneo is a nutritional bio-cosmetic eye shadow of biological origin, which nourishes and beautifies the skin. Winner of the Biodesign Challenge 2020, MANA Prize for the Future of Beauty category, which promotes the search for sustainable alternatives for beauty products and their practices. The award was supported by the renowned cosmetic and skincare company Mana. The project was developed in the Biodesign Challenge course directed by Carolina Obregón and Giovanna Danies.
The Building Center, 2019
El Espectador, 2019
El proyecto es un sistema de refrigeración que no necesita electricidad llamado PseudoFreeze. La ... more El proyecto es un sistema de refrigeración que no necesita electricidad llamado PseudoFreeze. La primera aplicación práctica de esta nueva tecnología es un contenedor para transportar vacunas a zonas rurales. Los jóvenes colombianos son los primeros latinoamericanos en recibir este reconocimiento.
Universidad de los Andes, 2019
Revista Axxis, 2019
Cada año, 360.000 uniformes de la dotación # 4 de la Policía Nacional se vuelven obsoletos y enco... more Cada año, 360.000 uniformes de la dotación # 4 de la Policía Nacional se vuelven obsoletos y encontrar una solución parecía tan simple como tirarlos a la basura. Sin embargo, la ONG El Transformador se unió a esta entidad del Estado para transformarlos en prendas únicas que podría estar en cualquier pasarela de moda del mundo.
BLU Radio, 2019
Several designers and students of the Design Department of Universidad de los Andes launched 'Man... more Several designers and students of the Design Department of Universidad de los Andes launched 'Manifesto 4: A scream for circular fashion', in which they reuse police uniforms in a call for a more sustainable fashion industry.
Nueva Mujer, 2019
18 Colombian designers came together to create in their style a collection based on National Poli... more 18 Colombian designers came together to create in their style a collection based on National Police uniforms.
Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) recibe el premio PETA por la creación de una lana libre de An... more Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) recibe el premio PETA por la creación de una lana libre de Animal.
Featured in Design Uniandes
Featured in El Espectador, Colombia
Featured on Smithsonian.com
A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from c... more Featured on Smithsonian.com
A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes.
Featured on SB Sustainable Brands The Bridge to Better Brands
The Guardian, Jul 9, 2014
A recent online discussion offered some useful information about integrating sustainability into ... more A recent online discussion offered some useful information about integrating sustainability into fashion degree programes and how designers will shape the future of the industry.
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Books by Carolina Obregon
The comprehensive Compobast Fibres guide is here for all sustainable designers who are in search of information and guidance through the world of old-new materials. We would like to bring you a resource you can glide through with ease and comfort, finding all the information needed for your environmental and sustainable practices and design criteria. This guide aims to introduce the product and fashion designers to the idea of “the composite” as a structural, shapable material, useful for producing both flat and organic forms, and to suggest possibilities for replacing conventional fibers with natural fibers and biopolymers. Our experiments are by no means comprehensive, as material science in this area is relatively new and samples of the polymers expensive and challenging to use in our conventional workshop setting. Having said that, we feel it is important for designers to jump on board and start experimenting in this area, and join in the conversation about bio-composites and bio-plastics. Designers’ form-giving knowledge, plus a willingness to conduct creative hands-on trials, is a valuable contribution to the field. It can support and even direct material scientists toward developing the most useful materials.
News, Magazines by Carolina Obregon
Featured in Design Uniandes
A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes.
The comprehensive Compobast Fibres guide is here for all sustainable designers who are in search of information and guidance through the world of old-new materials. We would like to bring you a resource you can glide through with ease and comfort, finding all the information needed for your environmental and sustainable practices and design criteria. This guide aims to introduce the product and fashion designers to the idea of “the composite” as a structural, shapable material, useful for producing both flat and organic forms, and to suggest possibilities for replacing conventional fibers with natural fibers and biopolymers. Our experiments are by no means comprehensive, as material science in this area is relatively new and samples of the polymers expensive and challenging to use in our conventional workshop setting. Having said that, we feel it is important for designers to jump on board and start experimenting in this area, and join in the conversation about bio-composites and bio-plastics. Designers’ form-giving knowledge, plus a willingness to conduct creative hands-on trials, is a valuable contribution to the field. It can support and even direct material scientists toward developing the most useful materials.
Featured in Design Uniandes
A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes.
Fashion education in Colombia has recently transitioned from technical to professional programs. I designed the new curriculum for a professional program that will open in 2014 at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá. Based on previous research and work in sustainable design education, and inspired by new courses in sustainable fashion elsewhere, I designed 30 courses with sustainability as the linking objective throughout the curriculum. The curriculum seeks for students to innovate and look for design opportunities within the community at large with a focus on local economic and social problems. Fashion design students often feel disenfranchised with greater issues of the society and would like to contribute but are not sure how to do it. This new program looks at how fashion design can confront the critical issues of the larger society and come up with solutions. For example, the program seeks for students to work together with people from the community who participate in the design process so both learn skills with the universities technical training program. By fostering an open, creative and energetic environment the students and community will benefit from a platform of collaboration, active participation, improved design, production and manufacturing processes. This in itself is a bold change from a silos mentality.
I suggest Latin American universities have possibility of being at the forefront of a sustainable shift in education. Our current era of austerity and climate change can take advantage as a way of forming future-oriented designers that have their priority a concern with the environment, the society and the economy. Fashion designers educated through a sustainability curriculum will see themselves as agents of change that can be part of the solution. The local community´s involvement is intended to create jobs to make an ecologically sustainable design process viable.
Education in sustainable fashion design must be consolidated as a curriculum, and not only as a trendy course. I suggest that Latin American universities could be at the forefront of this paradigm shift as it has the resources both human and natural to contribute to the radical and collective changes that must be done to help solve some of the world´s direst problems. Fashion designers educated through a creative sustainability curriculum will see themselves as agents of change that can be part of the solution and stop being part of the problem."
Una trayectoria profesional de alto nivel que une varios puntos del globo con experiencias laborales en grandes marcas y estudios especializados en sostenibilidad convierten a esta mujer en un referente académico en Colombia. Gracias a su visión y comprensión de los inmensos retos que tiene la industria de la moda y cómo incidir de manera positiva desde el diseño, la académica y creadora lidera desde la Universidad de Los Andes varios proyectos que han recibido reconocimientos públicos. Esta es su historia en TALKING CLOSET.
En donde se encuentra la moda sostenible en este momento. Se dan una diversidad de estudios de caso, definidos bajo los distintos procesos para producir una moda sostenible.
In addition, I have interviewed a broad range of successful sustainable fashion designers in order to get their perspectives on the trends that are occurring, their potential for contributing to radical change, and their views for the future. I first conclude that these small design-driven practices are insufficient for the radical change that the literature says must occur. I also conclude that the basis for a more extensive change to occur starts with fashion design education and consciousness.
I add a proposal for a fashion design syllabus as an example of how education could become a pivotal marker for a paradigm shift. In sum, my research shows that society must change radically and collectively, with educators, fashion designers and business leaders working in unison to become part of the solution and not continue to be part of the problem.